Photographing a New Year's garland with pulsed light. New Year's studio photo shoot. Taking photos in two exposures

During the winter season, many world cultures and religions celebrate holidays that include special lighting. For example, New Year and Christmas. Since the use of lights and candles is often explained in terms of the rituals of a particular culture, most scientists have concluded that lights came first and then explanations were invented for them. However, ever since humans gained power over fire, light has been used to illuminate the darkness - especially in the dead of winter.
Christians view candles, tree lights, and the Christmas log as symbols of the birth of Christ and the Star of Bethlehem. The influence of these lights - if not the explanation itself - is so powerful that modern Buddhist and Shinto Japan resplendent with lights and decorations during "Christmas time". And during those same dark days of the winter solstice, Jews around the world celebrate Hanukkah, the “Festival of Lights.”

Many years ago, it was difficult to photograph holiday lighting beautifully, since films in those years were not very sensitive. It was difficult for them, for example, to capture an image in dim candlelight.
This is not difficult now because technology has solved these problems. Many DSLR cameras can be set to ISO 800, 1600, or even higher with little noise.
In addition to this, most photographers today rely on auto exposure in their amateur or SLR cameras. Unlike older light meters, for which low-light situations were often an insurmountable obstacle, modern light meters in autoexposure cameras are able to give good readings even in poor lighting.
This is an important point because holiday lights usually look best when not illuminated by additional light. In fact, this is Rule Number One when it comes to good photography of lights: Turn off the flash. Let's repeat this: For most holiday lighting shots, turn off the flash!
Note, “for the majority.” On very rare occasions you will want to add light, but usually you won't do this. This statement is followed by the question: When should you use flash and when should you avoid using it?
Let's remember one important aspect to consider if you're photographing without flash: You may need to use a slow shutter speed. This means that you will need to firmly fix the camera on a solid, stationary surface to avoid even the slightest shake. A tripod is the best way.
When else might you want to use flash? For example, if you take a photo of your children under the Christmas tree. How else can you light up their faces? On the one hand, you may find that the Christmas tree lights are sufficient and cast a very soft glow on their faces. Or perhaps, if it is early morning, their faces are illuminated by the light from the window that pours into the room. In this case, you won't need a flash. But on the other hand, you may not have enough light to see their faces clearly. Then you will have to use flash. How to figure out what to do?

First way– take a photo with and without flash, and then select best shot. But perhaps it is better to think things through in advance and determine the subject of your shooting. Remember that the number one recommendation of the New York Institute of Photography's three guidelines is to decide on your subject before doing anything else. You can learn this at photography school. In this case, you decide that the subject of the photograph is the children's faces. Recommendation number two is to draw attention to the subject. One method of attracting attention is to make sure your subject is well exposed. So, measure the light that falls on their faces from the illuminated tree. Get closer and measure just the lighting on the faces. If you have enough available light for a well-exposed photo, take the photo. If not, use flash.
Now let's go outside. The subject of street photography involves elaborate lighting and decoration of houses, shops and streets. Again, if you want to catch the lights themselves, don't use flash. Another tip about photographing street lights is that you will get better results if you photograph at dusk. This way, you'll catch some color in the sky rather than the pitch-black tone that would appear in your photo at night. But what if you want to take a photo of your friend in front of a brightly lit storefront?
You want to take pictures of both the bright lights and your friend. If you use flash, you'll get a photo of your friend, but you'll run the risk of minimizing the effect of the bright lights behind him. On the other hand, if you don't use flash, you may get the lights in full detail, but your friend will turn into a dark silhouette.
Here is the answer to this puzzle. Most modern amateur cameras, both film and digital, have a funny setting that looks like a little man with stars in the background (Night Portrait). Basic modes digital cameras are described in the article.
This setting tells the camera that you want to use the flash (which will illuminate your friend in the foreground), but that you also want the lens to remain open long enough to photograph the lights in the background. In fact, the symbol for this setting on many cameras is a type of hieroglyph that attempts to represent "man at night before the lights." Your decision to light your friend's face and shoot the storefront lights involves using this setting. The flash will allow you to see his face. A long exposure will catch the lights.

