Advanced portrait photography, how to choose a composition method.
The composition is to coordinate the characters and environment elements in one picture as much as possible by adjusting the distance, angle, position, light and shadow and color of the shooting. For portrait photography, composition is to highlight the theme of the work through various methods, highlight the characters, discard some cumbersome secondary things, and better convey the information of the photographer.
Common composition method
Golden section composition
The basic theory of the golden section composition method comes from the golden ratio - 1:1.618. The golden ratio is mainly intended to express "harmony", for example, in the fields of architecture, painting, fashion design and so on. Using a golden ratio in photography can make photos feel more natural, comfortable, and more appealing to viewers. There are many ways to express the composition of the golden section of the photographic composition. The most commonly used composition includes the "golden spiral" and the "golden nine squares".
The outdoor photography network (ODPU.NET) believes that this photo is a composition method using the golden nine-square grid. It is shot in the sunset, and the backlight is just protruding the characters in the background. The subject is at the intersection of the golden ratio, sea level. The position is also at the horizontal line of the golden ratio, and the direction of the ship is consistent with the line of sight of the model, just in the diagonal position, so that the picture has an extended visual effect.
Tripartite composition
The trichotomy composition is actually just a simplified version of the "Golden Section", also known as the Nine-Piece Lattice, which we can often see in the camera's built-in reference line. The composition of the three-way method can be divided into two types: the horizontal three-point method and the vertical three-point method. When shooting a portrait, divide the horizontal and vertical averaging into three equal parts. The main body torso can be placed on each dividing line, and placing the character at one of its four intersections can be more vividly Highlight the subject.
This picture is a medium-sized picture, with the characters placed on the right side of the intersection to make the picture feel comfortable and quiet. The back shots remove the expression of the characters and make the viewer more imaginative.
The three-point composition method is not only suitable for shooting large scenes. It can also be used when shooting close-ups and partial close-ups. The center of vision is placed at the intersection. When the person is close-up, the eyes are usually placed at the intersection.
The strong color of the clothes and the body, as well as the extension of the legs with the dividing line, makes it easy to focus on the red clothes. This is to use the color, point, line and other means to guide the viewer's visual center.
Triangle composition
Triangle composition is a typical form of composition in portrait photography, divided into regular triangles, inverted triangles and oblique triangles. At the time of shooting, the limbs or the action postures of the subject are combined to form a triangle. This kind of composition has a strong sense of stability and an upward impact. The face of a person is usually located at the top of the triangle as the center of vision. It is the most common form of composition for portraits.
The model's action of tidying up the socks is such that the head, the feet and the hips are naturally triangular segments, so that the visual center of gravity is naturally concentrated in the area of the triangle, and the backlight also creates a transparent atmosphere for the picture.
The triangle composition can be realized not only by the limb movement, but also by the clothes props, etc. The model's arm and the blown hair are exactly in the shape of a triangle with a stable triangle.
Guide line composition
It uses the lines to guide the viewer's gaze and create a sense of depth in the picture. The guide line is not necessarily a specific line, but any directional, continuous thing can be called a guide line. In reality, roads, rivers, colors, shadows, and even human eyes can be used as guides.
The picture above shows that the Zhongqiao Cave extends in a curved shape, and the changes in the foreground and the back view caused by the lines enhance the depth of the picture and are interesting.
Diagonal composition also belongs to one of the guide line compositions. The guide lines are distributed along the diagonal direction of the picture, which becomes a diagonal composition. In the above picture, this is not a specific line composition. When the model is lying down, the body is mainly on the diagonal of the picture, and the hand is placed on the top of the head to further extend the line.
Blank composition
The blank is to leave a certain blank for the picture when composing the picture. In fact, this blank is not a blank in the actual sense. It usually shows through the large-scale scenes of the same color in the environment, such as the sky, the sea, the mountains, the grasslands, the land... The white space can make the picture more comfortable and natural in the visual. The photographer can use the white space to better control the rhythm and mood of the picture, leaving the viewer with more imagination to feel the artistic conception.
