Category: Studio Lights Education

Think about it, when our dream of becoming a filmmaker first sprouted in our minds, what did we think of? Maybe we are imagining the name under the light, the director’s chair, the huge camera and the exquisite scene, etc., yes, the huge, luminous, sunny light.

In fact, this article is one of a series of articles on lighting and lighting, and we hope it will be helpful to your photography career.

 

In the process of photography, we will discuss the essence of the problem. Usually only the electricity union will ask this question, but every filmmaker should be clear: How much electricity will be consumed during video and film shooting?

Let’s discuss some of the main issues in film photography.

Main light

The main light is the main light source in the lighting setup and the main lighting factor on the lighting equipment. The main light ranges from 300 watts to 2,000 or even 5,000 (1K and 5K).

What might you need 2K or 5K light for? Well, in large budget scenes, they are used to provide sufficient lighting for the shooting scene like the sun or full moon at night.

Think about the moonlit nights or “outdoor” daytime scenes in the movie, you know that they were actually shot in the studio. “Spectre” and “the Hitman`s Bodyguard” are two good examples.

These powerful lights are actually very versatile. Another great use of them is when you push the “sunlight” through the setting window to shoot indoor scenes.

The light-emitting angle and distance of the lamps we use are different, which can emit beautiful clear lines and hard shadows, or more soft.

Photographic light is often used with some blinds to create shadows and depth, or to create a beautiful “sunshine” appearance on the subject, which can make dark colors look more beautiful.

However, you might end up using 500 watts to 2K watts of light in independent movie shooting. Because the lamp in this power range will provide you with good brightness, it can be used as the key for most office video, studio shooting, indoor scenes and Instagram video shooting.

Kits and low-wattage lamps in the package can be rented from most equipment rental companies at a very affordable price. Therefore, don’t think that good indoor lighting is suitable for shooting, because you don’t have a suitable light source indoors.

If you are going to the filming site, please check whether your equipment is complete, which should include a 250W-1000W lighting kit, and you may even rent a 2K or 5K single package.

Fill light

As people in the industry know, the fill light is an auxiliary tool for the main light, which is used to fill in the dazzling shadows caused by the intensity of the main light.

We often watch sports games. The common shot is that the players are fully illuminated and there are no shadows on their bodies, but there are four shadows distributed on the ground around them. It is because the lights are set on all sides to fill the shadows on the body, and the visibility should be as good as possible.

The intensity of the fill light should not be as strong as the main light, so no matter what the intensity of the main light is, it should not be less than the intensity of the fill light. In other words, if you use a 1000W or 2000W main light, the fill light shooting we mentioned earlier will work at 500 watts or less.

However, those simulated scenes of day, night, strong sunlight or moonlight illuminated with higher power will also be applied to the filling exponentially. In this case, the fill light can always reach 2000W.

Whichever method you choose, it will depend on the taste of you or your boss, and follow the recipe instructions.

 

Background light

We all want to improve the texture of the image. At this time, we use the background light, which will add a little extra beauty. As the name suggests, the backlight is to place the light behind the object in order to grab their edges with a little light. This can produce a good gloss or halo effect, and help distinguish the background from the hair, facial features, etc.

Because it is used to emphasize the existing light, the backlight should be smaller than your fill light and main light. Unless you use some really powerful lights, the maximum power should be within 250-500 watts.

 

Remember that the backlight is designed to work with the fill light, so unless the backlight is set as a creative choice, don’t shine the subject with strong light from behind.

LED and illuminaires

Using LEDs instead of tungsten filament lamps can keep the power consumption low enough, the brightness high enough, and the power factor reaches 0.95, which can effectively avoid circuit overload.

LED lamps are the most advanced lighting sources today. They use less power but can bring more powerful brightness than HPS, fluorescent lamps and tungsten filament lamps. For example, the brightness of a 500-watt tungsten lamp is not the same as that of a 500-watt LED. A 500-watt LED will be at least 5 times brighter than a 500W tungsten lamp. The main reason for this difference is the light efficiency, that is, the amount of light emitted by the light source of the same power. Lumens is a measure of the amount of light emitted by a bulb or any luminous source.

What Is Three-Point Lighting?

Three-point lighting is a traditional way of using light sources from three different locations to illuminate objects in the scene. There are three different types of lights, backlight, main light and fill light.

Backlight:

The first light source of lighting technology, the backlight (also called “edge light” or “headlight”) shines on the object from the back, thus completing the light setting. This will form a light edge or outline around their head, move the object away from the background, and give a sense of weight. Usually, photographers place the backlight directly behind the subject, or place the backlight in a high enough range, opposite to the main light and pointing to the back of the subject’s head.

Main light.

This is the brightest and dominant light source in the three-point lighting layout, which provides the overall exposure of the scene. Photographers usually place the main light slightly toward the front of the subject and the side of the camera, and place it on a light stand that is at a 45-degree angle to the camera. This will produce a shadow on the other side of the front of the subject, which givs it a certain degree of Depth and size. The main light source creates the atmosphere of the scene, it can create high-key images (uniform, soft lighting and optimistic in the atmosphere) or low-key images (high contrast, deep shadows and very moody), depending on its location and the auxiliary lights used in the overall lighting.

Fill light:

The fill light will look like the main light on the other side of the camera, literally filling in the shadow created by the main light on the object, thereby presenting details in darkness. Usually, the brightness of the secondary light source is lower than that of the main light, and the photographer will control the overall feeling of shooting according to the dim degree of the shooting light. Dim fill light with a high fill rate will produce high contrast, black film shadows, while bright light has a lower, more balanced ratio that can make the subject look more uniform. The fill light is not always a light: it can be a wall, a bounce card, a reflector, or anything that can reflect some light back to the subject to fill the dark area. The fill light and the main light determine the atmosphere of the scene together.

How to use three-point lighting?

There are no rules on how to use three-point lighting. This usually depends on the overall mood that the cinematographer or photographer wants to mobilize. In addition, the subject and the scene are also important reference objects that need to be considered when setting up lighting.

If the photographer chooses a higher fill rate (such as 8:1), the main light will cast sharp shadows and contrast with natural light. Which is so-called “low-key lighting”. it will create dramatic, mysterious, disturbing and alienating emotions, and can show a series of deep sadness mood. Therefore, it is common in noir films, horror films, horror films and dark dramas.

There is a kind of soft lighting called “high-key lighting”, which can create the optimistic, airy, young, optimistic and brisk mood common in sitcoms and comedies. This kind of light is made by shifting the soft light slightly off the center with a 2:1 filling ratio. The photographer can create a soft and flattering appearance. When your subject is a person, it also tends to cover up the skin defect.

Good lighting can help photographers to better control shadows, view objects in the image to a greater extent, and create more interesting and dynamic images.

Lighting settings can help shape the subject so that it performs best or worst. Three-point lighting also helps to add a sense of three-dimensionality to the subject.

What is four-point lighting?

Unlike the backlight that produces the ring or outline of the object, the four-point illumination uses additional “backlight” to illuminate the object behind the object. The background light illuminates background objects, such as outdoor scenery or walls.

In order to obtain the appearance, the photographer places the background light behind the subject, that is, on the ground low or high grid, facing the background elements, such as outdoor scenery or walls.

The fourth light can also help the camera to make the subject more three-dimensional.

Photographers use this technique to draw attention to the background or eliminate shadows cast by foreground elements on the background.

A few tips for setting up three-point lighting

To successfully set up three-point lighting and create beautiful professional videos, there are several key components.

The intensity of the light source.

Using LED lights, incandescent lights or fluorescent lights, we can control the output intensity of light, which will affect the appearance of the scene. The sharper light will produce rougher edges and shadows. “Brightness” is a measure of the intensity of a light source. We can use a light meter to measure in lumens.

Light source size and distance.

The size of the light source (relative to the size of the subject) determines how “hard” (sharp, sharp edges) or “soft” (smooth, feathered edges) the shadow is. If you pull the shadow back from the shadow, the shadow will become harder, making the relative size of the object smaller. If you place the signal source close to the subject, the shadows will be softer. Due to this relative size condition, the distance from the light source to the object will also affect the softness of the shadow. Smaller light sources will produce harder sharp edges, while larger light sources will soften shadows. In studio lighting, if you want a softer look, you can place magnification modifiers such as umbrellas, soft boxes, or other diffuse reflections between the light source and the object.