But again, be careful. A long exposure—usually a quarter of a second—requires you to steady the camera so it doesn't shake. Once again, using a tripod is recommended.
So, to take great holiday photos during the holiday lighting season, follow these four photography school tips:

Turn off the flash unless you have a good reason to use it.
Use a light sensitivity of ISO 800 or higher.
Avoid camera shake.
Use a tripod... or at least hold the camera firmly in your hands. Rely on the camera's built-in sensors.

A few special aspects

Digital ISO sensitivity

Boosting a digital signal is similar to turning up the volume of a radio as loud as possible. At maximum volume, any hiss, noise or creaking can be heard and, depending on the quality of the equipment, the clarity of the sound decreases. The same thing happens with digital camera. As ISO values increase, any distortion or defects in the image will also be exaggerated.
For achievement best quality You can try to work with lower ISO settings first. If you have trouble getting a good exposure, increase your ISO if necessary. You can even try using auto ISO and see what exposure the camera chooses. You can read more complete information about ISO settings in the article.

Digital noise

Regardless of which one is chosen, most inexpensive digital cameras produce "noise" during long exposures. Noise is caused by small electrical disturbances that are present in every electrical system. To capture a weak light signal, such as a subject in low light, longer exposures are usually required. The longer the camera shutter is open, the more electrical noise enters the frame.
So it seems like this is a double-edged sword.

Increase ISO to achieve higher high speed closing the shutter and you will increase noise and other image problems.
Lower your ISO and your shutter speed will slow down. As a result, you will get unavoidable noise that might not be visible with a "normal" exposure.

Limited dynamic range

Making things even more difficult is the limited dynamic range of a digital camera. Image sensors are only sensitive to a specific range of brightness. Anything outside this range is photographed as pure white or pure black. The result is a photo without shadows or distinct details.

Solutions

Here are some ways to solve these problems. Noise can be reduced using software. In fact, some cameras offer built-in noise reduction options. Own software cameras are used quite rarely, as this can lead to unpredictable results. Check your camera's capabilities before relying on this feature. There are many noise reduction programs on the market now, some as standalone applications and others that are plugins that work alongside your favorite image editors. For example, . This means you can choose a camera with noise reduction or have problems solved later in a digital darkroom.

Timing is everything

As noted in this article, when photographing holiday lights outdoors, you can get the best shots at dusk. Twilight is the period of time from sunset to darkness at night. This delicate balance between light and shadow will result in sparkling lights and crisp details in the shadows. But you cannot underestimate the help of objects in the shadows to create yours. Read your camera's manual for details on white balance options and how to set them. In the resulting photograph, the viewer will perceive twilight as night.
When photographing holiday lights indoors, try not using flash and instead turning on the room lights to enhance the ambient lighting. Flash can produce a harsh, high-contrast quality that completely destroys the glare of the light. Precisely placed artificial lighting can enhance the outside light without overwhelming your holiday lights.

Taking photos in two exposures

One way to expand the tonal range of digital images is to take two exposures of your subject. When photographing in manual mode, take one aimed at capturing all the subtleties of lighting effects. Take a second exposure to capture all aspects of the shadow. Then merge the two exposures as separate layers. Using an eraser, remove hard-to-see areas to reveal detail and take advantage of what worked best in each exposure/layer. Using this technique, it is possible to expand the tonal range far beyond the capabilities of any single exposure captured with the same camera. Of course, you'll need a sturdy tripod to ensure both compositions line up exactly. Consider using remote control to reduce the chance of the camera moving.

Experienced photographers can also create two separate images - one aimed at highlighting the lighting and one focused on shadows - from one .

Turning off auto white balance

In many situations, white balance is a real lifesaver. By automatically neutralizing extreme color tones, all possible digital colors formed without the slightest effort. It's important to remember that not all photos require white balance. Dim the rich, intense colors of the sunset and you'll be left with nothing. Try using white balance on a fireworks image and you'll end up with boring, lifeless, low-intensity flashes and streaks of light. Holiday lighting also requires a similar approach. By turning off the auto white balance feature, you're guaranteed to get the stunning colors that the holidays should have.
You can try turning white balance off altogether, or even experiment with any of the other manual settings to find a color balance that suits your visual needs. Any way would be better than leaving the decision to the camera.

