How to highlight the subject in photographic composition

Lead:? A good photo should have an eye-catching subject? This is the second of the three basic principles of the New York Institute of Photography about good photos. If you want to attract people, you should let people's eyes have a foothold in the photos and let people's eyes stay on the picture. This requires the subject to stand out and attract the attention of the viewer. Let's take a closer look.

Novices always like to cram everything they are interested in into one picture, which is as bad as traffic jams. Whether we like it or not, we have to give up something, so as to highlight what we want most, make the theme clearer and the picture more concise. Not this time? Composition? Instead, I hope to focus on some practical technologies and how to use these technologies to focus the audience's attention on what we want to express more effectively. It is worth mentioning that we can't do this for the sake of methods, can we? Method? Or will we make peace? Composition rules? The same mistake.

Starting form: let's talk about the layout first.

The center of the picture is the most prominent position, but it is not necessarily the most suitable position. In which part of the picture does the theme appear? Layout? The problem to be solved in this move. In the traditional composition rules, there are the three-point method and the golden section method. These layout rules can make the picture more beautiful to some extent. Beautiful? Or watch more? Comfortable, but that doesn't mean we can't put the subject in the center or edge of the picture.

So where is the mystery of layout?

To sum up, there are only two kinds of main layout: central layout or eccentric layout. The photo of the center of the subject can be rigid, stable, calm, absurd or even hidden, and is often used to shoot a single person or animal looking directly at the camera. The off-center layout will be more flexible than the center layout.

When the subject deviates from the center of the picture, there will be another question that we need to consider: which side of the subject should leave more space? Left or right, lower left or upper right? Let's see what's the difference between the photos below.

When the theme has no direction, whether it is up or down, it will look to the right of the picture. Comfortable, because we are used to looking from left to right, and the right is the turning point of sight. If the subject is on the right, the line of sight will turn back to the screen when it touches the subject. If the subject is on the left, the line of sight will slide out of the picture to the right.

Based on the same reading habit from left to right, is the subject on the left side of the picture right? Than? The subject is on the right side of the screen, left side? Will it look more? Comfortable. Of course, this law can be broken like other laws, and we can do the opposite and convey the opposite visual effect.

For example, in the picture below, the main body is arranged in the left third of the picture when shooting, so the picture? Tradition 、? Plain? In order to show the sense of tranquility that the subject is resting.

The first axe: make the main body bigger forward.

This trick is very simple, practical and effective. This is because using this trick is the most direct expression. Some people don't want to use this trick, because it is too direct, too simple and unchangeable, and they would rather find some complicated and fancy ways to be unconventional. However, if we pay attention to the photos in this world, we can easily find that most of those excellent photos have used this trick-leaning forward to make the subject bigger? .

So-called? Does the front make the subject bigger? It means that the subject is closer to the camera than other objects, so that the subject will occupy a larger area in the picture. There are two ways to get the subject as close to the lens as possible than other objects. Famous war photographer Robert? Kappa once said: If you don't shoot well enough, it's because you are not close enough to the war. This is exactly the first method we are going to talk about: get close to your subject.

When we approach the subject, we should pay attention to the perspective deformation in the picture. If you don't want the subject to have perspective deformation (such as the phenomenon of big nose and small ears), you should keep a certain distance from the subject. This distance is at least ten times the depth of the scene along the optical axis of the lens. For example, when taking a portrait of the head and shoulders, the distance from the nose to the ear is about 15 cm. To make the ratio of nose to ears look normal, you have to stand 1.5 meters away to shoot. When shooting a portrait sitting in the front position, the horizontal distance from the knee to the ear is about 40 cm. If you want the scale to look normal, keep the shooting distance away from 4 meters.

But when we want to emphasize a certain relationship or thing through this deformation, we can use close-up shooting to achieve our goal. For example, when shooting at close range, exaggerating the boxing power can make the fist huge.

Each method has its limitations, even the simple and practical methods mentioned above are no exception. Approaching may mean attacking and invading. If we shoot an animal, when the distance is less than the acceptable safe distance, it will probably attack us or run away, leading to the failure of shooting. The situation may be more complicated when shooting people, especially strangers.