The position of the light source.

How do you determine the position of the fill and backlight will affect whether there are deep moody shadows or optimistic or even uniform light in the entire scene. This again has to do with creating the environment wisely—if your main light represents the sun, it should accurately reflect the angle and height of the light source. Position the light relative to the subject, and then let the camera determine where the shadow falls.

The original intention of setting up the light.

You must determine this kind of light in advance. Once you have determined what kind of lighting to use, you can continue to place and adjust the lighting kit to achieve this effect. Before you start to install the lighting kit, you must know exactly what look you want to get and why. According to the environment the character is in, the light source in the scene needs to become meaningful. Is this a cloudy sky? sunset? Dark alley? (You may also need “underpowered” lights. The frightening thing is that having unnatural lights can make the audience feel uncomfortable and make people feel something is missing.) Lighting settings are never random.

Test the lighting settings.

After determining the original intention, size, distance, intensity and location of the lighting, make all the settings so that you can see exactly how all the lighting works together and whether their effects are exactly what you want. If not, please make adjustments until everything becomes the best.

If you are a novice in the field of photography, choosing new equipment can be distressing, especially if you are not sure how to use all the tools. Unfamiliar device names and technical terms can be daunting. However, it is much easier to set up a beginner’s studio, and you do not need to spend a lot of time and money to choose a good tool for the job. What·s more, if you are a student of the Los Angeles Academy, you can actually shop on websites such as Ebay or Amazon. They list a lot of equipment on their public websites, all of which are offered at discounts only for students.

Here is a simple list of studio lighting equipment that can help you get started. If you want to build your first studio with a small scale and low configuration, and the price of equipment for students on Amazon or EBay is not very high, then you should consider buying it.

Continuous light

Continuous light has essentially the same purpose as strobing lighting, while does not actually use flash light. Successive lights work continuously in the manner implied by their name, which are high-power lights that can illuminate your subject. If you just put the settings for beginners together, you may not need to buy continuous lighting and flash at the same time, but indeed you can choose your favorite lighting method (fast flash or continuous light), and then make the corresponding purchase.

Flash Light

Studio strobe light will be used as your dedicated flash light. Most of the cases, camera shops refer to them as “monochrome” or “monochrome lamps.” , actually these are all the same thing, which is probably the most basic and most commonly used lighting equipment you can buy in a studio setting, and it should definitely be the first item on the list.

Flange lights

Flange lights, sometimes called rim light or backlights, are devices that illuminate your objects from the back. The using of a edge light (or rim light) when shooting studio portraits is a great way to help you prevent the subject from blending into the background too much, so this is another one worth using in a beginner’s studio setting equipment.

Brief Flash

Brief Flash simply refers to the photographer using a device called a “hot shoe rack” to shine any tiny light onto the camera. These products are small and easy to carry, so they are very convenient, so they are not only suitable for studio work, but also very suitable for use on the road.

Reflective Umbrella

Even an integrated photographer may use a reflective umbrella in shooting, but what are these purposes? They are usually white and are designed to be easily connected to strobe lights via mounts. By launching strobe lights into a reflective umbrella, you can finally create a larger, more diffuse light source, resulting in a softer-looking light source.

Headlamp

Headlights are easy to explain-they help to add lighting to the subject’s hair. Then it is also worth investing in one of them if you plan to set up a family studio to do a lot of portrait work. If you find that the degree of fusion between the hair and the background is too high, in addition to helping to highlight the hair, head lights can also be used to increase the exposure of the subject’s head.

Experience new equipment

For beginners, these six devices are a good start. you will receive comprehensive training on how to set up and use all the equipment we just mentioned if you are a student of a professional photography course,  as well as plenty of other supplementary works that you can explore when you feel more unrestrained. If you start to feel overwhelmed, do bear in mind the advice of professional photographer Bruno Schreck. ” the equipment will appear and the portfolio will appear if you like photography enough, and then success will follow if you like the process. You will fully show your own style.”

Photographic terminology

Depth of field preview:

In order to see the actual depth of field, some cameras provide a depth-of-field preview button. Press the button to shrink the aperture to a selected size. The scene you see is the same as the scene recorded on the film (memory card) after shooting.

 

Composition

The name of composition is derived from Western art, and there is a course in Western painting called composition.

The name composition is also called layout or business position in Chinese painting theory. In other words, photographic composition is transformed from the composition of fine art, and we can also simply call it framing.

Whether it is the layout in traditional Chinese painting or the framing in photography, it only involves part of the composition, not the full meaning of the composition. Therefore, it is more scientific and accurate to use the title of composition uniformly.

Sensitivity (ISO)

Indicates how fast the photosensitive material is sensitive to light. The unit is expressed by “degree” or “fixed”. For example, “ISO100/21” means a film with a sensitivity of 100 degrees/21 fixed. The higher the sensitivity, the more sensitive the film (that is, the less light is needed to normally take the same photo under the same shooting environment, which is manifested by the ability to use a higher shutter or a smaller aperture).

 

Color temperature

The different pigments contained in different kinds of light are called “color temperature”. The unit is “K”. The color temperature that we usually use daylight type color negative film can adapt to is 5400K-5600K; the color temperature that light type A and B can adapt to are 3400K and 3200K respectively. Therefore, we have to choose different types of film according to the subject and environment, otherwise there will be color cast (unless color filters are used to correct the color temperature).

 

Understanding white balance

White balance is an extremely important concept in digital cameras. The so-called white balance (English name is White Balance) is the restoration of white objects by digital cameras. Generally, there are multiple modes of white balance, suitable for shooting in different scenes, such as: automatic white balance, tungsten white balance, fluorescent white balance, shadow white balance, etc.

Adjust white balance

Different digital cameras have different ways to adjust the white balance. You need to read the camera manual to learn how to change the white balance setting. Speaking of which, many digital cameras have automatic or semi-automatic white balance modes to help you adjust settings.

 

Exposure

The process by which light reaches the surface of the film to make the film sensitive. It should be noted that the exposure we are talking about refers to film sensitivity, which is a process that we must go through to get a photo. It often depends on the combination of aperture and shutter, so there is also the term exposure combination. For example, when the shutter is 1/30 sec measured by the light meter, the aperture should be 5.6, so that F5.6 and 1/30 sec are an exposure combination.

 

Exposure Compensation

Generally, exposure compensation is used in automatic or semi-automatic exposure mode. If it is full manual exposure mode, exposure compensation is rarely used, because the amount of light can also be changed by adjusting the shutter and aperture.

In complex light and high-contrast environments, using automatic exposure or shutter, aperture priority mode, sometimes it is difficult to take care of comprehensively, unable to highlight the subject, and achieve the desired effect. At this time, the photographer needs to manually adjust the equipment accordingly. Exposure parameter adjustment, this is exposure compensation, also known as ±EV. For starters, exposure compensation is generally used in still life and scene shooting situations. This occasion is suitable for calmly adjusting parameters and taking multiple photos with different compensation schemes for selection. However, in a picture with great contrast, it is difficult to take full care of the exposure compensation, and it is easy to lose sight of the other.

Glossary

1. Light ratio

Refers to the light-receiving ratio of the dark side to the bright side of the subject under the lighting environment. The light ratio is of great significance to the contrast control of the photo.

2. Light position

Refers to the specific position of the lamp in the three-dimensional space. Including surface light, slap light, proscenium pillar light, foot light, proscenium top light, top row condensing light, top row flood light, sky row light, ground row light, side bridge light, flowing light, side light, (hanging cage Bench) Follow the light and so on.

3. Focal length

The distance from the center of the lens to the focal point of the light. It is also the distance from the center of the lens to the imaging plane such as the film or CCD in the camera.

4. Perspective

The angle formed between the center of the lens and the diagonal ends of the imaging plane is the angle of view of the lens. For the same imaging area, the shorter the focal length, the larger the angle of view.