Check, check, check

To get direct results in digital photography you will be required to check your exposures to determine which one is best. Take advantage of the metadata that most digital cameras display on every digital frame you shoot. Metadata may include camera model and manufacturer, exposure, flash, white balance, and other important information, which will help you determine what works and what doesn't work. This means you don't even have to take notes! To access the metadata of your digital images, open the file in .
Select file > File Info. A window will appear File Info(information file). Select an option Camera Data(camera data) on the left side of the screen. Window Camera Data will show shutter speed, aperture, ISO settings, lens focal length, flash settings and even distance measurement modes. Each year, holiday lights are usually on for quite a long time, so take advantage of the opportunity to photograph them early in the season and then retake them later if you need to.

Publication date: 30.12.2016

New Year- that very holiday when you want to give gifts not only to your loved ones, but also to yourself. What could be the best gift for a woman (except diamonds, of course)? Photo shoot, yes, yes. A photo shoot allows a woman to break out of the everyday rhythm of life, wear her best dress (and not just a dress, those same diamonds), be charming, as attractive and bright as possible. And then, on long winter evenings, she will be able to look at these photographs and see herself - a beauty queen. But the responsibility for the expected result lies not with the model, but with the photographer, who must see her beauty and be able to capture it. And if he doesn’t try hard, it could turn out to be a completely different story: on long winter evenings, a woman will look at the holiday photos, sighing at her imperfections and eating her grief with diet cookies. This must not be allowed!

NIKON D800 / 24.0-70.0 mm f/2.8 SETTINGS: ISO 1000, F2.8, 1/100 s, 24.0 mm equiv.

In most cases, the scenario for a New Year's photo shoot is standard. This is either an elegant evening look near the Christmas tree, or a homey look, in a sweater with deer and knitted socks. Of course, it is possible, sometimes even necessary, to come up with more creative, original images, especially if the girl already has experience in filming. But most often this is unnecessary, because the girl has never been photographed in a studio and just wants to feel like a fashion model. And her main desire is to see herself as beautiful. And your task is to make this first experience positive and memorable.

NIKON D800 / 24.0-70.0 mm f/2.8 SETTINGS: ISO 1600, F3.2, 1/60 s, 32.0 mm equiv.

Let's start from the very beginning. Studio selection

The choice of studio depends on the idea of the photo shoot and the shooting style. Be sure to ask what kind of photos you should get: bright and aggressive, gentle and modest, feminine or businesslike.

Next, find out what clothes your model has for the shoot. Remember that you can change clothes 2-3 times in an hour. If she wants something special, but doesn’t have the desire or time to buy, recommend renting exclusive evening dresses (you have all the passwords and appearances, right?!).

NIKON D800 / 24.0-70.0 mm f/2.8 SETTINGS: ISO 320, F4.5, 1/200 s, 48.0 mm equiv.

A professional makeup artist is a photographer’s main assistant. This may not be obvious to everyone, and then you should definitely explain how important a makeup artist is on set. Correctly applied makeup not only completes the image, emphasizes the advantages of the face, but also hides skin imperfections, which are especially visible when shooting with a lot of light in the studio.

When the choice of clothing is made, select several studio options for the model. Let her choose which one she likes best.

Book the selected room according to what you want to rent from natural light or with pulse. If the first option, then this is a hall with large windows, and the optimal time for booking will be daylight hours. In winter it is approximately from 11 to 15:00. If the studio is busy at this time, and you do not like or are afraid to work with pulsed light, order constant light sources.

NIKON D800 / 24.0-70.0 mm f/2.8 SETTINGS: ISO 640, F2.8, 1/200 s, 55.0 mm equiv.

