Putting emotion into your images
Add FeeLing is the first step to success
It’s difficult to define exactly what elevates
an image from run of the mill to art. Feeling
and emotion have a lot to do with it. If you
stir something in the viewer, make them react- either positively or negatively – then you’re
well on your way. Working in black and white
can achieve that in itself simply because it
allows us to take a step back from reality and
throw off the shackles of familiarity, but you
need to do more than simply remove colour
to create an artistic black and white image.
The quality of light can make a difference.
Think about how light and weather affect
your state of mind. When the sun’s shining
and fluffy white clouds are drifting across
the sky, the world is warm and welcoming
and we feel positive. The opposite applies
on a stormy day when the sky is as dark
as hell and shafts of sunlight burst through
inky clouds to light up the landscape like
the fingers of a god. Such conditions make
us feel threatened and uneasy.
If you want to produce dramatic black and
white images, bad weather wins hands down
every time because it’s raw and emotive. Mist
and fog work well too. Fog hides more than
it reveals, adding a sense of mystery and
suspense that brings out our insecurities –
what’s hiding in the gloom? Mist on the other
hand is dreamy and atmospheric, so it instils a
lighter and more positive mood in the viewer.
The way you edit your images can also
make a huge difference to the way the viewer
responds to them. If you shoot in bad weather,
it’s easy to create a menacing feel simply by
darkening the tones and boosting contrast
using levels and curves. A dark vignette
around the edges of the image can also be
a good way to create drama, drawing the
viewer’s attention towards your main subject.
Adding noise will create a nice textured
effect, or you can mimic the characteristics
of films using applications such as Silver Efex
Pro – fast films such as Fuji Neopan 1600 andIlford Delta 3200 are good ones as they’re
grainy. Don’t worry if some of the highlights
blow out or some of the shadows block up.
Remember, you’re trying to achieve emotion
rather than technical perfection. The two
rarely go hand in hand.
Of course, black and white images don’t
have to evoke negative emotion: if you want
to create a lighter, more delicate feel, go for
a high-key effect. This treatment works well
on images shot in misty conditions or on
flat, overcast days when the tonal range of
the image is more limited. There are high key
presets in Silver Efex Pro and other similar
applications – give them a try. Or just play
around with levels and curves.
Experimentation is the key. Take creative
risks – you can always backtrack if they
don’t work. And use yourself as an emotional
guinea pig. How does the image make you
feel? Good? Bad? It doesn’t matter either way
providing it makes you feel something.Right
Flatiron, New York
This dark, dramatic effect
was created during editing
to add emotion to the image.
The original image was shot
on a flat, overcast day
Top right
Cienfuegos, Cuba
A telezoom lens has
compressed perspective to
crowd the elements in this
scene and create a powerful
black and white imageTechniques