5. Brightness

The brightness of the lens is the amount of luminous flux. Larger caliber and more luminous flux result in greater brightness, and vice versa. The brightness is calculated by multiples of the aperture factor. The brightness is one of the important factors that determine exposure.

6. Three-dimensional

Through the processing of light, shade, and color, the shape of the object’s length, width, and height is shown, and then the three-dimensional space of the subject is reproduced on the plane, and there is a sense of three-dimensional shape. Generally use side light and back light to shoot.

Light commonly used in photography

Light mainly includes four characteristics-the intensity of the light, the nature of the light, the directionality of the light, and the color of the light.

We mainly talk about the directionality of light, which is what we often call forward light, side light, back light and diffuse light.

1. Front light

Also called Pingguang. The light is irradiated from the front of the subject, which is characterized by that all the subjects receive the light, the brightness of the light is high, the image is flat, and the color reproduction is good, but the light is relatively flat, and it is difficult to show a three-dimensional effect.

2. Side light

The light comes from the side of the subject, which is usually divided into front side light and back side light. The characteristic is that the subject has an obvious three-dimensional effect, and the tonal levels and line contours are more abundant, which can better portray the characters. Appearance characteristics and facial expressions

3. Backlight

Also known as “backlight”. The light comes from the back of the subject or obliquely behind it. The characteristic is that the light can draw a beautiful outline for the subject, distinguish the character from the background, and show a strong sense of space.

4. Direct light

Also known as “hard light”. Outdoors generally refers to the light emitted by the sun on a sunny day. It is characterized by strong directionality. It can form a strong contrast and three-dimensional effect when irradiated on the subject, which has a relatively tough effect.

5. Scattered light

Also known as “soft light”. Outdoors generally refers to sunlight passing through clouds, or being reflected by the ground or walls. It is characterized by no clear directionality, and the relationship between light and darkness is not very obvious when it hits the subject. The intermediate transition levels are rich and the image is softer. This kind of light is ideal for shooting portraits, and the expression of human skin levels is very rich.

photography skills

General photography

Shooting good photography requires certain equipment, patience, and some necessary knowledge.

The so-called “photography” is to take part or all of some scenes to attract the audience with the beauty of the unique characteristics of the object. But when shooting close-up shots, usually because the camera is very close to the subject, it is easy to affect the image quality due to unstable holding of the camera. But you can overcome these problems by buying some appropriate equipment. The following skills need to be mastered to take good photographs:

1. Use a tripod

When shooting, the camera must be mounted on a tripod to prevent the camera from shaking. Try to move the camera as close to the subject as possible, and be careful not to introduce unnecessary shadows.

2. Focusing track

Although it is not a must-have when shooting, the focus track is a good auxiliary device to help you take good close-up shots. The focus track can make the camera move along the X and Y axis with a very small increment, and can precisely control the position of the camera and the depth of field of the picture. It is very troublesome to use a movable tripod to reach the ideal position.

3, use the shutter release

Even if you have installed the camera on the tripod, if you are not careful when pressing the shutter, it may still shake the camera, so in order to avoid this, I suggest you use a shutter release cable.

4, use a black or colored background

When shooting, when the background of the subject is black, then the captured image can look clearest. You can also use a blurred background, especially when the color of the subject is strong.

5. Use reflective cards when necessary

Use a white card or wrap it with a piece of aluminum foil to reflect the light on the subject to illuminate the shadows on the object. It is important to pay attention not to let this card appear in the shooting range.

6. must have patience

Sometimes, even a breeze can blur the close-up shots. At this time, you must have patience, and it is best to wait until the wind has passed before shooting. Similarly, when shooting outdoors, the clouds on the sky will cover the sun. It is best to wait until the sun comes out before shooting, so that the photos taken will look brighter and brighter than those taken when it is cloudy.

7. Use good composition

The Austrian photographer Iniest Haas has reached the state of not having a sword in his hand and having a sword in his heart for composition. He believes: “The composition lies in balance, and everyone handles balance differently.” Just as martial arts have achieved it. At the highest level, there is no name for the move, and it can only be resolved by one’s own skill. Regarding the position of the camera in the composition. He believes: “The more you can forget your equipment and focus on your subject matter and composition, then the camera is just a continuation of your eyes and has no other meaning.”

Little Jacobs also believes: “The most basic factors of composition are

lines, form, texture and the space between these factors. Of course, color is also a factor that cannot be ignored. Converging lines can generally illustrate the perspective relationship, but not All photos must show the depth of perspective. Many outstanding works are flat patterns. The portraits of a certain scene or person in the viewfinder are arranged according to the photographer’s personal feelings. Therefore, how Composition, like how to choose the subject, light, and color, can also become the basis of a photographer’s unique personal style. “In most cases, each photo has one or a group of shapes or forms that play a leading role, and The color, volume, position, and other shapes in the photo all serve the dominant factors. “The contrast in the composition refers to the contrast between big and small, light and dark, near and far, active and passive, smooth and rough, and the intensity and lightness of colors. We must make more use of these opposing factors, through them Make the subject influence the entire composition. For example, if the law of contrast is properly used, the photo will have a powerful charm. “Some people may be gifted with composition.

When the proportion of the subject in the picture is too small, or the blank space of the picture is relatively monotonous (for example, when shooting high-rise buildings in the sunset), you can creatively use underexposure to form a silhouette as the foreground, and use the black silhouette both It can oppress the viewer’s vision to project to the subject, and the black silhouette will not distract the viewer’s attention. We can even use the silhouette as the main frame to form various shapes of square, circle or variation, so that ordinary scenes have a unique sense of form and increase the sense of depth of the picture.

Photography genre

Neo-materialist photography

New materialistic photography is also called “dominant photography” and “new realist photography”. It is a genre of photography art that emerged in the 1920s.

The artistic characteristic of this genre is to seek “beauty” in common things. Use close-up, close-up and other techniques to “separate” the subject from the whole, highlight a certain part of the object, and accurately and faithfully describe its surface structure, so as to achieve a dazzling visual effect. It does not consider that the essence of art lies in the essence of the object, so its aesthetic thought belongs to the category of naturalism. For example, the rotary axis of the locomotive photographed by the photographer Paqiu in 1923 used a close-up technique to show the state of the rotary axis of the locomotive when the locomotive was in motion. The picture abandons other details and gives the audience a strong visual impression.

The theoretical pioneer of New Materialism is Strand, and he stipulates the artistic characteristics of “New Materialism” as follows: “New materialism is the essence of photography, and it is also the product and boundary of photography.” He believes that photography ” The expression of life is extremely strong and requires the eyes to observe the right things. For this reason, it is not based on the perfunctory process and operation method, but must use pure photography.” The creative pioneer of neo-materialist photography is Ah Jay and Steichen. The actual founder is Paqiu mentioned above.

The achievements of the new immaterialist photographers are to encourage people to study and explore the characteristics of photography, and to pull photography from the aesthetic illusion world back to real life. However, due to the excessive emphasis on the description of the detailed surface structure of the material, it provided the germination soil for the later abstract photography.

Around 1925, due to the emergence of large-caliber small cameras, new developments in the field of expression of neo-materialism resulted in many portrait works and works reflecting social life and natural scenery.

Surrealist photography

Surrealist photography is a genre that appeared in the field of photography during the decline of Dada, and it emerged in the 1930s.

This first-class school has a more rigorous art program and art theory. They believe that the use of realistic creative methods to express the real world is a task that classical artists have already accomplished, while the mission of modern artists is to explore the new and unexplored “spiritual world” of human beings. Therefore, human subconscious activities, accidental inspiration, psychopathy and dreams have become the objects deliberately expressed by surrealist photographers.

Surrealists in photography, like Dada photographers, use scissors, paste, and darkroom techniques as their main modeling methods to create a surreal “artistic state” between reality and imagination, concrete and abstract. “. So its effect is peculiar, absurd and mysterious.

The founders of this genre were the British photographer Stun and the American Bryuquier (1880-1945). The real finisher was the British stage photographer Mark Kebin (1905—?). In his creation, he combined the illusion of “surreal” with the reality of reality, creating a kind of both illusion and reality. realm. For example, “Marcobin’s Self-Portrait” created by him in 1946 is a very typical surreal work. It was shot using four exposures—one front, two sides, and one eye.