Selection of equipment

I have a Nikon D800, this camera allows you to shoot on high ISO, so you can work with natural light even in cloudy weather. For studio photography, you can safely take lenses with a fixed focal length. Zoom lenses are more important for reportage photography, but are also suitable for studio photography. One of my lenses is Nikon 50mm f/1.8G AF-S Nikkor. This fast lens, which makes it possible to beautifully blur the background. What is especially important for New Year's photo shoots when there are a lot of lights from the Christmas tree and other decorations in the background. The fixed Nikon 85mm f/1.4G AF-S Nikkor is also suitable for portraits. For both 50mm and 85mm lens options, a room with an area of 50 square meters or more would be optimal. m. If you decide to shoot with a zoom lens, then the universal Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8E ED VR AF-S Nikkor lens is quite suitable. With zoom capabilities ranging from a small wide angle of 24mm to a portrait angle of 70mm, you can take both long shots and portraits without distorting the image too much. total area filming area for such a lens - from 30 sq. m.

When photographing girls in the studio, it is better not to use wide-angle lenses, since in portraits the face will be distorted and stretched, and in shots waist-high or general plan there is a possibility of limb distortion. Most likely, long-focal lenses will not be suitable either, because they can only be used to shoot from a long distance. Not all halls have large areas, which means you make it more difficult for yourself to shoot a model in full height. Remember that a lens is a tool that should make solving your problems easier, and not the other way around.

Camera settings

The settings depend on what kind of light you prefer to shoot with and in what mode (I only shoot in manual mode M). If it's pulsed light, everything is simple. Set the ISO to minimum (for Nikon D800 I usually set it to 160 or 200), white balance - to your taste (I set it to direct sunlight). The aperture, along with the values of the light sources, can be changed depending on whether you want to separate the model from background or not. By changing the aperture value, you will receive a different amount of light in the frame. Therefore, also change the light intensity of your lamps. You can work with auto settings in the studio, but only when using natural light or with constant light sources. If you work with pulsed light, then it is better to change the camera settings manually.

When shooting with natural light, I use an ISO value between 800 and 1250. But you can safely leave the ISO value in auto mode. I open the aperture in the following order: if I’m shooting at 24-70mm, the aperture value is 2.8 or 3.2, and if I’m shooting at 50mm, the aperture is 2.2 or 3.2. Because my Nikon lenses are incredibly sharp, I'm not afraid to shoot wide open. I use Auto white balance more often, because the accuracy in Nikon’s color reproduction matches the way I myself see colors in reality.

Don’t be afraid to take test shots to adjust all the settings, this will help you get a great result without having to resort to extensive work in photo editors on your computer.

Lighting attachments

For a female portrait, softer light should be used, which means softboxes for pulsed light are optimal. If you need hard light for some creative tasks, use reflectors.

NIKON D800 / 24.0-70.0 mm f/2.8 SETTINGS: ISO 250, F3.5, 1/200 s, 70.0 mm equiv.

You can place two softboxes at a 45-degree angle from the model, or one softbox at a 45-degree angle in front and one in the back. There is also a fairly simple scheme with one large octobox on the crane: place it slightly above the model and in front - the light will be softer. Avoid light directly from above the model, otherwise you will get dark shadows under the nose and eyes.

NIKON D800 / 24.0-70.0 mm f/2.8 SETTINGS: ISO 400, F2.8, 1/250 s, 60.0 mm equiv.

When using natural light, place the model opposite a window so that the light is even. Ask to turn your face towards the light to avoid strong shadows. You can also use reflectors. From the name itself it is clear that they reflect light, so the reflector must be placed on the opposite side, highlighting the shadow on the face.

NIKON D800 / 24.0-70.0 mm f/2.8 SETTINGS: ISO 400, F4.5, 1/200 s, 50.0 mm equiv.

Working with the model

When you have already agreed on the shoot, give some recommendations to the model. Let him select accessories for all images - details in a portrait play a big role. Be sure to remind them about replacement shoes that match your clothes.

And a few more important instructions. Firstly, the model should get enough sleep before shooting to avoid tired eyes and bruises under the eyes. Secondly, if a model wants to visit a solarium, have a procedure with a cosmetologist, get eyelash extensions (especially if she has never had them extended before), etc., then all this can be done strictly at least a week before the shooting itself. Believe me, in my practice there was a case when a girl came who had been to the solarium the day before the shooting. Red skin throughout the shoot! Therefore, the photographer should warn the model in advance that all procedures are done long before the shooting.

NIKON D800 / 24.0-70.0 mm f/2.8 SETTINGS: ISO 250, F3.5, 1/250 s, 62.0 mm equiv.

