Advanced Composition

进阶构图

作者：Paul Colley

来源：

https://www.divephotoguide.com/underwater-photography-techniques/article/underwater-photography-advanced-composition/

It’s not just cameras, lenses and housings that make better pictures. Technology has its place in the photography armory. But most of us can make better pictures with what we already own. And I mean much better. This article will explain how, developing some well-recognized ideas about basic composition. Just a little more thought about this could make you a better photographer.

拍出好照片不仅仅是靠的相机、镜头和防水壳。技术也很重要。大多数人可以用我们现有的设备拍出更好的照片。这篇文章将解释，如何延伸一些公认的基本构图原则。摄影时多考虑一下构图，你就能成为一名更好的摄影师。

What Makes a Winning Image?

是什么造就了获奖的照片?

When I talk about winning images, it’s about winning the hearts of people you wish to engage. It could be friends, family, peer photographers and for sure—if you aspire to it—magazine editors and competition judges. You’ll be listening for that response we all love to hear: “Wow!” This is what I think makes winning images:

照片想要获奖，就要能赢得人心。它可以是朋友，家人，同行摄影师，当然，如果你渴望赢得杂志编辑和比赛评委的倾心。你会听到： “哇！”的赞叹。这就是我认为的照片能够获奖的原因:

A winning image captures many things. It can be a new viewpoint of a common subject, or a fleeting moment in time, or the perfect rendering of exquisite underwater geometry, shapes and symmetry. Most winners have high contrast in light or color, a clear subject and careful balance between the different visual weights in the frame. All have one thing in common: the wow factor—an ability to strike at the viewer’s heart and engage them emotionally.

一张获奖的照片可以捕捉到很多东西。它可能是一个普通拍摄主题的新视角，或者是一个转瞬即逝的瞬间，或者是精美的水下几何、形状和对称性的完美呈现。大多数获奖照片在光线或颜色上有很高的对比度，有一个清晰的主题，以及在画面中不同视觉权重之间平衡。它们都有一个共同点：一个令人惊叹的因素——一种能够打动观众的心并让他们产生情感共鸣的能力。

Make sure you have mastered your camera. Unless you know how your camera and lighting system work, you cannot progress easily into advanced composition. Develop the mental and muscle memory that allows you to work with your camera underwater without overthinking.

确保你已经精通掌握了你的相机。除非你知道你的相机和照明系统是如何工作的，否则你不可能轻易地进入高级构图阶段。培养你的大脑和肌肉记忆，让你在水下使用相机时不会过度思考。

Read books, go on courses, practice with your gear—do whatever it takes. But when you are proficient at taking a picture, note Ansell Adams’ wise words: “You don’t take a photograph, you make it.” That’s where composition takes center stage.

读书，上课，用你的装备练习——尽一切可能。但当你已经熟悉拍照时，请注意安塞尔·亚当斯(Ansell Adams)的至理名言: “You don’t take a photograph, you make it.” 构图是很重要的。

A Model for Underwater Composition

水下构图的模型

In considering composition at a deeper level, I use the model below. In the following sections, we’ll consider the three main elements in the model: light, contrast, and balance.

在更深层次上考虑构图，我将使用下面的模型。在接下来的章节中，我们将考虑模型中的三个主要元素：光、对比度和平衡。

Light

光

Understanding and capturing light is something that all good photographers master. You must control the relative direction, intensity and quality of light. It shapes color and contrast. These are your basic compositional tools.

理解和捕捉光线是优秀摄影师的拿手好戏。你必须控制光的相对方向，强度和质量。它塑造了颜色和对比，这些是基本的构图工具。

Light can be natural or artificial, hard or directional, soft or diffuse. Diffusers on your strobes create softer light, good for bringing out large patches of vibrant color. Take the diffusers off and use only one strobe (or differential power with two strobes) for stronger directional light to generate shadow and details. Above all, always note the direction of natural light: put the sun behind you if you want color in a big scene; or from the side if you want to emphasize shadows, shapes and texture. Light is the photographer’s master tool with which, using lenses, apertures and shutter speeds, we paint color and detail into our images. 

光可以是自然的或人工的，可以是硬光或定向的光，可以是柔光或漫射的光。柔光罩在你的闪光灯前可以提供更柔和的光，有利于拍摄出大块的充满活力的颜色。取下柔光罩，只使用一个闪光灯（或两个不同功率的闪光灯）为更强的定向光提供阴影和细节。

Contrast

对比度

“Nothing exists without its opposite.” At its most obvious, contrast it is the difference in brightness or color that makes an object distinguishable to the eye. But viewers of your images need to work out what they are looking at quickly, or they will disengage. Contrast in light and dark makes it easier for them. Color contrasts are similar. We need high contrast—in light, color or both—set against lower contrast in the rest of the image. Otherwise, we generate a level of overall detail that begins to clutter the principal subjects.