The famous photographers of this class include the painter Parhan, who is engaged in surrealist photography; Brandt, the deformed body photographer; Carson, the portrait and propaganda photographer, and Blumenthal, Lorraine, Halsman, Lai Yi et al.

Abstract photography

Abstract photography is a genre of photographic art that emerged after the First World War.

Photographers of this genre deny that plastic art is a basic feature that reflects life and expresses the artist’s aesthetic feelings in a measurable artistic image, and claims to “liberate photography” from photography.

In the initial stage, the bottomless magnification method was used to omit the detailed texture and rich tones of the “subject”, and make a “light picture” that only expressed its shape. Later, it developed to either use light, or edit the collection, or halfway exposure, or shake the camera during shooting to blur the image of the subject in the negative, or double exposure to make it double-image, until the surface structure of the picture is changed, and the surface structure of the picture is changed. The original form and spatial structure of the photographed object try to use the so-called “absolutely abstract language” of form, tone (color) and material to transform the photographed object into some kind of lines, spots and shapes that cannot be recognized. hybrid. To express the so-called subconscious world of the most real and essential power of human beings regarded as the standard by the artists of this school. In the work, the subject is nothing more than a “melody” borrowed by the artist to produce the “melody” of one’s own imagination and personality at will.

The originator of abstract photography was Terbo (1800—1877). At the beginning, the artwork still maintains a certain degree of recognizability. By 1917, the “Bordeaux Pictorial” taken by photographer Cobain (1882-1968) with wood chips and shards of transparent glass was completely unrecognizable. In 1922, the Hungarian abstract painter Moholinaki (1895-1976) developed on the basis of Man Rui (1890-1980) and others, and established it theoretically. Subsequently, abstract painters Kandinsky, Koehler, etc. introduced microphotography and X-ray photography, which greatly expanded the scope of expression of abstract photography, enriched the language of photographic art, established their own artistic system, and became popular in Europe and the United States and other countries.

 “Dadaist” Photography

“Dadaism” is a literary thought that appeared in Europe during the First World War. “Dada” was originally an incoherent vocabulary of “pony” or “toy horse” in French children’s language. Because Dada artists deny rationality and traditional culture in their creations, claim that art and aesthetics have no connection, advocate “abandoning painting and all aesthetic requirements”, and advocate nihilism, making creation almost ridiculous, so people call this art genre “Dada” send”.

Since Dada’s photographic art works do not meet people’s general aesthetic taste and aesthetic requirements, after 1924, they have gradually been impacted by the surrealist art school with clear and complete artistic tofu and program. But its influence can still be seen in the later modernist photography art.

The famous Dada photographers include Philip Halsman, Morgan, Lac Romo Holinaki and Listki.

Subjective photography

Subjectivist photography is a genre of photography art formed after World War II that is more “abstract” than abstract photography, so it is also called “post-war school”.

It is a reflection of existential philosophical trends in the field of photographic art. Its founder is German photographer Ot Steinette. He believes that “photography is a broad field that originally has its own ability to play, but also has a high degree of subjective action. But now it has become a kind of mechanical realism.” Therefore, he put forward the “artistic proposition of subjective photography art. It is strongly advocated that the ultimate of photography art should be to remind the photographer himself of certain obscure ideas and express unspeakable inner state and subconscious activities.” Subjective photography is personalized and personalized photography. . This is the art program of the genre. Subjective photography artists extremely emphasize their own creative personality and despise all existing art rules and aesthetic standards. This school of theorists publicly stated that “subjective photography is not just an experimental image art, but a free and unrestricted creative art.” “We can use any technical means to create photos.”

The Evolution of Western Body Photography

In the history of world art, there was a glorious period of body art in the Greek and European Renaissance. The photographic art born afterwards has experienced the shocking artistic expression of the objective reality at the beginning, and is full of exploration spirit and creativity. Photographers began to advance into the field of human photography. In 1857, the Swedish photographer and later living in the United Kingdom, Leidalan, took a picture of “Two Roads of Life” which was regarded as a classic in the history of photography. This picture is rich in plot and scenes, and uses a lot of human bodies. The theme of the work is to observe the good and punish the evil, centering on the elders on the white temples. The two groups of characters on both sides embody two different moral concepts, life ideals and life journeys. But it has also been attacked by a few people, saying that it uses so many naked women, its posture is rough and lewd, it is pornographic and so on. It can be seen that in ancient and modern times, in China and abroad, no matter how positive ideological significance or clever artistic treatment it is, body art will be criticized and attacked by some people. This is probably a regular response.

The development trend of western body photography is very obvious. While developing conventional and traditional human photography, it is also popular for expressing strong subjective feelings, modern photography language, creating works of various genres and styles, and even appearing deformity, cutting, reorganization, mystery, absurdity, and ugly artistic conception. Such as Jerry Usman’s symbolic human body photography, Roger Madin’s “The Random Human Body”, Todd Wolk’s primitive and huge body photography, Robert Henneschin and Qi Desu ·The cut and reorganized human body photography of Okhama, the absurdity human body photography of Lisli Kronas, the sexy human body photography of Ningda, Conradoni Mitchell, etc.

Photographic terminology

Image depth

The distance between the two imaging planes where the front and back boundaries of the depth of field are conjugated respectively. The image depth corresponds to the depth of field. The greater the image depth, the greater the depth of field.

The standard for determining the depth of field: the permissible blur circle diameter of the 135 camera is generally 1/30mm, which is 0.033mm.

Hyperfocal length:

When the lens is focused at infinity, the scene at infinity is formed into a clear image. At the same time, the object at a certain point in the finite distance can also reach the standard of clarity. Objects close to this point will be blurred. Then, the object will be blurred. The distance between the lenses is the hyperfocal distance.

Focal length:

The distance from the center of the lens to its focal point. The unit of focal length is usually expressed in mm (millimeters). The focal length of a lens is generally marked on the front of the lens, such as f=50mm (this is what we usually call a “standard lens”, because its angle of view is the same as that of the human eye. Called standard lens), the focal length of 28-70mm (our most commonly used lens) is the most suitable for shooting portraits, 70-210mm (telephoto lens), etc.

Aperture:

A device used to control the amount of light passing through the lens. The aperture is denoted by F, and there are f1.0, f1.4, f2.0, f2.8, f4.0, f5.6, f8.0, f11, f16, f22, f32, f44, f64.

Shutter

A device used to control the length of exposure time. Types are divided into mechanical shutter and electronic shutter.

In traditional mechanical cameras, the shutter generally uses three types: curtain shutter, inter-lens leaf shutter, and steel shutter. They are also used in current digital SLRs, while electronic shutters are mostly used in mirrorless cameras, card cameras, and mobile phone cameras. In the module. Among them, curtain shutters can be divided into vertical-traveling curtain shutters and horizontal-traveling curtain shutters. The steel shutter can reach higher speeds (currently the highest shutter speed can reach more than 1/12000 second). The maximum speed of the inter-lens leaf shutter generally does not exceed 1/500 second, but the biggest advantage of the inter-lens leaf shutter is that the noise generated during shooting is extremely low, which is very conducive to sneak shots, and can achieve synchronized flashing in the full speed range.

Shutter speed

The time the shutter is open. It refers to the time (exposure time) that light passes through the film. For example, “1/30” means the exposure time is 1/30 second. Similarly, “1/60” means the exposure time is 1/60 second. The shutter speed of 1/60 second is twice the shutter speed of 1/30 second. . The rest can be deduced by analogy.

Note: Some materials refer to the shutter speed as the shutter time. The names of the two are different, but the meaning is the same, and both refer to the time the shutter opens.