Angles and poses

If the model has a double chin, position yourself a little higher, above her, and ask her to raise her head. Be careful that your head is not thrown back and everything looks beautiful.

NIKON D800 / 24.0-70.0 mm f/2.8 SETTINGS: ISO 2000, F2.8, 1/60 s, 60.0 mm equiv.

If the model has a large nose, avoid profile shots, try to give her a head turn so that the nose does not extend beyond the cheek, this way it will look more graceful.

NIKON D800 / 24.0-70.0 mm f/2.8 SETTINGS: ISO 200, F3.2, 1/250 s, 44.0 mm equiv.

The most important, of course, are the eyes and gaze. To make them match the mood of the shoot, try to create an atmosphere of trust. Be sure to talk, help you relax in every possible way, sometimes joke and, if you like what you get, be sure to give compliments.

Remember, it takes some time for anyone to feel comfortable in front of a camera. Try to focus on what the model really does well, rather than on what is bad. If you see a tightness in the jaw, an unnatural smile, don’t be silent, pay attention to it, tell it to feel it and let it go. If the clamp is in the hands and fingers, ask to twist the wrists and shake the fingers so that they relax. A simple exercise will help relieve tension in the neck - a few circular movements of the head, soft, feminine turns.

The photographer must carefully monitor everything that gets into his frame - clothing, body position, gaze, background. I advise you to start shooting from a sitting position (it doesn’t matter - in a chair, on a bed, on the floor).

NIKON D700 / 50.0 mm f/1.8 SETTINGS: ISO 200, F7.1, 1/200 s, 50.0 mm equiv.

This way the person has support and a limited space where he can act under your guidance without getting lost or worried. When the first exciting moments are over, you can already move to any other place in the hall.

But most importantly, don’t be silent. There is nothing worse if you tell a girl while pointing the lens at her, “do something,” and then shut up and wait. Don't expect her to immediately turn into Claudia Schiffer and start practicing professional modeling poses. Most likely, it will be tense, awkward and uncomfortable, for both of you.

Take control, tell the girl the position of her body, arms, legs, so that it looks elegant and feminine in the frame. And so that a genuine sparkle burns in your eyes, and a sincere smile plays on your lips, do not forget to support great mood and a positive atmosphere in the studio.

New Year's holidays are in full swing. Cities are filled with holiday colors, textures, lanterns, Christmas lights and other cheerful and elegant beauties. I really want to keep the colorful decoration of the city as a souvenir.

But this task can be difficult for those new to photography due to the need to shoot bright objects in low light conditions.

Our cheat sheet will help you understand and remember the fundamental indicators. Just keep it with you and use it when you go out for a walk in the evening. Sooner or later you will remember the parameters for the camera and will be able to take great pictures of an elegant evening city without difficulty (and tips).

Most city centers are transformed by the sparkle of New Year's lights. When adjusting the exposure, you need to monitor the loss of detail directly in the lights themselves. You may need a tripod so you can use long exposures at low settings ISO .

To determine the ISO required for photography, you will need to take a test shot. Scale it, check the sharpness. If the image is blurry, you will have to increase the ISO by 1/3 step and try again.

And don’t forget that a good shooting point is one of the important factors when shooting, especially elegant holiday cityscapes!

11816 Studio photography 0

We continue a small series of publications of a studio photography course about winter photo shoots in the studio, started yesterday, because the New Year is the very holiday when you want to give gifts not only to your loved ones, but also to yourself. What could be the best gift for a woman (except diamonds, of course)? Photo shoot, yes! A photo shoot allows a woman to break out of the everyday rhythm of life, wear her best dress (and not just a dress, those same diamonds), be charming, as attractive and bright as possible. And then, on long winter evenings, she will be able to look at these photographs and see herself - a beauty queen. But the responsibility for the expected result lies not with the model, but with the photographer, who must see her beauty and be able to capture it. And if he doesn’t try hard, it could turn out to be a completely different story: on long winter evenings, a woman will look at the holiday photos, sighing at her imperfections and eating her grief with diet cookies. This must not be allowed!

CHOOSING A STUDIO

When the choice of clothing is made, select several studio options for the model. Let her choose which one she likes best.

