A photographer’s monologue: talking about the direct flash of film

In the summer of 2017, he and cara bought a second-hand Ricoh film machine and several rolls of Aikefa film in Beiluogu Lane. After playing with digital SLR for 8 years, he once again experienced the retro film and the simplest flash in the camera. With the stupid film machine, I seemed to find the simple feeling when I first pressed the shutter. Some people say that the physical characteristics of film and the chemical reaction of printing can make people feel the “temperature, speed, tenderness and anger” of images. Manual roll up, large hard flash, film particles. No matter how many spaces you steal from a volume of 135, you only have a chance of more than 30 spaces. The color washed out seems to be back to the beauty of the 1990s.

Therefore, during the past two years, when I was doing digital creation, I sometimes used the second-hand fool film machine in my hand to take portraits. The light created by the film with direct flash in low light also gave me a different impression. It can be said that the use of direct flash film and the scanned photos have a stronger aggressiveness and image sensory impact than digital images, which deeply attracted me.

Film flash has been attacking the severely affected area.

quite a lotPhotographerAll of the film direct flash works have been attacked for nothing, and even directly equate the film direct flash with the installation force and new talent. They criticize the bad films in their own eyes, but they have no works, and seldom transmit the correct aesthetic standards and methods to improve the level of photography to people. Under the microblog of hanging people, there are mobs who echo comments and melon eating people who hide behind the screen of their mobile phones and watch the excitement.

“Unfortunately, they would rather be blind than learn to understand and appreciate”. After all, it is much easier to laugh at others than to appreciate others to improve themselves.

I have no intention to work with the theoretical photography of the fountain itself. As a pure enthusiast who does not mix together or make a living from photography, the attack of the fountain has no impact on my work and life. However, I am worried that for some photography enthusiasts who do not have strong subjective consciousness and lack of photography background, people follow suit. The fountain says that the film flash is garbage, and the audience will not know why to follow and reject, which insults the aesthetic, It also consumed the audience. When there are more visitors, they will affect their own photography creation and independent judgment of aesthetics. Of course, the sprayers only have the ability to deny others, but they do not have the measurement to create their own photographic works for others to judge, nor do they have a positive area to tell the photographers where the beauty of this thing is and how to shoot better, so it is not within my audience.

I hope that those real photography enthusiasts can enjoy the initial happiness it brings to you, discover the beauty of retro style, and maintain their enthusiasm for photography after learning more about the characteristics of film flash.

Flash point paradox 1: the direct flash light of film is too hard and not soft

Focus: light ratio

When the light is not ideal during photography, we will use flash to fill the light. Direct flash is the simplest and most direct use of all flash lamps. It is also called “hard flash”. The reason for this is that it is relative to the “soft flash” that can produce natural soft light. In short, the point where the film is roast most is that the light is too hard and not soft.

Ordinary people have the most opportunities to access flash lights on their mobile phones. At a higher level, film point machines or digital micro phones will have their own flash lights. Direct flash is probably the simplest and cheapest way to use flash lights in our daily life. It is a subconscious choice of many people when shooting in life, and it is also the most direct way to create possibilities for images.

The hardness and softness of light here are called “Light Ratio” in terms of photography basics. Light ratio refers to the ratio of the brightness of the light receiving surface of the main part of the subject to the brightness of the shadow surface, usually referring to the ratio of the main light to the auxiliary light. The contrast of a photograph is determined by its light ratio. Generally speaking, if there is a difference of 1 EV between the light measurement value of the bright part and the light measurement value of the dark part, we will say that the light ratio at this time is 1:2, and the difference is 2 EV values, so the light ratio is 1:4, while if there are 3 EV values, it is 1:8; When the difference is 4EV, it is 1:16. You can find that the light ratio is multiplied by the power of 2. The greater the number difference, the greater the brightness difference between the bright side and the dark side.

At the beginning, when using a digital camera to take a portrait in a sunny day, some senior photographers will tell you that the midday sunlight is hard light, which will make the bright and dark parts of the subject show a strong contrast. Too large light ratio should be avoided. Sunrise at seven or eight o’clock in the morning and sunset at four or five o’clock in the afternoon. These oblique lights at dawn and dusk are softer and softer. It is better to shoot at this time.

So is this theory correct? Not exactly.