Depth of field

The range of relatively clear images. The depth of field depends on three factors: the focal length of the lens, the distance between the camera and the subject, and the aperture used. The relationship between depth of field and the above three is: (1) The longer the focal length, the shorter the depth of field; the shorter the focal length, the longer the depth of field (for example: at the same aperture and distance, the depth of field of a 28mm lens is much greater than 70mm The depth of field of the lens); (2) The closer the distance, the shorter the depth of field, the farther the distance, the longer the depth of field (for example: under the same focal length and aperture, the depth of field of the subject at 10 meters is much larger than the subject Depth of field at 1 meter); (3) The larger the aperture, the shorter the depth of field, the smaller the aperture, and the longer the depth of field (e.g. at the same focal length and distance, the depth of field at the aperture of F16 is much larger than the aperture Is the depth of field at F4).

Photography Category

Art photography

With the development, people continue to add artistic elements in photography and begin to produce artistic photography. The difference between it and documentary photography lies in the degree and level of artistry, and there is no absolute limit. For example: we go to take a photo as an ID card or keep a souvenir. The photos taken in general photo studios have at most some information or record value. However, the portraits taken by Mr. Zheng Jingkang of Mr. Qi Baishi, 50 years later, are still one of the 20 best portraits in the world. The difference lies entirely in the level of artistry. The effect of artistic photography is more beautiful, because it not only requires technology, but also finds the time, place and angle of the shooting.

Pictorial photography

Pictorial photography has always been an important way of expression in portrait photography with its beautiful picture language and beautiful design connotation. In the second half of the 19th century, British photographer Leilanda shot a work that was predicted to be “the coming of a new era of photography”-“The Two Roads of Life”. When photography was still underestimated, this work was Its persuasive themes and oil painting-like composition were highly praised by Queen Victoria. It can be said that Leilanda has contributed to the advancement of the art of photography. Since then, pictorial photography has gradually become an important genre in the art of photography.

Commercial Photography

Commercial photography, as the name implies, refers to photography activities carried out for commercial purposes. In a narrow sense, it is commercial photography. In a broad sense, it is a type of photography for publishing products or writing stories. This type of photography is extremely important in today’s photography activities. This kind of photography exists for commercial interests, and it is more restrictive to shoot in accordance with the requirements of the enterprise.

Ink photography

Like traditional ink paintings, ink photography works currently on the market can be divided into landscapes, flowers and birds, and artistic conceptions according to themes, corresponding to landscape paintings and flower and bird paintings in Chinese painting. According to technique and artistic conception, it can be divided into abstract and concrete, corresponding to the freehand brushwork and fine brushwork in traditional Chinese painting. Although the ink-and-wash style photographic photos are unavoidable for post-processing using software such as Photoshop, this does not mean that the original photos can be arbitrarily distorted. Good ink photography works should modify the original photos as little as possible. It tests the photographer’s composition and ability to capture light and shadow.

Holography

Holographic photography refers to a new type of photography technology that records all the information about the amplitude and position of the reflected wave of the subject. Ordinary photography is to record the distribution of strong light on the surface of the object. It cannot record the phase information of the reflected light from the object, so it loses the sense of three-dimensionality. Holography uses laser light as the illumination source, and divides the light emitted by the light source into two beams, one beam is directly directed to the photosensitive film, and the other beam is reflected by the subject and then directed to the photosensitive film.

The human eye can only see the interference fringes like fingerprints when looking directly at this photosensitive film, but if the laser is used to irradiate it, the human eye can see the same three-dimensional image of the original object through the film. Even if only a small part of a holographic image is left, the entire scene can still be reproduced. Holographic photography can be applied to many aspects such as non-destructive flaw detection, ultrasonic holography, holographic microscope, holographic memory, holographic film and television in industry.

Photography genre

Pictorial photography

Pictorial photography is an art genre popular in the field of photography in the early 20th century. It was produced in England in the middle of the 19th century.

The photographers of this school pursue the effect of painting, or the realm of “poetic and picturesque” in their creation. It roughly experienced three stages: the stage of imitation painting; the stage of advocating Quya; the stage of painting meaning.

The pictorialist photographer proposed, “Raphael and Titian should be produced.”

Pictorialism photography has gone through a long period of development. The first pictorialist photographer was British painter Hille (1802-1870). He was good at portrait photography, with rigorous structure and elegant modeling. From 1851 to 1853, it was the period of growth of pictorialist photography. In 1869, the British photographer HP Robinson (1830-1901) published a book on the pictorial effects of photography. He proposed: “Photographers must have rich emotions and in-depth artistic knowledge in order to become good photographers. Undoubtedly The continuous improvement and invention of photography have revealed higher goals, because no matter how sophisticated and complete photography itself is, it is only a way to lead to higher goals.” It laid the theoretical foundation for the school.

In 1857, OG Leiland (1813—1875) created a Renaissance-style work composed of more than 30 negatives, “The Two Roads of Life”: Two Ways of Life, symbolizing painterlyism Maturity in photographic art.

The works of this period are mostly religious and contain a certain degree of metaphor. When shooting, the sketches are made in advance, and then the models and props are used to organize and arrange the scenes, and processed through the darkroom. Pursue the painting effect of the photo frame.

Subsequently, the content of pictorial photography has expanded, but the style still advocates classicism, and the modeling and composition still follow the rules of the academic school, so it appears to be reserved, calm and elegant.

When the genre develops to the stage of painting, the pursuit of the beauty of the emotion, artistic conception and form of the work is still its characteristic.

As the pictorialist photographer emphasizes artistic accomplishment: “If you want photography to have a position in art, photographers must first cultivate aesthetic ability and cultivate real artistic accomplishment.” So his historical merit is to mechanically take photography from the beginning. The description object is guided to the field of plastic art, which promotes the development of photographic art.

As most of the creations of painting doctrine are divorced from real life, coupled with the ever-improving photographic equipment, the continuous development of people’s aesthetic taste is impacted by “naturalism”. Despite this, it still has its place in the hall of photography art today.

The main photographers and works of this first-class school include: “The Banquet of the Baron” by Pleasant (?—1896), “Robinson Crusoe”, “Pagoda Scene”; Robin Lin’s “When the day is over “, “Autumn”, “Two Little Girls”, “Miryu”, “Juliet with a Poison Bottle”, “Dawn and Sunset”, “Leyland Baptist Covenant, the Head of the Sunrise”, “Iphijini” “Ya”, “Udit and Holofernes”, “Lady Cameron” (1815-1897) Tom Carlisle and Nida (1820-1910) “Russian at the End of the Day” and so on.

Impressionist photography

In 1899, Britain held the first exhibition of French Impressionist paintings. Under his influence, the pictorialist photographer Robinson proposed the aesthetic standard of “soft-key photography is more beautiful than sharp photography” and advocated “soft-key” photography. This genre is a reflection of painting impressionism in the field of photographic art.

At the beginning, they used a soft focus lens to shoot, printed on cloth paper, and pursued a blurry and hazy artistic expression effect. With the emergence of the “silver bromide phase washing method” and the method of mixing dichromic acid gelatinized paper into the pigment, the impressionist works developed from the control of lens imaging to the darkroom processing. They proposed “to make the work look completely unlike photos”, and believed that “if there is no painting, there is no real photography.”

Under the guidance of this theory, the impressionist photographers also used brushes, pencils and erasers to process the photographs, deliberately changing the original light and dark changes, and pursuing the effect of “painting”, such as La Croya’s “Sweeping” in 1900 “Man in the Park” is like a charcoal drawing on a canvas. Impressionist photographers have completely lost the characteristics of photography art in their works, so some people call it “parody”. It can be said that it is a branch of pictorial photography.

The artistic characteristics of this first-class school are melancholic tone, rough shading, rich decoration, but lack of space. His famous photographers include Dumas (?—1937), Pujo (1857—1933), Qiu En (1866—1944), Wacek (1848—1903), and the Hofmeister Brothers (1868—1943). 1871—1937), Durkov (1848—1918), Eftel (1874—1948), Mizunner (1870—1943), Xin Tun (1863-1908), Chiri (1861-1947), etc..

Realistic photography

Realistic photography is a long-standing photographic genre, which continues to this day and is still the basic and main genre in photographic art. It is a reflection of realistic creative methods in the field of photographic art.