Book the selected room according to whether you want to shoot with natural light or pulsed light. If the first option, then this is a hall with large windows, and the optimal time for booking will be daylight hours. In winter it is approximately from 11 to 15:00. If the studio is busy at this time, and you do not like or are afraid to work with pulsed light, order constant light sources.

SELECTION OF EQUIPMENT

I have a Nikon D800, this camera allows you to shoot at high ISOs, so you can work with natural light even in cloudy weather. For studio photography, you can safely take lenses with a fixed focal length. Zoom lenses are more important for reportage photography, but are also suitable for studio photography. One of my lenses is Nikon 50mm f/1.8G AF-S Nikkor. This is a fast lens that allows you to beautifully blur the background. Which is especially true for New Year’s photo shoots, when there are a lot of lights from the Christmas tree and other decorations in the background. The fixed Nikon 85mm f/1.4G AF-S Nikkor is also suitable for portraits. For both 50mm and 85mm lens options, a room with an area of 50 square meters or more would be optimal. m. If you decide to shoot with a zoom lens, then the universal Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8E ED VR AF-S Nikkor lens is quite suitable. With zoom capabilities ranging from a small wide angle of 24mm to a portrait angle of 70mm, you can take both long shots and portraits without distorting the image too much. The total area of the shooting area for such a lens is from 30 square meters. m.

When photographing girls in the studio, it is better not to use wide-angle lenses, since in portraits the face will be distorted and stretched, and in waist-length or general shots there is a possibility of limbs being distorted. Most likely, long-focal lenses will not be suitable either, because they can only be used to shoot from a long distance. Not all halls have large areas, which means you make it more difficult for yourself to shoot a full-length model. Remember that a lens is a tool that should make solving your problems easier, and not the other way around.

CAMERA SETTINGS

The settings depend on what kind of light you prefer to shoot with and in what mode (I only shoot in manual mode M). If it's pulsed light, everything is simple. Set ISO to minimum, white balance to your taste (I set to direct sunlight). The aperture, along with the values of the light sources, can be changed depending on whether you want to separate the model from the background or not. By changing the aperture value, you will receive a different amount of light in the frame. Therefore, also change the light intensity of your lamps. You can work with auto settings in the studio, but only when using natural light or with constant light sources. If you work with pulsed light, then it is better to change the camera settings manually.

Don’t be afraid to take test shots to adjust all the settings, this will help you get a great result without having to resort to extensive work in photo editors on your computer.

LIGHTING ATTACHMENTS

For a female portrait, softer light should be used, which means softboxes for pulsed light are optimal. If you need hard light for some creative tasks, use reflectors.

WORKING WITH THE MODEL

If the model has a double chin, position yourself a little higher, above her, and ask her to raise her head. Be careful that your head is not thrown back and everything looks beautiful.

If the model has a large nose, avoid profile shots, try to give her a head turn so that the nose does not extend beyond the cheek, this way it will look more graceful.

The photographer must carefully monitor everything that falls into his frame - clothing, body position, gaze, background. I advise you to start shooting from a sitting position (it doesn’t matter - in a chair, on a bed, on the floor).

Take control, tell the girl the position of her body, arms, legs, so that it looks elegant and feminine in the frame. And to ensure that there is a genuine sparkle in your eyes and a sincere smile on your lips, do not forget to maintain a great mood and a positive atmosphere in the studio.

Everyone associates the New Year with magic and fairy tales. When creating New Year's photographs, you want to convey this holiday atmosphere, make the photo bright, beautiful and positive. One of the most simple ways convey the holiday atmosphere - shooting with the bokeh effect. Decorated, garlanded Christmas trees and city lights will become a wonderful backdrop. Below we will introduce the concept of bokeh, give recommendations for its creation and analyze examples.

In Japanese, “bokeh” means blur. This is an out-of-focus area in the photo, blurred. It is created by a combination of light and shadow behind the object. The play of color also plays an important role. There are several rules to create this effect.

