1/19/2024 0 Comments Photography black modelsShooting in black and white in-camera can give a quick result without the need for post-production work. ![]() Should I shoot in black and white or convert later? This can, in turn, help isolate the subject in the photo– drawing the eye to the model and what you want to say with your image. Black and white portraits are often associated with a sombre or bleak mood – however, that doesn’t have to be the case.Ī black and white portrait can add drama – and you can use it alongside light and shadows to really up the contrast in the photo. As black and white really make the most of the subject – it removes distractions.Īnother important consideration is that of mood and atmosphere. If the answer to these questions is no, then you may wish to try black and white portrait photography. Then, think about the background or the location – is the color within these elements important to the photo you are taking? Do they have brightly colored hair, vivid or distinctly colored clothes? When deciding this with portraiture, there are certain things to think about.įirst, consider whether depicting color is vital to who you are photographing. Will it be a black and white portrait or color? This goes for how you will light your photo, frame and compose it, pose it and lastly – can extend to how you will edit it. However, you choose to create your photo though, pre-visualisation is key to good portrait photography of any kind. You can use continuous lighting or a flash to help you achieve this – or even window light. You may wish to choose black and white portraits to create striking photos. In the end, this can be a stylistic choice – or it can be one of necessity. But when you photograph people in black and white, you photograph their souls.” As the great Canadian photographer Ted Grant said, “When you photograph people in colour, you photograph their clothes. In terms of black and white portrait photography, we observe how the photographer sees the model.Īlso, black and white portraits can often reveal or accentuate emotional expressions to greater effect. It references a century and half of stunning black and white photographic portraits and our cultural sense of beauty.īy concentrating on the B&W tonal range and the light and form it makes a statement of how the photographer sees the world – not simply what the camera records. ![]() Well, black and white photography certainly can be beautiful. Now you may be asking: why are black and white portraits beautiful? Convert the photo to black and white and, the problem may go away – the imperfections of the original photo becoming an area fitting with the tonal spectrum of the rest of the face. Lastly, there is contingency: sometimes a color photo just doesn’t look right or looks awkward. Its simplicity brings advantages: in black and white, the tonal range and contrasts can be manipulated without color interference.īy taking away the color, you remove one layer of distraction from the photo revealing, for instance, form and lighting in a new, clearer way – so important when you want to draw the eye to your subject. This is really befitting for B&W portrait photos, or even when using monochrome or grayscale. But why shoot black and white portraits?įirstly, there is an aesthetic appeal: black and white photos can look startling pure and sophisticated. However, despite this and even though black and white seems to be a retrograde stylistic step, black and white is still a choice for many photographers, including those who shoot portraits. ![]() Since Eggleston’s intervention over 40 years ago, color photography has rapidly overtaken black and white photography to become the obvious choice for all kinds of photographers from fine art, to photojournalism, to wildlife. In fact, it was one exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in 1976, by William Eggleston, that helped challenge the norm and propel color photography to where it is today. Kodak invented the first color film in 1935, but it was not until the 1970s that color photography really began to be recognised as an ‘art form’.Ĭolor photography wasn’t widely used until the 1950s and to begin with, it was seen as being primarily for snapshots or adverts – not for serious or artistic photography. You may have found yourself at times asking the question: why do photos look better in black and white? To answer this question, it’s useful to briefly look at black and white photography compared to color photography.įor ‘serious’ photographers, black and white was the predominant photography mode until very recently, in relative terms.
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