Photography artists of this genre abide by the documentary characteristics of photography in their creation. In their view, photography should have the fidelity of “equal with nature itself”, and every detail in the picture has only “mathematical accuracy”. Only works can exert the infectious and persuasive power that other art media do not possess. A. Stiglitz once said: “Only discussing loyalty is our mission.” On the other hand, they oppose the indifferent and purely objective reflection of the object like a mirror. The things reflected should have the artist’s own aesthetic judgment. The famous realist photographer Lewis Hein once said this famous saying: “I want to expose those things that should be corrected; at the same time, I want to reflect those things that should be praised.” It can be seen that they advocating art should “reflect life”. They dare to face reality, and most of their creative themes are taken from social life. The artistic style is simple and unpretentious, but it has strong testimony and prompting power.

The earliest photorealistic hobby was the collodion documentary filmed by British photographer Philip Delamotte in 1853. Later, there were Ross Fenton’s battlefield photography and William Jackson’s Yellowstone wonders in the late 1960s. After 1870, realistic photography gradually matured, and began to shift the lens to society and life. For example, the photographer at the time, Dr. Barnado, photographed the tragic situation of street children, which shocked people.

Subsequently, realism photographers appeared in large numbers, and their works are well-known in the history of photography for their strong reality and profoundness. For example, the British Brand’s “Coal Picker”, the United States R. Capa’s “A French woman with a shaved head is walking on the street”, (France) Weiss’s “Girl”, etc., to name a few.

Naturalistic photography

In 1898, the photographer Peter Henry Emerson published a paper entitled “Naturalist Photography” in view of the weaknesses of painterly creation, criticizing painterly photography as fragmented photography and advocating photographers to return to nature. To find creative inspiration. He believes that nature is the beginning and end of art, and only the art that is closest to nature and resembles nature is the highest art. He said that there is no art that reflects nature more accurately, meticulously, and faithfully than photography. “Emotionally and psychologically, the effect of photography hobbies lies in the unmodified lens scene recorded by photosensitive materials.” I sent another master, A.L. Paqiu, to make it more clear: “Fine art should be left to artists. As far as our photography is concerned, there is nothing to rely on fine art, and we should engage in independent creation.”

It can be seen that this kind of artistic proposition is a reaction to painterlyism. It urges people to free photography from the shackles of the academic school, and promotes the full use of photography’s own characteristics.

Most of the creative subjects of this first-class school are natural scenery and social life.

Since naturalistic photography is satisfied with describing the surface reality of reality and the “absolute” reality of details, it ignores the exploration of the essence of reality and the refinement of surface objects. In a word, it does not pay attention to the typification of artistic creation and the typification of artistic images. Therefore, it is essentially the vulgarization of realism. Sometimes it leads to a distortion of reality.

Purist photography

Purist photography is a genre of photographic art that matured in the early 20th century. Its founder was the American photographer Stiglitz (1864—1946). They advocated that the art of photography should give play to the characteristics and performance of photography itself, free it from the influence of painting, and use pure photography techniques to pursue the unique aesthetic effects of photography—highly clear, rich tonal levels, and subtle. The light and shadow changes, the pure black and white tone, the meticulous texture performance, and the precise image depiction. In short, the photographers of this school deliberately pursue the so-called “photographic quality”: accurately, directly, subtly and naturally to express the light, c

olor, line, shape, texture and quality of the subject without resorting to any other plastic arts. Medium.

“Overlooking New York” presented by Cobain in 1913 is a masterpiece of the purists. The photographer overlooks a certain square in New York from a height. Although there is no processing or modification, the novel composition and unique shape are refreshing. Another example is E Stein’s K Sandberg, who uses multiple exposures. The technique has restricted the space and time of a single piece of work, and delicately portrays the poet’s emotional transformation, the combination of tones and the change of composition in one picture, which has a great sense of rhythm.

From a certain point of view, some of the purists’ claims and creations are the “hybrid” of formalism and naturalism, which later evolved into “new materialism”. However, this genre has promoted people’s exploration and research on photography characteristics and performance skills to a certain extent.

The famous photographers of this class are Strand (1890-1976) and photographers in the F64 group photography organization, such as Adams and Cunningham.

The works of the Purists in the later period developed to the abstract aspects of lines, patterns and distorted images. Its influential photographers are Yabo, Steiner, Stottvin, and Evans.

(To Be Continued)

Types of Photographic Lighting Equipment

1. Ledsfilm LS-BCL Bi-color series LED spotlight: adjustable brightness and color temperature, light color can be adjusted without color paper, low heat generation, LED screen display parameters.
2. Tungsten filament floodlight: 3200K color temperature open floodlight.
3. Ledsfilm SPL series of Fesnier lens spotlights: 3200K~5700K color temperature LED light, adjustable condensing degree, through the Fesnier lens to achieve the condensing effect.
4. Ledsfilm HLD series LED video light: The most commonly used light for news interviews and studios, and can be equipped with 3200K color temperature and 5500K color temperature lamps.
5. LED Fresnel camera spotlight head: portable news interview lamp produced by Ledsfilm, AC/DC dual power supply.
6. LED camera headlights: used for close-range news interviews and shooting. To
7. LED portable light for outdoor shooting: adjustable brightness and color temperature, battery-powered.
8. Soft light box: A single internal light source cooperates with a soft cover to achieve a soft light effect.

Photographic Metering

Multi-zone metering

Multi-zone metering is also called evaluative metering, which divides the screen into several regions. Reorganize them after independent calculations. To obtain a complete exposure value, the multi-zone metering method often gives priority to the main target being focused, because in most cases, the main target of focusing is the part that needs to be correctly exposed.

With multi-area metering, even people who don’t know anything about photography can easily obtain accurate exposure results. Therefore, multi-area metering is currently a relatively advanced and popular metering method, and it is also the default metering method for current high-level automatic cameras.

 

Center-weighted average metering

Center-weighted average metering is a metering mode commonly used by most cameras, and it is also widely used. Center-weighted metering means that the exposure reading is most affected by the central area and least affected by the four corners of the screen. Usually center-weighted metering is more sensitive to 2/3 of the center of the screen. Some cameras pay attention to the bottom of the screen to reduce The influence of the sky on the scenery.

Under normal shooting conditions, center-weighted metering is a very practical metering style, but if the subject of the screen is not in the center or is shot against the light, it may cause metering errors.

 

Spot metering

Spot metering, also known as spot metering, is to meter 1%-5% of the viewfinder area. Spot metering mode is rarely used and difficult to master. But in some cases, spot metering can play an important role.

 

Understand the circumstances under which spot metering should be used and the correct use of spot metering. On the one hand, the subject can be accurately exposed, and on the other hand, the “sensitivity tolerance” can be used to create wonderful pictures that cannot be seen in reality.

Application of spot metering mode: the situation where the light distribution is uneven and the contrast is great, such as under backlight. If spot metering is not used in this situation, the exposure of the subject to be expressed may be inaccurate, and the subject will become a silhouette when it is too bright , The picture is whitish without gradation or too dark to see the details.

What is Photography

The term photography is derived from the Greek word φῶς English: phos (light) and γραφι English: graphis (painting, drawing) or γραφή graphê, the two words together mean “drawing with light”. Photography refers to the process of using a certain special equipment to record images. Generally, we use a mechanical camera or a digital camera for photography. Sometimes photography is also called photography, that is, the process of exposing the photosensitive medium through the light emitted or reflected by the object. An incisive language that someone has said: The ability of a photographer is to transform the fleeting and ordinary things in daily life into immortal visual images.

Citation Explanation of Photography

1. Take pictures, make movies or TV. Zheng Ze, “Reenzi Autumn Blunt Temple Invited Photographs and Poems Presented”: “Photography Ji Shengyou, either left or right.” Hong Shen’s “Film and Drama Performance” Chapter 1: “Drama cannot be like life Some of the photographs reflect the scenery undistortedly.” Such as: studio.
2. Refers to photos. The eleventh chapter of “Nie Hai Hua”: “Chang Ru opened it and saw it, and then opened the paper bag, but it was densely wrapped, until the last layer, the one-foot-large Western French photograph was exposed. There are two pieces on the top. A beautiful Western woman.”
3. The extension refers to the truthful reflection. Huang Ren’s “Preface to Qing Wenhui”: “There is a generation of political and religious customs, and there is a generation of academic thought. It’s written in Japanese.”
4. Photography is a photographic applied science produced with the formation and development of traditional photographic technology. Based on photographic optics, photographic chemistry and electronic technology, it has formed a unique photographing system in long-term practice.