The above picture is a commonly used method of white space in the perspective. The three-point composition is used to make a large part of the sky in the sky. Chinese painting is the most important way to leave a blank, so the ancient style of white space can be used to reflect the tranquility and long-distance feeling.
In the background of the picture, the sky merges with the lake water, and it is also a large area of white space. The movement of the model is a kind of dynamic, although it is a central composition, but the combination of motion and static is also rich in the content of the picture.
Compact composition
This kind of composition is applied to a photo in which the main body of the character occupies a large range of the picture, which makes the picture full, and is often used for close-range shooting. The eyes of the character are in the position of the picture, so that the whole character is full of pictures.
Match foreground composition
There are many applications for portrait photography in the foreground. Photographers pay more attention to the foreground than the background. Generally, there are two kinds of foreground composition. One is to use the foreground to render the atmosphere of the picture, usually covered with flowers, leaves or other things. The foreground, using a large aperture to blur the foreground, not only highlights the subject to add a sense of space to the picture, but also makes the picture more dreamy and feminine. The other is to make the picture more story-like foreground composition, appropriate use of small aperture, the combination of virtual and real and then explain the prospects while highlighting the key points.
Frame-style composition is also one of the foreground applications. The window of the tent constitutes a solid frame. The foreground of the blur gives a feeling of beauty, and the picture layer is richer, which enhances the sense of space of the picture.
If there is no front spot of the leaves, only the stairs and characters are very boring, and the foreground is used to explain the seasonal atmosphere. The contrast between the colors and the contrast between the real and the vivid makes the picture more vivid.
This is the way to make the picture and the story look forward. This kind of composition makes people feel like watching a movie, as if the girl is going to look back at the boy in the next moment.
Mirror composition
Generally, this kind of composition is used for shooting. The main body is a mirror image in the mirror. Then, using a part of the body to make a foreground, the foreground and the image in the mirror combine to create a rich level and expand the screen space. At the same time, this is also a frame-like composition, so that the viewer's line of sight is concentrated in the main part of the character.
The picture inside the mirror in the above picture deliberately darkens the environment, and the theme of the object is prominent in the center of the frame, showing a feeling of watching the picture. The window inside the picture inside the mirror is also a bright spot, which increases the depth of the picture.
Create dynamic
Moving objects can best attract people's attention. Shooting people in sports is also a good way to highlight people. Especially in a wide scene, people can move things and make the picture live. In a flash, this photo is more vivid than the photo taken. Dynamics can be the dynamics of a character, or it can be a flying hair or a skirt.
The characters in the picture are running, the hair and balloons are floating, making the picture lively and natural, expressing the relaxed and happy atmosphere in the photo theme, and taking advantage of this dynamic when shooting fresh films. Make the picture more vivid.
In this photo, the streamers fluttering in the wind, you can see the photos to feel the environment, let the picture have a sense of desolateness, and can also express the complex emotional changes of the characters.
Secondary composition
Although the composition should be done before the shutter is pressed, the good things often happen in an instant. Sometimes, during the shooting, the ideal photos are not taken due to the limitations of the photographing distance or the equipment and the scene. We can crop the photo later and make a second composition. Sometimes the plain photos have become special after the cropping, and it can be said that the successful second composition can save or sublimate a photo.
Before the second composition, the picture is messy and has no focus. The part of the body and the face are not very harmonious. The outline of the face taken at this angle is also strange.
In order to make the picture clean, only the middle position of the face is left when cutting, and the position where the outline is not good is cut off, so that the visual center falls on the eyes and the mouth, giving a clean and cold feeling.
The original composition is a three-point composition, with the eyes placed at the intersection. This kind of composition is OK, but I hope that looking back can give people a feeling of murderousness. The atmosphere of this composition picture looks more mediocre and not so fierce.