任何事物都离不开他的相反面。最明显的是，对比度是亮度或颜色的差异，使物体可以用眼睛辨认出来。观众需要快速弄清楚他们在看的是什么，否则他们就会不想看。明暗对比让他们更容易适应。颜色对比也是相似的。我们需要高对比度的光线，颜色，或两者都是---但是要在图像的其余部分设置较低的对比度。否则，我们生成的整体细节的层次会使主要主体看起来很混乱。
 

Try looking at small thumbnails of your images. If the main subjects are not obvious, they may lack sufficient contrast. Silhouettes and monochrome images are often the best ways to see high contrast in light. Consider the two images below of a freediver and a shipwreck. Both were deliberately shot into or across the light for high contrast and note how well the shapes stand out. You can also use a wide aperture to blur background detail. Another possibility is using a small aperture to get a dark background and letting flash light pick out the foreground subject color.

尝试查看照片的小缩略图。如果主体看起来不明显，则可能缺乏足够的对比度。剪影和单色图像通常是在光线下看到高对比度的最佳方式。参考下图的自由潜水员和沉船的两张图片。两者都被特意射入或穿过光线以获得高对比度，并注意形状的突出程度。您还可以使用大光圈来模糊背景细节。另一种可能性是使用小光圈来获得暗背景，并让闪光灯体现出前景主体的颜色。

Images shot with the light behind or across the subject can provide very high contrast

光线在主体背后或穿过主体，可以提供非常高的对比度

There are other subtle contrasts that you can bring to your images. People appreciate these sometimes-understated and even subliminal contrasts, for instance, of texture and density or of size and position. Photographing a smooth subject on a textured sponge background, as in the eggshell cowrie image below, is one example. Or capturing a decisive moment like that in the barracuda image, which contrasts one barracuda set against many and heading in opposite directions. It grabs attention and achieving this particular contrast was a function of timing; nailing the peak of the action defined the contrasts of direction and scale in this image.

你还可以在你的照片中加入其他细微的对比度。人们会欣赏这些轻描淡写或者是潜意识里的对比，例如纹理和密度或大小和位置的对比。在带纹理的海绵背景上拍摄光滑的主体，如下面的贝壳图片，就是一个例子。或者在拍摄像梭鱼的图像时，将一只梭鱼与许多梭鱼形成对比，并朝着相反的方向前进。引起人们的注意，实现这种特殊的对比的原因是时间的作用；在这张图片中，动作的尖端定义了方向和比例的对比。

The smooth cowrie contrasts nicely with the textured sponge, and the barracuda image has contrasts of size and direction

光滑的贝壳与有纹理的海绵形成很好的对比，梭鱼图像具有大小和方向的对比

Balance

平衡

The other master organizing principle for composition is balance. Different elements of an image have different visual weights, which depends on size, color, and position of objects within the frame, their implied vectors, sharpness (focus), and strength of content. An implied vector is the suggestion that something has a direction, for example, the way fish are pointing (they need space to move into), or the direction that a ship wreck lies (it has a vector from stern to bow) or even the way a diver or creature is looking; viewers of the image will tend to follow that vector as they scan the overall picture.

另一个主要的构图原则是平衡。图像的不同元素具有不同的视觉权重，这取决于画面内对象的大小、颜色和位置、它们的隐含的向量、清晰度（焦点）和内容的力量感。隐含向量是暗示某物具有方向，例如，鱼指向的方式（它们需要空间移动），或沉船所在的方向（它具有从船尾到船头的向量），甚至潜水员或生物的延伸；照片的观者在扫描整个图片时会倾向于跟随该向量。

Look at the image below of a coral-encrusted motorbike in the hold of a ship. It has three strong weights distributed along a dominant diagonal line: the front wheel of the bike (large size, sharp focus and high detail); the yellow fish (strong color and a clear implied vector); and the blue water (a moderate-sized bright color patch). The water color and fish colors contrast well, so between them they have visual weight that naturally balances the dominant bike and its big front wheel.  