Exposure Process

When taking pictures, light enters the cassette through a small hole (more often a lens group), and forms an image on the medium on the back of the cassette (relative to the light incident direction). Depending on the actual light intensity and the light sensitivity of the medium, the required light time is also different. During the illumination process, the medium is exposed to light.

Post-production

After the photography is completed, the image information stored in the medium must be converted and read by the human eye again. The specific method depends on the photosensitive means and the characteristics of the medium. For film cameras, there will be chemical processes such as fixing, developing, and amplifying. For digital cameras, the pictures need to be processed by a computer, and then output through other electronic devices.

Equipment used

Generally speaking, people use visible light to take pictures, and the most commonly used is a camera. There are many categories of cameras due to different scenes and uses. Generally speaking, a camera must have several basic parts to ensure the exposure process, including: photosensitive medium, imaging lens, exposure time control mechanism, film cassette, storage medium, electronic photoreceptor, and electronic storage medium.

A Brief History of Photography

On May 5, 1842, a fire broke out in Hamburg, Germany. The fire burned for four consecutive days. Biuwu and Stelzner rushed to the fire site and took many photos of the ruins. Later, most of them were separated and only survived. One picture. This shooting and this photo are the world’s first photojournalism and the first press photo that is recognized today.

The birth of photography came into being with the development of European capitalism. For more than 150 years, it has experienced a process of development from simple to complex, from low speed to high speed, and from manual to automated direction, but it has never been separated from its origins. , The traditional mode of camera and film is always inseparable, passed on from generation to generation until today.

For more than 100 years, people have been struggling to find a new photosensitive material and a more convenient and practical photography method to replace the complicated, outdated and backward traditional photography method. Since the end of the 20th century, with the rapid popularization of computers in various fields, the digital age has come, bringing new impacts to people’s work and life, and the emergence of digital cameras have opened up a world of rich digital images. The birth of digital cameras has fundamentally changed the traditional photography technology and photography system. It not only affects and changes the management concepts, management methods, management and service quality of the photography industry, but also leads to the creative concepts and creations of every photographer. Method update. It can be said that digital photography is a very eye-catching revolution in the field of photography technology at the turn of the century.

Digital photography has created new opportunities for the development of photojournalism, pictures and other types of photography. In the transition period of old and new technologies, whether we can respond quickly, cut in early, and fully enjoy the creative pleasure that high-tech provides to mankind is also our photography. New issues facing workers.

The birth of digital photography has launched a severe challenge to traditional photography, forcing us to start from scratch to understand digital cameras. The digital camera is composed of countless 0s and 1s arranged together in a computer or electronic device. In layman’s terms, a digital camera uses electronic components (usually CCD or CMOS) instead of film as a photosensitive material and saves the images recorded by the object in digital form in a memory card that can be reused many times. camera. The rest is left to the computer (also known as the “electronic darkroom”) to complete.

Modern society has entered the digital age. With the computerization of image processing, the communication satelliteization of transmission methods, and the development of a large number of colorization trends, it is bound to bring new prosperity and development to photojournalism, especially in China. The application of cameras in photojournalism is still in a period of ascent and development. Photojournalism will make full use of the powerful advantages of computers to play a new unique and important role in the field of information dissemination with a new look and attitude.

Photography Category

Still Life Photography

Still life photography is opposite to portrait photography and landscape photography. It uses lifelessness (this lifelessness is a relative concept, such as fish and shrimp caught from the sea, and fruits and fruits that have been removed), and objects that can be freely moved or combined by humans. Photography. Most of the shooting subjects are industrial or hand-made products, natural inanimate objects, etc. On the basis of truly reflecting the inherent characteristics of the subject, through creative conception, combined with composition, light, tone, color and other photography methods for artistic creation, the subject is expressed as a photographic work with artistic beauty. This is called still life photography.

 

Still life photography has a broad world in terms of material selection. After choosing the right material, you can deal with these objects as you like, because the subject is inanimate and can be moved at the mercy of multiple angles to achieve creative intent. Still life photography has two major advantages: First, it is a deepening process to further appreciate the artistic vision. When some ordinary objects are taken into fascinating photos, it is actually the process of in-depth learning and observation of these objects. Secondly, shooting still life can gain more practical photography knowledge. For photographers, the difficulty of still life photography lies in its unique composition. After arranging the subject, you must choose the shooting angle, be creative in the use of light, and then apply the actual photography knowledge and basic principles learned from still life photography to daily photography.

Portrait Photography

Portrait photography is different from general portrait photography: portrait photography takes portraying and expressing the subject’s specific appearance and demeanor as its primary creative task. Although some portrait photography also contains a certain plot, it still expresses the subject’s Appearance is the main focus, and quite a few portrait photography works only describe the image of the subject without a specific plot. The portrait photography is mainly to show the events and activities in which the subject is involved, and its main task is to express the specific plot, rather than to express the subject’s appearance and demeanor with a clear image. The important difference between the two lies in whether to portray the appearance of the characters in detail.

Whether it’s a single person or a group of people, whether it’s captured on site or posing in a photo studio, regardless of whether there is a plot or not, as long as it is a photo that mainly shows the subject’s specific appearance and mental state , All belong to the category of portrait photography. The activities and plots that mainly show characters reflect certain life themes, and the photographic works whose subject’s appearance is not very prominent, whether it is close-up or full-body, can only belong to the category of character photography. Of course, in a broad sense, portrait photography is about people, and it also belongs to portrait photography. Portrait photography is to portray and depict the appearance and demeanor of the subject as its own performance task, and the characters should have a clear appearance. It is divided into three categories: studio portraits, indoor specific environment portraits and outdoor portraits. The requirement of portrait photography is to have both form and spirit.

Documentary Photography

Recording photography refers to photographic photography that takes record as the primary purpose and reflects the true image of objective things. Photography was born for the purpose of recording. The powerful vitality shown after its birth is precisely its recording function. This is unmatched or replaced by other technologies or arts. Therefore, in a broad sense, photography is recording. The result of recording photography is a video recording work.

Correspondingly, video recording works include video news works and video documentary works. The purpose of recording photography (which may not be the only one, but the primary purpose) is to record; the premise is to respect objective reality; the object is the appearance of objective things; the recording method is to reproduce the image by photography. According to the way of recording images and the value they pursue, recording photography is divided into news photography and documentary photography.

(To be continued)

Application of light in film and television shooting

In film and television works, whether the use of tone and light is appropriate or not often determines the success or failure of the whole work.

There are six most important elements and means in the creation of pictures: light, movement, composition, color, scene and angle. As one of the most important artistic means, light is the soul of film and television picture creation. The information transmission of every shot depends on the expression and transmission of light. People can change from the physiological field of retina to the psychological field of image thinking, and all of them can be understood from the light. So light is the basis of visual information and visual modeling of lens picture. Cameramen must pay attention to both technology and skills in the selection, utilization and reproduction of light. Only in this way, the light effect of the finished picture will be prominent, and the visual form will be vivid, i.e., first of all, let the audience capture the visual beauty in the external form of the picture and the visual effect of the light, and at the same time feel the existence of the light as the soul and the pursuit of aestheticism in technology.

The function of light in photography

Light has its special functions: to complete the exposure work of the photographic picture and establish the image; to control the brightness level and contrast relationship of the picture; to determine the atmosphere effect of the scene; to highlight and emphasize the modeling characteristics of people and scenery; to determine the visual tone for the film; to reveal the visual characteristics of the subject such as shape, volume, outline, shape and size; to form a certain light and dark tone effect It can help the composition of the picture, create the environment, display the characteristics of the environment and spatial relations, and form the visual modeling style of the picture.

In today’s film and television creation, light should have its distinctiveness, sense of form, sense of atmosphere, sense of beauty, so that the audience can identify physically and psychologically, which should become an essential ultimate goal of visual media. Light is a necessary condition for television camera to obtain images, which makes accurate exposure possible. At the same time, it can also play an important role in expressing characters, shaping scenes, and creating environmental atmosphere. It can be said that light is the life of the art of television photography.

