Teach you how to shoot dreamy seascape

Sea view shooting — sweeping the sea, yesLandscape photographyI like to stand on the reef. Look at the continuous impact and eruption of the waves around you. You can’t predict the results of the shooting, because every wave is unique and can’t be copied, which is the most attractive thing for me. In the past year, I have traveled almost all over the country, from – 35 degrees in Inner Mongolia to Weizhou Island in the south of China, the secret land in western Sichuan, and the snowy mountains in Xinjiang. I have photographed quite a few places, especially the Weizhou Island trip that has just ended, which makes me realize that this season is the best time to take pictures of the sea. So I specially prepared this lesson for you. Follow me to sweep the sea.

Equipment

1) Camera:The camera is the first full digital camera. I believe that now we are all digital cameras.

2) Lens:Generally speaking, the focal length is between 11-35 or longer, such as 16-35mm, 14-24mm lenses from various manufacturers, 12mm and 24-70mm lenses from Laowa. The focal length should be between 16-35mm. Several mainstream camera brands on the market have wide-angle zoom lenses with this focal length.

3) Filter:Nowadays, most professional landscape photographers give up the filter when shooting other subjects. In my last sharing lesson, I also mentioned that in terms of controlling light ratio, we can use surround exposure exposure synthesis to solve the problem of light ratio. This is much better and more natural than a gradient mirror. But this is an exception when shooting seascape or water flow. Just mentioned above, shooting waves and currents. Exposure speed is a decisive factor. For this reason, we often need a medium gray filter (dimmer – ND) to control the shutter speed.

(The filter system I am using at present)

(Dimmer ND mirror)

In addition to the medium gray mirror (dimmer ND mirror), there is also a medium gray gradient mirror (GND mirror), which can balance the light ratio between the sky and the ground. There are soft gradient, hard gradient and reverse gradient on the GND market. Generally, soft and hard gradients are 0.6, 0.9 and 1.2. The effect of the gray part of the lens is equivalent to the second, third and fourth gear dimming. From the perspective of use, 0.9 is the most frequently used. The reverse gradient is a special lens. The darkest part of gray is at the junction of black and white of the lens. The gray gradually decreases from the middle to the edge. This filter is most suitable for use when the sun approaches the sea level at sunrise and sunset in slow door shooting.

(Medium gray gradient mirror GND mirror)

(Reverse gradient mirror RGND mirror)

Finally, the polarizer, although many people recommend shooting the sea, must be used to shoot water. Because it can eliminate the reflection of water surface and wet rock surface, but I feel the opposite. When the surrounding color is beautiful, the reflection of water surface and rock is exactly what I need in most cases. Later in the course, I will mention how to simply eliminate the reflection of water surface and rocks that we do not like in the later stage.

4) Tripod:A stable tripod is indispensable for shooting scenery. It is the best partner of the camera, silently acting as the stable backing of the camera. It is also the most loyal partner of the photographer on the lonely photo taking road, providing us with physical support when traveling across mountains and rivers, and hanging clothes and camp lights for us when resting and camping.

5) Lens cloth:Lens cloth is absolutely necessary for shooting seascape scenes. When shooting the waves, our lens must be constantly wet, sometimes with sea fog. In this kind of scene, lens cloth is particularly important, and it is better to have good water absorption. It’s better to take 2-3 pieces. Can’t be too small.

6) Shutter cable:In most cases, I do not use the shutter cable, but use the delay setting on the body to avoid the vibration caused by pressing the shutter, because it is convenient. But when shooting waves, you must press the shutter at a precise moment to capture the best form of waves. At this time, there is no way to use delay, and the shutter cable is very useful.

7) Ice Claw:Yes, you heard me right. Ice Claw. A few students from the previous sea shooting study tours asked me why ice claw is needed for sea shooting? When we try to walk on mossy rocks, it is very dangerous not to have anti slip shoes. Ice Claw is a useful equipment for seaside photography. However, the final warm tip: even if there are crampons and anti-skid equipment, we suggest that you should carefully evaluate and judge your balance and the safety of the ground in a scene. Don’t go where you don’t need to take risks.

8) Waterproof bag:When shooting at the seaside, the camera is often wet. To prevent the camera from being damaged by the sea water. I usually wrap them with waterproof bags or plastic wrap, just in case.

