If you have a complete set of shooting plans, covering the entire creative process, and all the division of labor and preparation are distributed, then it is impossible not to make a film, but every time you create, you have the mentality of "make do, will, talk about it in front of you, and shoot what you have on the scene", then, when it comes to the release of the film, you who have a fluke and a risk mentality, may not be able to take the work you get. Finally, throw the puzzle to the post, let the PS solve all the shortcomings in the early stage, and over time, you will be reduced from a photographer to a post-compositor. We don't mean to disparage the late masters, we just say that these are two different jobs, and when you are forced to change from one job to another, you have actually deviated from the original intention.
So in today's lesson, I will start planning my 2024 Uncle Hitomi will take you to follow the entire creative process, let's take a look at what preparations need to be made at the beginning of portrait creation.
For beginners in portrait photography, it's often the first thing to decide where to shoot and then how to shoot it. After the shooting, you will find that there is no theme at all, and the whole creative process is relatively blind. Compared with filmmaking, photography may not seem so complicated on the surface, but the process steps are indispensable.
Photographers need to first determine the subject of the shot, then determine the shooting method and environment, and then plan carefully, and then complete it step by step.
Determine the subject of the shooting, determine the shooting location, and choose to shoot outside or in the studio
If you choose to take outside shots.
1. Decide on the shooting time.
2. Communicate and confirm with the model.
3. Prepare photographic equipment and shooting props.
4. Conceive the details of the shooting.
If you choose studio shooting.
1. Decide on the shooting time.
2. Book the studio schedule (friends like Uncle Hitomi who have their own independent studios and studios can ignore it).
3. Confirm the lighting scheme.
4. Confirm the clothing style.
We often have a lot of references for shooting locations, but each place will have its own disappointments. So this must be confirmed on the spot. For example, the sunlight and light confirmation of the scene (to determine whether it is a morning or afternoon shooting), the environmental color confirmation (which can then consider the model's clothing and the color of the props), with a preliminary investigation, the photographer can make a rational compromise and choice.
In addition, it is necessary to take into account the actual on-site situation, such as the opening and closing time of some scenic spots, the situation that there are fewer people in some time periods, and whether there is WC in some places (you need to consider the model to change clothes, of course, it is best to bring a changing tent, which is more convenient than changing clothes in the car), what are the nearby road conditions, the weather conditions of the day (check the weather forecast in advance), the control situation on the spot, and some scenic spots do not allow random cigarette lighting (some key scenic spots have special photography restrictions).
As I have talked about a lot earlier, if you have high expectations for this creation, then you must do enough survey work in the early stage. Because this determines the preparation of your subsequent props, the selection of models, the matching of photography assistants, and the preparation of photographic equipment (outdoor shooting lights), the photographer has to control more elements and links.
The preparation work in the early stage can save a lot of time for the subsequent creation, so as to improve the work efficiency.
There are two main aspects involved in the shooting time, one is the time slot of the model and related personnel. The second is the weather forecast for the day. After all, it's outdoors, and it's important to take into account the impact of the weather on your creation. When shooting on location, the weather conditions directly affect the shooting effect. When we go out to create, in order to prevent emergencies, even if it is a sunny day, we will bring relevant rain gear, raincoats and equipment to prevent rain and moisture, which is equivalent to making a plan in advance for the unexpected situation caused by creation.
If you want to continue creating even on a rainy day, then you must choose a shooting location that is sheltered from the rain, or even a pavilion or something like that, so that you can continue to create in the rain.
The theme we need often can't find a particularly perfect environment, and we need to make some preliminary preparations, for example, hang lanterns on the trees, put up a row of clothes in the woods, prepare a mirror, spread cotton cloth in the grass, pull up silk on the desert, and sometimes we will create some scenery on the scene that is no less than making a movie. As shown in the picture below, Uncle Hitomi took advantage of the dawn to hang a lot of prepared lanterns on the trees.
Sometimes, writing a script can get the model into the role faster, so that the accompanying filmmakers can deeply understand the theme.
For example, the theme of the 16th activity of Uncle Hitomi's previous photography practice.
Subject (1): Princess Butterfly
For countless nights, she had the same dream. She felt an inexplicable force stirring in her chest. This force gradually transforms into a pressure, yes, the pressure that expands from the inside out. This made her whole body feel like she was in a swamp, and no matter how much she struggled in the meantime, she couldn't find any point of focus. Just as she tried to break through the prison, she suddenly felt her entire back be cut, and her shoulder blades were cut through the flesh, and then she woke up in a piercing pain.Like licking a wound, she stroked the back of her shoulder with fingers that crossed her neck, where a little of the pain of her dreams was still sealed. She propped up her whole body from Simmons, slowly got up as if she had been fished ashore from a swamp, and walked straight to the window tiredly, tearing open the curtains and staring blankly at the night, plunging her whole body and mind into the wider darkness. If escaping from the bed is escaping from a dream, then the darkness at this moment should not be another deeper dream?
She would often stand for a long time, as if sleepwalking, and if no one disturbed her, the motionless girl looked like a blue sculpture in the moonlight. That night, when the maid heard the wind in the hallway, she opened the doors one by one to check which window the wind had come from. So, the moment the door of her room was pushed open, the shrill screams of the maids were heard throughout the palace.
Ahh That's actually her wings?It can even make her feel the wind blowing in her face.
The maid's eyes went black and she fell to the ground with a bang, her fat body slamming into the wooden floor. However, the girl could no longer feel the vibration from the floor, because she could see from the shadow of the wall that her feet had left the ground, and her whole body was floating. Outside the door came the panicked and noisy noise of the guards and servants, and the girl was no stranger to all this, for for for several nights she had dreamed of the same scene, so at the moment she could not tell whether she was outside the dream or in a dream, she only wanted to flee from this place, and even she herself did not know where she was fleeing.
So, when my father appeared at the door, he happened to see this girl, or rather the pearl of his palm, fluttering up, facing the moonlight, flying out of the window, like a butterfly flapping its wings.
From Autumn Hitomi's long story ** "Butterfly Warrior".
Sometimes the model needs to go down to the river to get wet, and it is also necessary to bring the corresponding medicines, cold medicine, fever medicine, mosquito repellent mosquito coils, snake repellent realgar, sunscreen, and even bring oxygen cylinders and quick-acting heart pills when entering Tibetan areas.
Well, that's all for this lesson, I hope all the sharing will be useful to everyone. The following is the 32 episodes of Uncle Hitomi's travel photography course, which can be read by friends who like it.