​Use light and composition to create a good view

When encountering lakes, swamps and other natural scenery, canvas prints how to master the light direction and picture composition, and how to use light and wind to show the existence of lake water surface is the key to take good photos. All this requires keen observation and patient waiting. The wind itself is shapeless, but the water changes when it blows on it. When we photograph the lake, we can use the reflection of the water to photograph the picturesque beauty of the water. No matter when there is no wind, clear reflection, or the breeze caused by the ripples, are good themes in the lens.

Composition skills

All the characteristics of a lake come from water, canvas prints online so how to master the characteristics of water is very important. In addition to mastering the direction of wind and light, it is also an important part of shooting to make use of composition elements such as trees and stones to create a sense of space in front, middle and rear scenes or to increase the richness of the picture.

Due to the high reflectivity of the water surface, it is recommended to use polarizer to control the reflection to emphasize the tone of the lake or the blue sky. If you do not use polarizer, you can also show the beauty of water and sky.

Get the best shot

The beautiful reflection of the water is one of the focal points of lake photography. If the wind is blowing, you can observe the target scene. Whether you are holding a camera or setting up a tripod to shoot, press the shutter at the most appropriate time. Note that if the wind is too strong, the reflection will fall away. Therefore, we must have the best shooting time when shooting the lake scenery. For example, canvas floating frame when photographing dead wood and reflections in water, if wind can't be avoided, parts of the lake that can't be clearly reflected can be discarded.

Get a picture of movement

Under the sun, the reflection of the dead wood in the lake is more visible, the calm reflection of the image is quite moving. However, it should be noted that the farther away from the shore and the woods, the stronger the wind will be due to the open land, causing large ripples on the water and destroying the shape of the reflections.

Therefore, when shooting this picture, I took the ripples on the water as the foreground of composition. The more distant you look, the more clear are the reflections of the trees on the shore, forming a beautiful picture of balance between movement and movement, and making you feel the presence of the breeze. Therefore, shooting the lake water scene can be dynamic or static, which can be regarded as a creative method.

Good use of light, show the charm of light and shadow

The warm sunshine in the early morning illumines the lakeside, showing a harmonious aesthetic feeling, and forming a beautiful light and shadow on the grassy slope. In addition, the lake surface under the calm wind is like a mirror, reflecting the blue sky and grassy slope. The rare picture of both light and reflection makes the tranquil lake scenery more profound.

Techniques of lighting

There must be a lakeshore beside lakes and marshes. The scenery on the shore and the water surface can be filmed together to show the feeling of the lake. However, even if the same composition is used, different feelings will be captured depending on the state of the sun shining on the shore (Angle or color temperature). If you want to express the sense of silence and mystery, it is easier to do so under diffuse light, because in the absence of direct light, the pictures will be softer.

Add foreground compression screen, so that the performance of the screen more telepresence

The lake shore and the rocks along the shore are included in the picture, which not only makes the water surface feel extended, but also highlights the appearance of the lake and surrounding mountains. I used a super wide-angle mirror to approach the rocky beach on the bank and focused the focus on the rocks near the end to exaggerate the foreground. The aperture was reduced to more than F8 so as to make both front and rear scenes clear. Smooth shooting could obtain more vivid and saturated reflections of the blue sky, white clouds and the hillside grassland.

Shooting in a relatively empty area and finding the right elements for the foreground is one of the keys to successful shooting? It is a white stone pool just before sunrise, shimmering clouds and mysterious. The combination of near, medium and distant view is like the geometry of heaven and earth. A small aperture (F9-11) is used for both reducing shutter speed and increasing exposure time (tripod is needed) to get the best color information and a greater depth of field to ensure clear front and rear views.

Use ornaments to enhance the charm and affinity of the lake

If only blue sky, white clouds and the reflection of the hillside grassland in the surface of the picture, it can give people a feeling of tranquility and openness. However, this work adds an ingenious combination of the red mountain house and the climber's back, which increases the tension of the work. And ask how many times in life, can put aside all enjoy in this no-man's land? When taking a reflection of the lake, a few dichotomous compositions can sometimes be used. When composing with ornament, we should consider whether the position of its distribution point is harmonious or not. We can also give play to our keen observation and creativity according to the principle of golden composition point.

Focus on foreground and embellishment

When photographing lakes and marshes, how to allocate the proportion of lakeshore determines whether the topography and extension of the lake can be emphasized. In particular, the position of the scenery as the foreground, the use of super wide Angle lens performance, can increase the extension of the picture, to achieve broad and open effect. In addition, the addition of mountain houses and mountaineers after the back of the embellished can also make the lakes and mountains more tension. If the climber is walking, it is important to consider the coordination of the composition elements in the picture when the shutter is pressed, rather than just pressing the shutter.

Apply frame view to guide line of sight

If the lake scenery is too monotonous, the most basic lakeshore scenery can be incorporated into the picture as composition elements, which can increase the variability of photography. For example, this picture is shot from inside the tent, and the reflection of the lake can be absorbed together, which can naturally form the frame feeling and increase the interest of the picture.

Flexible polarizer

If you want to photograph the color of the lake itself, turn the polarizer to reduce the reflection of the lake. You will find that the color of the lake has changed to dark green and the bottom of the lake is more visible. However, the blue sky originally reflected on the lake has disappeared. So to show good weather, keep the sky blue.

How to take a good reflection on the water:

The surface of the water should be calm, and the less the wind blows, the less it disturves the surface of the water.

The best light for reflections is near-low backlight, followed by side and diffuse light, and worst is top and down light. Under ideal lighting conditions, the sky and scenery will have a strong contrast of light and shade, and the image projected on the water will be clearer and more distinct.

Low Angle should be chosen for shooting. The number of reflections on the picture is closely related to the Angle of view chosen. The camera Angle is high, the reflection appears less; the camera Angle is low and the reflection appears much more.

The exposure should be accurate. Reflections often occur on water. Reflections on water often make the metering system judge them to be too bright. In order to make the backlit scene and reflection in water bright enough, about 1eV can be added during shooting to reach the correct exposure value.

Since reflections are often shot on the water bank, the lens is easily disturbed by the disorderly reflected light on the water. So when shooting, it's best to use a hood for the camera lens.

Make good use of lens features

Wide - Angle lens and medium - telephoto segment can show their different characteristics. For the lakeshore and shore rocks in the foreground, ultra wide Angle lens can be used to magnify the foreground at a low Angle to increase the sense of openness of the lake.

Use of polarizer

The use of a polarizer depends on the purpose of suppressing reflection or using reflection.

Due to the high reflection on the water surface, the polarizer can be rotated to adjust the amount of light in order to control the degree of reflection, so as to eliminate the reflection on the water surface; To capture the reflection of the lake, rotate CPL to the point where the reflection is clearest, or shoot directly without CPL.

Pay attention to the sky and adjust the proportions

If the sky conditions are not good, such as too much cloud cover (overcast) or too little (blue sky), or even the light is too bright, the contrast is too high, the frame should avoid or reduce the proportion of the sky, to avoid too much white screen.

Pay attention to horizontal lines and other sundries

When taking landscape photos with water as the theme, acrylic glass prints it should be noted that the horizontal plane should not be askew. If not handled properly, the aesthetic feeling of the picture will be seriously affected. If there are other obviously unsightly sundry items (such as garbage) on the surface of the water, be careful not to get into the camera or remove them easily, so as not to spoil the beautiful picture.