It's better to get the right lens. You can, of course, use any one that is at hand, but if you have a choice, use optics with a higher aperture ratio. The higher the aperture, the more beautiful the effect will be. The background will be more blurred and the bokeh will be larger. For example, you can take /1.or. These are ideal parameters;
Use manual focus. This will highlight exactly the object you are focusing on;
To add more expressiveness, highlight your subject. This will highlight the silhouette. The main thing here is not to overdo it. A flash is also suitable for illumination, but it is better to do without it. If there are no other options, then it is better to use it separately from the camera.

As an option - a halogen spotlight, but somehow muffled. As a last resort, if there is nothing at hand at all, just a flashlight or any other home light source will do;

Shoot with a large aperture. Choose a small number using manual mode or aperture priority. In this case, the depth of field will be small and, accordingly, the background will be blurred, which will create the bokeh effect;
Increasing distance. This again allows you to blur the background even more. Try to find the ideal option experimentally. In any case, the model must be positioned no closer than one and a half meters from the background;
Get closer to the model. It is ideal to approach the minimum distance at which the camera can focus;
If the camera has a zoom, then use longer focal lengths. This gives a better effect even at smaller apertures;
Pay attention to the foreground too. There may also be areas out of focus, which will add even more impact to the photo;
As for our topic (shooting against the backdrop of a garland), here you will have to photograph in twilight, the shutter speed will naturally be 1/30, 1/40, so a tripod will not be amiss.

Examples of pictures with bokeh effect

Below we will look at pictures with the bokeh effect taken against the background of a garland. New Year is the time to experiment in this area. And you won’t have to choose a background for a long time - every home has it, and there are enough elegant models.

Photo taken from photography site 500px.com. Its author is Vladimir Zotov. He shares the secrets of creating such a background.

The model was shot against the backdrop of a window on which a garland hangs like a curtain. Please note that the background is dark. This is due to the fact that it is night outside. This effect cannot be achieved during the day. The distance from the model to the background is about four meters. Aperture 1.7, shutter speed 1/40, ISO 100. It is not advisable to use a flash in these conditions. She will extinguish all the lights of the garland. In this regard, the author used two strips for lighting on the sides of the model, directed towards each other. The light was set to a pilot light. To summarize, the author gives following tips: shoot with the aperture wide open, place the garland on a dark background so that there is no reflection. And here is the diagram:

Following Vladimir’s advice, one of the photographers took similar pictures and this is what came out of it.

In the first case, the following parameters were used: shutter speed 1/135, ISO 800, Helios 2.0 lens. In the second - shutter speed 1/80, ISO 800.

It was not possible to use lighting as in the original source; there was little light from the softboxes, so the author used a halogen spotlight, covering it with a studio umbrella. Thanks to this, the light scattered and became soft, without creating harsh shadows.

Another example in which the features and rules for creating bokeh with a Christmas tree garland in the background will be analyzed, from Marie Sturges.

This example uses a 50mm f/1.8 lens.

The camera is set up as for any indoor shooting, but remember that the wider the aperture, the better. If possible, then the indicator should be maximum.

The garland on the background can be placed either evenly or in a certain order, depending on the planned effect. The most convenient way to secure it is with office clips.

If the lens has a variable focal length, then select the maximum value. Example done Nikon lens 55-200mm at 95mm position is the maximum under these conditions. As you can see, even at f/4.5 the effect was clearly visible. It's better than not using zoom at all.

Get as close to the subject as possible. For comparison, a photo taken from a greater distance than the final photo. Notice how much worse the bokeh looks.

There doesn't have to be a person in the frame. Beautiful photo can be done using any souvenir. Lights will add charm and a slight flair of fabulousness to any trinket.

Several objects located at different distances from the lens will add depth to the photograph.

Look for new angles.

Play with lights. They can be juggled, or poured out of a teapot, or drowned in a glass.

Think about color harmony.

Monochrome photos are great too.

New Year's treats are a separate subject for photography. They are delicious not only in life, but also in photographs.

Take pictures of your friends, loved ones and pets.

Use special attachments for bokeh. This will allow you to complement the photo with bright hearts, stars, diamonds and everything your imagination can do.

Playing with the focal length can also change the shape of the bokeh. This produces various polygons. The number of angles in them depends on the number of blades in the aperture.

Go out into the city. Festive illumination lights, headlights, signs. Capture the image of a festive city.

Bright lights to you and Happy New Year!