So we thought of the second method in this axe: when we can't get close to the subject, we can use the telephoto lens to bring the subject closer and make it occupy a larger area in the picture. The second method usually does not have the problem of perspective deformation, but because it is far from the subject, there may be some people walking between the camera and the subject and sports cars as interference factors.

The second axe: use the guide line to highlight the main body.

What do we call the place where heaven and earth meet? Horizon? Think of this river as. Curve? Think of straight streets as? Straight line? The direction of the eyes? A thick line of sight can be a line, a thin line can also be a line, a visible line can be a line, and an invisible line can also be a line. It is an unacceptable fact that lines are everywhere in our eyes, but they do not exist in nature. Since there are no lines in nature, how do our brains recognize them? Ignoring the size of an object, we regard it as? Point? ; And then what? Point? Very similar, ignoring the thickness of the object, we take it as? Line? . Lines can express length and direction.

In the picture, the line can be the object of direct expression, that is, the subject. If the line is the main body, how to highlight it may not be solved by our three axes this time. This time, we are talking about using the directivity of lines to guide our eyes to the subject. When the main body is not big enough and only has lines, this is one of the methods we often use.

While we're doing it. Guide your eyes with lines? When practicing, we often encounter such a problem: we pay more attention to lines than the main body, and as a result, lines are more eye-catching than the main body. In other words, the yogi just wants people to see through the lines? Theme? , ? Theme? It doesn't matter what it is. Then this is a method for the sake of method. It is difficult for people to notice other things except the lines that dominate the room.

The correct approach should be just the opposite: do we care? Theme? When there is a guide line on site, we need to consider whether to use it according to the theme. Therefore, when using the guide line instead of the main body, our suggestion is not to make the guide line too strong.

The chair not only guides the line of sight, but also provides an important performance for the characters to rest because of fatigue. From the above two cases, it can be seen that if there is some connection between the guide line and the subject, and this connection plays an important role in the theme expression, then the existence of the guide line will become more meaningful.

The third axe: use the frame to highlight the main body

Use a picture? Lines? Or between? Lines? What about the space between the frame and the picture? Frame it? Subject is used to achieve the purpose of highlighting it. What do we call this method? Highlight the main body with a frame? . When the theme is not very big, it is also one of our common methods to highlight the theme by using the framework. Of course, this method can be used not only when the subject is small, but also when the subject is large.

More like? Picture in picture? The difference is that the area surrounded by the frame can be regular or irregular. If the frame is not only the main body, then the frame still needs to be clearly defined.

Just like using a guide line, if the frame is too strong, it will distract people and lose the role of highlighting the main body. This kind of situation often occurs in? Use frames? In our practice, practitioners often frame for the sake of framing at the beginning, as if telling the viewer:? Hey! Look! The photo frame is here. I framed an object with a frame. ?

Every time we learn a method, we get excited, and then we use it everywhere, whether it is suitable or not. Although sometimes the photos are taken badly, it is also a good way to learn. Use? Just learned it? Psychological enthusiasm, focus on strengthening skill training. However, we should pay attention to it: we must think and summarize in the process of shooting a lot, and gradually master the place where this skill is suitable for application, so that the skill can be developed stably. In other words, when we use a framework to highlight the subject, we should know when it will be good and when it will be bad. The same is true in other aspects.

In this photo, the mountain shape of the shaded part becomes a? v？ Will the word frame be the subject of inversion? v？ A good example is that the font is set off by a gray mountain peak, but sometimes, when the border is used and it is not the main body, our suggestion is not to make the border too strong.

Retract: the routine of playing with an axe

The method of highlighting the subject is far more than three axes, and other methods are inextricably linked with these three methods. Or another way of saying one method, or it can be used in combination with these three methods. For example, using light to highlight the main body is often a frame made of shadows or highlights to highlight the main body; Using repetition to highlight the theme may also be related to? Approaching makes the subject bigger? Use together?

From this point of view, the method is a natural thing in shooting practice. As long as we pay enough attention to the theme, we can always find a suitable way to highlight it. After all, we want to express the subject, not the method. A good way is to highlight the main body and not cause interference. If you want to master these methods, again, pick up the camera and shoot.