The lighting of a film is very elegant, and there are strict rules for how to arrange the light. The focus of lighting, the intensity and angle of light are very selective. The director can control the audience’s attention through the direction of the spotlight. The lighting of the film is rarely static, no matter the camera or the subject moves slightly, the light consumption will change greatly. Sometimes it takes a long time to make a film.

In many factors, it is necessary to do a lot of complicated work in terms of the conversion of each lens and lighting. The photographer must estimate every change due to the movement in each shooting. Different colors, shapes and structures reflect or absorb different amounts of light. If the subject is in the depth of field, the situation is more complicated. Because the lighting must also be in the depth of field, in the color picture, the bright and dark effect is often not prominent, the shadow is diluted, the image appears dull, and the depth disappears.

Lighting style

There are many different styles of lighting. With the different theme and style of the film, the lighting also has a different tone. For example, comedy films and musical films generally use high-key lighting, the pictures are bright, and there are few shadows. Tragedies and melodramas use a high contrast tone with stiff light, sometimes with thick black stripes, mystery films and horror films are usually low-key, with blurred pictures and a large area of shadow background, mostly rain, which makes the atmosphere of mystery and terror more intense. For example, the scene of the film “seven crimes” begins with the first homicide on a rainy day, and the two policemen meet in the corridor with a large area of shadow, which sets the tone for the mystery and strangeness of the whole film.

Lighting uses a certain tone, which is just a general statement. Sometimes there are several kinds of mixed use of tones in the picture. For example, the background is low-key, but some high contrast elements can be added in the foreground. For example, three stories in Steven Spielberg’s “drug trafficking network” use three different tones to distinguish different time and space. Generally, the films made in the studio are full of dramatic color, while the scene light is often used in the outdoor shooting, which makes it more natural.

As far as the use of light is concerned, it can also be divided into realism and expressionism. Realists tend to use more real-time lighting at least in the field. But even when shooting outdoors, most directors still use some lights and reflectors to enhance natural light or reduce the contrast between light and dark under bright sunlight. There are also some directors who like to use special lenses and techniques, not artificial light sources at all. In the film shot by spot light, the image of the characters is like a documentary, with thick and hard lines and a lack of softness. When shooting interior scenes, realists like to use obvious light sources, such as sunlight or lights outside the window. They often use astigmatism to avoid artificial strong contrast. In a word, realism doesn’t need any noticeable light source, unless the plot clearly stipulates such a requirement.

Formalists use light in a totally different way. They often exaggerate according to the meaning and meaning of the symbol, which is the change of nature by natural light. Using low angle light to illuminate the performer’s face, even if the actor does not perform, it will produce a sinister dramatic effect; if it is blocked in front of the light source, it will have a terrifying effect and make the audience feel uneasy. On the other hand, in some occasions, especially when shooting location, such as the use of silhouette, it will produce soft and romantic artistic taste.

Images in the spotlight can produce a strong contrast between light and shade, but also distortion. Formalistic directors often use strong contrast in order to achieve psychological and subject-required goals.

Sometimes the director deliberately enlarges the aperture of the camera to make the film overexposed, resulting in the whole picture whitening. Overexposure is used to show dreamy scenes, which is very effective. Sometimes this technique will produce a terrifying effect and become an exaggerated artistic technique .

As a technical condition and an extremely important modeling element and means, light must have a complete overall design at the beginning of creation. Just as an artist has a clear orientation for the relationship between characters, scenes, clothing and colors, he has a clear vein design for the whole light (mainly artificial light). Lighting design should be stylized on the whole, in the scene should be typical, in the specific modeling should be detailed.

In short, use environmental light effects to create a narrative theme survival state, use meaningful light and shadow and atmosphere to supplement the defects of the space, use formal light and shade to strengthen the composition relationship, and use subjective and conscious light-dark relationships to construct clear visual pictures. It has become the common purpose of film and television creators.

The influence of painting tradition on the application of light

All light has its own color (a beam of light refracted by a prism can be divided into seven colors). The generation and change of any color cannot do without light.

The creative conception and artistic expression of film art are always accompanied by the means and charm of light. The thinking of the play, the director’s overall design and scene handling, the actors’ actions and expressions are all closely related to the existence and restriction of light. With the evolution of the world film form, the effect, technique and aesthetic consciousness of light in the film are constantly evolving, forming the concept of light corresponding to the film concept and film language in different periods. The study of the concept of light in film is also an in-depth study of the nature of film. This proposition is not only the category of film entity aesthetics, but also the category of film form aesthetics.

First of all, we should pay attention to the influence of painting tradition on the concept of film light. From the Renaissance movement in Europe to the end of the 19th century, the concept of light in painting developed and evolved. From the works of Italian Renaissance masters, we can see the strong desire and achievements of human beings to pursue the means of expression of light and color, as well as the limitations of the understanding of the law of light in painting at that time. Botticelli and Da Vinci Michelangelo’s paintings have perfect shape and overall color, but the concept of light is still in the great enlightenment stage.

The characteristic of the light concept marked by Rembrandt’s art is to solve the problem of object expression under the specific indoor light source. It was not until the Impressionism period of European painting in the late 19th century that human beings really understood and freely mastered the light color relationship under the outdoor natural light source. The contribution of Impressionism is to liberate human beings from the frame of brown classical painting and go to the sunny nature. Their endless training in different light conditions for the same object is a thorough experiment to simulate the natural light effect before the camera was born.

After the early period of no light effect, the film entered the stage of dramatic light. As a complete photographic style, dramatic lighting was formed in the period of sound film. The emergence of sound and the free and extensive use of lines made the film close to drama again, and the conflict law became the main form of film structure in this period. The dramatic light effect in photography is derived from this film form.

According to the viewpoint and aesthetic taste of traditional drama or painting art, it uses lighting tools (or processing of natural light) to create an effect with specific modeling intention. It does not pay attention to the basis of the light source and the reproduction of the natural form of light effect, but more emphasis on its artificial effect to serve the specific drama content. For this reason, it uses a lot of light or decorative light, even for a certain detail (such as a look or a garment pattern).

Dramatic lighting has played a favorable role in promoting the development of film art and enriching the expressive force of film modeling. However, the excessive dependence and infatuation on the strong artificial light effect has become the tendency of Hollywood people to dramatize. The resulting aesthetic taste and the concept of light use is a kind of rigid artificial mode, which in turn hinders the evolution of artistic skills and cognitive functions, and fully illustrates the rationality and inevitability of the evolution from dramatic light effect to natural light effect.

It is the practice of Italian Neo realism that leads to the appearance of natural light effect in films as a kind of concept. The importance of this film school lies in the guidance of a clear aesthetic program. In addition to the documentary features in theme, theme, drama actors and so on, the aesthetic requirement of this school in photography is natural light effect. The light effect of the picture is almost the true representation of the light distribution in the natural form. The direction of light source, the configuration of light and shadow, and the ratio of light and shade are similar to the light in real life. There are few false light effects, and decorative light is rarely used. This makes light a very harmonious factor in the unified and complete documentary style.

In contemporary films, light effect has been more widely used, even in new forms such as animation and animated films. In animation, lighting can be a subjective, imposed, or even “random” modeling element: the light conditions in a scene or even a lens can change. For example, in the mirror language system of the prince of Egypt, there are many places where the lamp positions are not unified in one scene. In lens 1 of the opening paragraph, the deep shadow of the head of the Pharaon in the background is the obvious top light effect; however, in lens 2, the light effect is bright, so it is obviously impossible to have the top light source of the previous lens.

Another example is the meeting between sister and Moses. The whole scene is cold blue. Only when sister starts to sing a lullaby, the sister in the camera suddenly appears in a warm light. When Moses stops at the pillar on the cold way back to the palace and begins to sing monologue, the subjective and sudden light hits his face to depict the psychology of the characters at this time. This kind of illogical, subjective and arbitrary lighting treatment, if used in feature films, will not only make the audience feel false, but also is not easy to realize in technology.