看看下面的图片，一艘船的货舱里有一辆镶嵌着珊瑚的摩托车。它有三个重点分布在一条主对角线上：车的前轮（大尺寸、清晰对焦和高细节）；黄色的鱼（强烈的颜色和清晰的隐含向量）；和蓝色的水（中等大小的明亮色块）。水彩和鱼的颜色对比很好，因此它们之间具有视觉重量，自然地平衡了占主导地位的摩托车和大前轮。  

Balance: The highest visual weights in the top image are the motorbike front wheel, the fish and the patch of blue water. In the bottom image, implied vectors and positions in the frame allow the diver and fish school to balance each other

平衡：第一张照片中最高的视觉权重是摩托车前轮、鱼和蓝水。第二张照片中，框架中的隐含向量和位置使得潜水员和鱼群相互平衡

The general trick is to size up what you see through the viewfinder as the main compositional elements and move your relative position in the water to distribute these weights evenly around the frame. It’s not easy, and immediate image review underwater is invaluable, because you may not see some color patches until they have been lit by your artificial light.

一般的技巧是将你通过取景器看到的东西作为主要的构图元素放大，然后移动你在水中的相对位置，使这些重点均匀地分布在画面周围。这并不容易，在水下立即查看图像是很重要的，因为在人造光照亮之前，您可能看不到某些色块。

Color has high weight in an image. When an image is balanced, it has a feeling of stability. But you can also deliberately unbalance an image, for instance, by distributing lots of visual weight on one side, to create tension. An example might be to have a diver looking out of the frame, with no obvious other subject in the picture. The viewer cannot see what the diver is looking at and that creates tension; if the diver’s eyes are wide open, it might be something exciting or dangerous. Imagination comes into play.  

颜色在图像中具有很高的权重。当图像平衡时，它有一种稳定的感觉。但是你也可以故意不平衡图像，例如，通过在一侧分配大量视觉重量来制造张力。举个例子，是让一名潜水员向外看，图片中没有明显的其他主题。观众无法看到潜水员在看什么，这会造成紧张的氛围；如果潜水员的眼睛睁得很大，这可能是令人兴奋或危险的事情。观众会开始发挥想象力。   

The Wow Factor

令人惊叹的因素

Good contrast and balance give a better chance of achieving the wow factor. But this also has a lot to do with subject selection. We get bored looking at the same type of underwater pictures; there are millions out there. So novelty is a great commodity. It could be a rarely-photographed subject, but if we depended on rarity alone to make images work, we might struggle. You can also photograph common subjects in new ways.

良好的对比度和平衡使得更有机会获得令人惊叹的效果。但这也与拍摄主题选择有很大关系。看着同类型的水下照片，我们会感到厌烦；有太多这样的照片了。所以新奇的实物是一种很好的题材。它可能是一个很少被拍摄的主题，但如果我们仅仅依靠稀有性来制作图像，可能会比较困难。您还可以以新的方式来拍摄常见的主题。

Novelty and viewpoint can have high value in composition. Saltwater crocodiles are difficult to photograph and are therefore novel. But even a very common subject at high magnification can create viewer interest. The common shrimp works well at super-macro using high key techniques and natural light for an uncluttered canvas—most people tend to use flash and dark backgrounds

新颖性和观点在构图上具有很高的价值。咸水鳄鱼很难拍摄，因此很新颖。但即使是在高倍率下非常常见的主题也能引起观众的兴趣。普通虾在使用高调技术和自然光的超微距上效果很好，画布整洁——大多数人倾向于使用闪光灯和深色背景

Experiment with different lenses, lighting and viewpoints, and try to be different. Macro (and super-macro) is one way, because the possibilities are endless. But you will still need vibrant colors and interesting shapes to grab attention: contrast and balance will still apply

尝试不同的镜头、灯光和视角，尝试与众不同。微距（和超微距）是一种方式，可能性是无限的。但是你仍然需要鲜艳的色彩和有趣的形状来吸引注意力：对比度和平衡仍然很重要。

Above all, spend time studying photography online and offline to improve your knowledge of composition; you’ll get further quicker than by worrying about owning the latest cameras, lenses, housings and strobes. Consider the ideas here and take time thinking about and analyzing the pictures you come across. With luck, you’ll soon be taking more winning images of your own.

最重要的是，花时间在线上和线下学习摄影，以提高您的构图知识；与您是否拥有了最新的相机、镜头、外壳和闪光灯相比，您会更有收获。花时间思考和分析照片。幸运的话，您很快就会拍摄出更多属于自己的获奖照片。 

About the Author: Paul Colley is an award-winning underwater photographer and instructor. His book Winning Images with Any Underwater Camera was critically acclaimed by the Royal Photographic Society, which awarded Paul a distinction for the contribution that his book made to the research, education and application of underwater photography.

关于作者： Paul Colley 是一位屡获殊荣的水下摄影师和教练。他的书