In fact, when taking pictures in the midday sun, I think the light ratio is only the second factor that affects the picture. The most influential factor is not the light ratio, but the position of the light source. At noon, the sun is at the top of the sky and belongs to the top light. As the sun shines vertically above the head, the effect of photography is often that the protruding forehead, nose tip and cheekbones of the face are bright, while the sunken parts will produce thick shadows. Therefore, although the contrast is strong, the position of the contrast cannot improve the performance of the portrait, so it is usually avoided to take pictures at noon, mainly because of the top light.

The control of contrast will affect the audience’s feeling when looking at the picture. Most of the time, we will use the contrast control to create the feeling that we need to be hard or soft. In short, it depends on whether the style of the photo is more robust, more personalized, or more supple and beautiful. We can’t expect to shoot in the most rational light conditions and environment every time. The important thing is to face different light objective conditions and, according to the creation needs, develop strengths and circumvent weaknesses, which is the key to film production.

The large light ratio of direct flash will make the exposure difference between the bright side of the face light and the dark side of the backlight a little more. The focus of strong film direct flash is more aggressive and highlights the contour of the shadow. Photography is a highly aggressive behavior and medium. The reasonable use of direct flash will make the image media have a stronger image sensory impact when it is produced, which is beyond the reach of soft light.

Therefore, it is a paradox to say that if the direct flash of film is too hard and not soft, it is not a good work. It is not only soft light aesthetic style and low contrast beauty that are beautiful, but also works that highlight shadow and aggressive high contrast and strong sensory impact are not good. This is the stereotype of flash caused by lack of understanding of the concept of light ratio.

Flash point paradox 2: film direct flash subject is overexposed, and the background is dim

Focus: metering mode

In terms of light measurement and depth of field, if it is a point and shoot camera and film, another major problem will be encountered in actual combat. That is, after the shooting is completed, you cannot preview the shooting results in real time until you see the photos in the development scan. This is the disadvantage of film compared with digital. You can also take this uncertainty as a gift.

Therefore, it is unfair to discuss the Adams rule, the three elements of exposure and the reciprocity rule here, because the film machine cannot preview in real time, and the direct flash of the fool film does not allow manual adjustment of the flash output power.

Film flash needs to be processed in the darkroom after shooting, and then converted into digital documents using a scanner after developing. Because the flash output power of the point and shoot machine is fixed, and the metering is also automatic metering of the central focus, it usually makes the subject too bright and the background too dark. The difference of film tolerance and scanner performance will also affect the final effect of film processing.

Therefore, it is necessary to adjust the exposure in LR and PS. In the later adjustment, the overexposed part is usually pulled back to the details, and then the dark part is improved. But sometimes I don’t adjust so much to the dark part, because I like the strong focusing sense of straight flash, especially when shooting people, it makes the whole skin of people receive light very evenly and very white. Plus the unique retro feeling of film, it will have a story. This situation is especially applicable to night and weak light environment. When exposed to dazzling flash, the person or object photographed will become the subject of night.

However, from another angle, the charm of the fool film machine and the automatic light measuring direct flash also lies in this. Film photography uses silver salt particles for stacking imaging. It is precisely because of the role of silver salt that film photography presents some unique colors and light dark transitions different from digital photography. Its substantiality and painting surface texture give people a sense of security and warmth. Different types of equipment also have their own characteristics. But at the same time, the film can not be previewed in real time, and the development imaging is also somewhat uncertain. People are fascinated by the results after development.

“We should discard the repeated fun first, and then pick up the wrong surprise.”

Flash point paradox 3: I can’t take pictures, but I can say you can’t take pictures well

Focus: refrigerator theory

Whenever people ask those sprayers if they have any works, or if you can shoot them, they will say that they have no works and can’t shoot them, and then they will take out the refrigerator theory and the food theory righteously. If I comment on a refrigerator, can I still cool it? I think the food is delicious. Do you still need to be able to cook? I comment on your photos. Do you want me to take photos?

The “refrigerator theory” came into being at the very beginning to deal with the autocratic statement of “you can do it, you can do it”: although I don’t have the same achievements and professional skills, I have my opinion when I evaluate something. Why don’t you allow me to evaluate it? After the birth of this theory, it was pursued as the “truth” by countless people, and then became popular with the rapid spread of the Internet, widely used in the debate among netizens. However, the “refrigerator theory” has gradually moved to another extreme, giving comments a higher degree of freedom. At the same time, the moral norms of the network have begun to get out of control.