9) Others:Because most people go to take pictures before dark or go home after dark, flashlights and headlights are essential. Before going, check the battery condition. If it is summer, pay attention to sun protection when shooting at noon, and pay attention to mosquito bites when shooting in the morning and evening. Before going out, remember to change into long sleeved trousers (quick drying fabric is recommended) or remember to bring mosquito repellent. 2 spare batteries, lens cloth.

Shooting time selection

When is the best time to shoot?

Or does the shooting have different effects at different times?

As for when to shoot, summer is the first time in a year. In the summer of the Northern Hemisphere, after the subtropical high controls the air flow, the southeast trade wind, commonly known as the ocean monsoon, blows out. There will be more and more blue sky and white clouds. The air is transparent and the clouds are beautiful. These are important factors for the production of films.

In terms of a day, it must be sunrise and sunset. These two periods are the fascinating ones with the greatest changes in light and shade, light color and color temperature.

Another situation is that shooting the slow door on a typhoon day in summer is both a challenge and a pleasure. A challenge means that the photographer or equipment may be wet or wet by rain or waves, or the equipment may be blown down by the typhoon carelessly. The most important thing in typhoon days is that you can see the other side of the sea that cannot be seen at ordinary times. Black clouds are pressing against the top and the waves are raging. In the slow door shooting, it means that the clouds in the sky are pressing, the reefs in the sea are surrounded by larger and higher clouds and fog, or the waves are described as more powerful torrents.

Shutter speed setting

Sea view shooting — the first thing we should choose is the shutter speed. Because the shutter speed is different, the shape of water is completely different. But that doesn’t mean we should apply the shutter priority setting at all. Because in landscape photography, the appropriate aperture is limited. The depth of field and other limiting factors should be considered, so it cannot be blindly handed over to the camera for determination. Generally speaking, after determining the shutter speed, we can pass the filter, acceptable iso value, acceptable aperture and other factors. Determine the combination of shutter speed/aperture/ios/filter gear number according to the desired expression.

Shutter speed and expression

Wire drawing: reference speed 1/2s-2s

The shutter speed can not be the same for the shooting of wire drawing. It has a lot to do with the impact speed of waves and the terrain conditions (such as some relatively gentle beaches).

Wire drawing is divided into forward flushing and backflow

Forward flushing:It means that the waves are rushing towards the rocks or the camera. Press the shutter, and the camera will record the scene where the water is striking.

Nikon D800AF-S Zoom-Nikkor 14-24mm f/2.8G ED 14M f/13, 1/3s, ISO50

Nikon D800Carl Zeiss Distagon T* 2,8/21 ZF.2f/11.0, 2.5s,ISO100

backflow:The camera records the process of ocean waves returning to the sea from the camera. It is usually when the waves return to our feet. We pressed the shutter. The best prospect is the embellishment of wood, rocks and shells, which will form a barrier when flowing back. It will produce different wire drawing shapes.

Atomization: reference shutter speed 10s-30s

Through 10-30s slow door exposure, spray between waves will form an atomizing effect.

Mirror: reference shutter speed 1-30s

There are others, such as abstract impressionism.

Example analysis of composition

Generally, the traditional photography composition principle, namely, the three-point principle, refers to the sea level. Pay special attention to the level. When taking human portraits, you can tilt them. Because of the habit of human eyes looking at the sea, the tilted sea level will interfere with the balance of the cerebellum, which is very uncomfortable. As for whether the sea level is at one third or two thirds, it depends on the specific situation. If the sky is beautiful, the sky may take up two thirds. If the foreground is highlighted, the foreground may take up one third. The sea is very calm, and there is a perfect sunset or sunrise reflection. It may be better to break the convention and make a composition of five fifths.

Case 1:

The composition and tonal arrangement of this photo, I intend to form a sense of extension from near to far through the composition structure, giving people a three-dimensional depth. In terms of hue, I use the low saturation cyan hue (I also call it movie color) to express such a scene. In terms of light use, the backlight will make the waves more crystal clear, and the distant sunrise close to overexposure provides a hopeful photographic impact to the picture. (It also confirms that the sun always shines after the wind and rain

Case 2:

The basalt lines in the radial direction of the foreground focus on the foggy sea in the middle scene, and then our photography will move to the characters in the picture. Look, the character is looking into the distance at the hope (the sun in the dark clouds). When I took this picture, I wrote this paragraph. When I stood on the cliff in the distance, I imagined myself as a general. Commanding the army to rush to the dawn of victory.

Case 3: