To highlight the subject in the photo

To highlight the subject in the photo

"A good photograph should have a subject that attracts attention," canvas prints online is the second of the three basic principles of good photography at the New York academy of photography. If you want the photo to be attractive, you should make people's eyes have a foothold on the picture, and make people's eyes stay in the picture. This requires the subject to stand out and draw the viewer's attention. Beginners always like to cram everything they are interested in into a picture, which is just as bad as traffic congestion. Whether we are willing to give up or not, there must be something to give up. Only in this way can we highlight what we want most, and can make the theme clearer and the picture more concise.

Instead of introducing the concept of "composition", photo canvas prints we want to focus on practical techniques for how to use them to focus viewers' attention more effectively on what we want to present. It is worth mentioning that we should not "method" for the sake of method, otherwise we will make the same mistake as "composition law".

Starting form: talk about the layout first

The center of the picture is the most prominent position, but it is not necessarily the most appropriate position. Which part of the picture the subject appears in is the problem of "layout". There are three points and golden section in the traditional composition laws. These layout laws can make the picture more "beautiful" or "more comfortable" from a certain Angle, but that doesn't mean we can't put the subject in the center of the picture or the edge of the picture.

So where is the mystery of the layout?

To sum up, there are only two cases for the principal layout: center layout or off-center layout. The layout of the center of the main body can express rigid, stable, calm, absurd and even mysterious content, and is often used for shooting single people or animals looking directly at the camera; the layout that deviates from the center will be more flexible and varied than the picture of the center layout. The subject deviates from the center of the picture, which side of the subject should we leave more space on? Left or right, or left or right lets see what's different about the photos below?

When the subject has no direction, up or down, it will look "comfortable" on the right side of the image because we are used to reading from left to right, and the right side is the turning point of sight. If the subject is on the right, the eye will turn back to the image. If the subject is on the left, the eye will slide out to the right.

Based on the same left-to-right reading habit, "subject to right" looks more "comfortable" than "subject to left". Of course, such rules can be broken like any other, and we can do exactly the opposite, to convey the opposite visual effect.

Move forward to make the subject larger

This is very simple, very practical, and very effective. This is because it is the most direct way to use this trick. Some people don't want to use it because it's too straightforward, too simple, and doesn't vary enough. But if you look at the pictures of the world, it's not hard to see that the good ones mostly use this trick -- "make the subject bigger up front."

The so-called "forward to make the subject bigger" refers to making the subject as close to the lens as possible compared to other objects, so that the subject takes up more space in the picture. There are two ways to keep the subject as close to the lens as possible compared to other objects. Famous ・ war photographer Robert cape once said: if you aren't good enough, because you are near the fighting is not enough. That's the first way to say it: get close to your subject.

As we approach the subject, be aware of the perspective distortion in the image. If you don't want you’re subject to have a perspective distortion (such as a big nose and small ears), keep your subject at arm's length. This distance is at least ten times the depth of the scene along the optical axis of the lens. For example, the distance between nose and ear is about 15 centimeters. To make the ratio between nose and ear look normal, stand 1.5 meters away for shooting. When photographing an upright sitting posture, the horizontal distance between the knee and ear is about 40 cm. To make the ratio look normal, the distance should be kept at a distance of 4 meters.

But when we want to emphasize a relationship or thing through this transformation, we can use close shot to achieve the purpose. An exaggerated demonstration of the strength of a boxer's punch, for example, can make that fist huge when shot from close range.

Each approach has its limitations, even the simple and practical approach we've described above. Proximity can mean aggression and aggression. If we film animals, when the distance is less than the acceptable safe distance, it is likely to attack us or run away, resulting in the filming failure. It can be more complicated to photograph people, especially strangers.

So we came up with a second method in the axe: when we couldn't get close to the subject, we could zoom in with a telephoto lens to make it take up more space in the picture. The second method usually does not have the perspective deformation problem, but because it is far away from the subject, there may be some walking people, running cars and so on between the camera and the subject.

Use the guide line to highlight the main body

We call the place where heaven and earth are connected "the horizon", the river as "the curve", the straight street as "the straight line", the direction of vision as "the line of sight" Thick can be lines, thin can be lines, visible can be lines, invisible can be lines. Lines are all over our eyes, but they don't exist in nature, which is an unacceptable fact. Since lines do not exist in nature, how does our brain recognize them? If we ignore objects of size, we think of them as "points"; much like a "point", if you ignore thick and thin objects, you see it as a "line". Lines can express length and direction.

In the picture, the line can be the object directly represented, that is, the subject. If the line is the main body, how to highlight it may not be our triad to solve this. This time we are talking about using the directivity of lines to guide the eyes to the subject. This is one of the methods we use when the subject is not large enough and there are lines.

When we do the practice of "using lines to guide the line of sight", we often encounter the problem that we pay more attention to lines than to subjects, and as a result lines are more attractive than subjects. In other words, practitioners just want people to see the "subject" through the lines, and it doesn't matter what the subject is. So this is the method for the method, in addition to the noise of the line, it is difficult to notice other things.

The right approach should be the opposite: we focus on the "subject", and when there is a lead line on the scene, we need to consider whether to use it or not based on the subject. Therefore, when using the guide line and it is not the main body, our advice is not to let the guide line be too strong.

The chair not only guides the line of sight, but also provides an important performance for the character to rest because of fatigue. From the above two cases, we can see that if there is some connection between the leading line and the subject, and this connection plays an important role in the representation of the subject, the existence of the leading line will become more meaningful.

Use frames to highlight subjects

Use the space between "lines" or "lines" and the frame of the picture to "frame" the main body, to achieve the purpose of highlighting it. We call this approach "using frameworks to highlight subjects." It is also one of our common methods to use the framework to highlight subjects when the subject is not large. Of course, this method is not only limited to small subjects, but also can be used when the subject is large.

It's more like "painting in pictures," except that the area surrounded by frames can be regular or irregular. If the framework is more than just a body, then the framework still needs to be dominant.

As with the guide line, if the frame is too strong, it will distract people's attention and lose the role of the main body. This is also often the case with the "use frame" exercise, where the practitioner will often frame for the frame in the first place, as if telling the viewer, "hey! Look! The frame is here, and I frame an object with the frame."

Every time we learn a method we get excited and use it everywhere, whether it's appropriate or not. It's a good way to learn, though sometimes it can make a picture look bad. Use the mental enthusiasm of "just learn to get", carry on centralized aggrandizement skill training. However, it should be noted that in the process of mass shooting, it is necessary to think and summarize, and gradually master where this skill is suitable for application, so that the skill can be developed steadily. In other words, when we use frameworks to highlight subjects, we should know when it's going to be good and when it's going to be bad. The same is true in other ways.

The main body method is far more than that, but the other methods are all related to these three methods. Or another way of saying it or it can be used in combination with the three methods. For example, use light lighting to highlight the main body, often also use shadow or high-light frame to highlight the main body; using repetition to highlight a theme may also be used with "proximity makes the subject bigger"

In this way, the method is a natural thing in shooting practice. As long as we focus enough on the subject, we can always find a proper way to highlight it. After all, collage canvas we want to represent the subject, not the method. A good method is one that highlights the subject without causing any interference. To master these techniques, take a picture with your camera.