When the online sprayer pointed out some bad customs and flattering behaviors in the field of photography, the fans were praised as the sword of Damocles in the photography circle and the justice envoy who carried the name of Damocles for the sake of Dadaism, because some words he said at some time aroused resonance and made them angry for the netizens. However, does he have this qualification? Constantly deny others, attract attention and earn traffic, which resonates with people who eat melons. They become angry and satisfied. Then what? Where is the way to better photography? How to correctly appreciate beauty and effectively improve photography? At this time, the limitations of the nozzle are obviously exposed.

Can press the shutter, not necessarilyPhotographerSimilarly, people who can comment and deny other people’s photos may not have the correct aesthetic concept.

Everyone knows the theory, and it is OK to deny others’ words, but it requires countless failures and practical accumulation to shoot high-quality works. It’s not good to only comment on others’ films, but you can’t make good works by yourself, and you can’t allow others to comment on you. What’s the persuasiveness of such people when they comment on others’ films? There is no doubt that the atmosphere in the contemporary photography circle is chaotic, but this is not the reason for the sprayer to fight with others without moral bottom line.

The online world should still follow the principle of mutual respect in the real world.

Flash Point Paradox 4: Film direct flash is powerful, and film direct flash is new

Discussion focus: photography style

Whether the film is direct flash or digital natural light, the knowledge of exposure, composition, light ratio and aesthetics are all the same. The main reason for the direct flash of the Internet Keyboard Man’s spray film is that some film photographers do not have the basic photographic foundation and aesthetic appreciation, but only use the direct flash of film as a tool to improve the standard. Usually, the subject matter of shooting involves the erotic field and some vulgar content. The direct flash of film has become a shame cloth for the artist’s lack of skills. This is the technical level and content selection of some photographers, and film flash should not be used for this purpose.

Moreover, each photographer has his own style of photography. Even the same photographer will have different styles when choosing different scenes, models and equipment. Why not let a hundred flowers bloom in this diversity. For those who like the soft light of digital nature, can there be no direct flash of film in the world of photography? Like Japanese low saturation and small and fresh, can’t there be European and American high saturation and personalization in the world of photography? Is the occasional light leak, burr, scratch, spot, shake, tilt and out of focus in the film flash necessarily a disadvantage? Each photographer’s life experience, character formation, growth environment and artistic details are different. The important thing is to express yourself through images. Only you know how you like to think, how you like to shoot and how you want to live. If you express yourself, you should be blamed by others.

Even those Ren Hang’s nine mouths, Lu Yanpeng, Zhang Kechun and Wei Bi, who are said to be forced by the sprayer, have their own significance as a sub culture. If you go back 20 years ago, I think Keyman will definitely spray Hiroshima Matsumoto, Boshi and other masters of Araki Sutra to nothing.

The passer-by Jiasen Mountain Avenue wandered aimlessly in the street, and the black and white images were full of high contrast coarse particles fuzzy black. The mental patient lives in the wave of intense fear to create a utopia in the name of love. The poor painter Van Gogh cut off his ear for a prostitute. The poet suffering from depression said that he had been thinking for a whole day and finally only wrote a full stop. The artist uses a samurai knife to cut the Mercedes Benz car into two halves symmetrically. In the raw puffer fish shop in Tokyo, a large puffer fish only takes a disproportionate small portion for customers to eat. Some restaurants have no music and only serve eight guests a day. The fashion designer wrapped up the face of the runway model. When performing, pianists only sit in the chairs they bring to their homes and never shake hands with others.

In the eyes of the sprayer, these are all fakes. It seems that people with insufficient skills are mystified, and they are labeled because they want to make themselves different for some purposes. In the photography circle, it becomes not to ask what is being shot, but to ask is to be new, and to ask is to be mediocre.

For this problem, I want to respond with Chen Qizhen’s diary: “Some of these people are really just another kind of mediocrity, but they may also have inspired others to finally create an incomprehensible behavior in the eyes of the world. In the long life, they gradually forged it into art, become a classic, become a trend and a high standard. They know that just like anything is a tool, it becomes comprehensive in part, becomes life in a moment, and after the strokes become interpretation, it will become clear.”

Finally, I hope that every creator can have the determination to go his own way. Never be gentle in your profession, and be isolated and grand in your personality. Your style is a mistake that only you can make.

You don’t have to please everyone. To every creator.