Digital SLR Photography - UK (2019-07)

Rememberthatshadowsareasimportantaslight

in allwalksofphotography,soif youwanttoget

creativein yourblack& whiteportraiturethenwhy

nottryincorporatingshadowplayintoyour

images?Thistranslatesreallynicelyintoblack&

whitewhencapturedusinghard,contrastylight,

too.Youcancreateandcontrolshadowsby

placinganobjectbetweena lightsourceandyour

subject– thisis knownasa ‘gobo’andcanbeused

tocastinterestingshadowsacrossthem.The

harshness,sizeanddepthoftheshadowis dictated

bythesizeofthelightsource,itsdistancefrom

yoursubjectandthedistancebetweenthelight,

goboandyoursubject.Examplesthatyoucantry

includevenetianblinds,a leafyplantorbranches,

oryoucancreatecustomcutoutstocasttheexact

shadowsthatyouwant,suchaspatterns!Thisis a

creativeapproachsodon’tsticktotherules–

black& whiteportraitureaffordsyoutheluxuryof

thinkingoutsidetheboxandbeingmorecreative.

The results are often interesting and eye-catching.

CREATECLASSIC PORTRAITS, OR MIXIT

UPANDTHINKCREATIVELY–BLACK&

WHITEDOESN’T HAVETO BE BORING!

BLACK& WHITE

PORTRAITS

58 DigitalSLR PhotographyJuly 2019

SHADOWPLAY

T

HERE’SSOMETHINGABOUTblack

& whiteportraitphotographythat

completelychangeshowweperceive

boththeimage,andthepersonwithin.If

you’veeverhadyourportraittakenthen

you’llprobablyfindyourselfgravitatingmore

towardsimagesconvertedtoblack& white

thanthoseleftin colour.Perhapsit’sbecause

monochromeportraitsareimmediately

differentiatedfromwhatweseewhenwe

lookin themirror,ormaybeit’sbecause

black& whiteportraitsseemtoconvey

mood,feeling,expressions,attitudeand

emotionbetterthantheircolour

counterparts.Withoutthedistractionof

colour,black& whiteportraitsseemmore

honest,openandintimate,buttheyhaveto

belit,capturedandprocessedin a waythat

complementsblack& whitein ordertobe

effective.Aswithanyformof photography,

simplyslidingdownthesaturationcontrol

won’tmakejustanyoldportraitgreat.

Froma technicalpointof viewblack&

whiteis alsomoreforgivingthancolour–

unevenskintones,orcolourcastscausedby

mixedlightsourcesarenolongera worry

whenconvertedtomonochrome,providing

thecoloursdon’tcontrasttoomuchasthis

cancausechangesin tonality.Bothdramatic

andsoftlightingcanworkwellforblack&

whiteportraits,andbothcanbeachieved

usingnaturallight,flashorcontinuous

lighting.Typically,dramaticlightingisn’tas

flatteringassoftlightin portraits,butwhen

convertedintomonochrome,dramaticlight

createscontrast– it addsdefinitionand

enhances textures, creating a rich tonal

rangefrombrighthighlightsrightdownto

darkshadows.Side-lightingyoursubject

witha single,smallanddirectlightsourceis a

goodexampleof dramaticportraitlighting.

Consideryoursubjectandthestoryormood

thatyouwanttoconveywhendeciding

whetherhardlightingis suitableornot–

it canoftenmakeportraitsseemmoregritty,

ordramatic,andwillhighlightimperfections

andtexturesin theskin.

Soft,diffusedlighting,ontheotherhand,is

morecomplementaryforportraits– typically

they’llbelowercontrast,butthiscanbe

controlledbyhowyoulightyoursubjectand

thebackgroundyousetthemagainst.You

canachievesoftlightbyusinga large,

diffusedlightsourceplacedclosetoyour

subject,suchasa softboxplacedcloseand

aboveyoursubject’shead,orbysittingthem

closetoa window(butnotin directsunlight).

A softly-litportraitcanstillhavepunchand

contrastwithcontrolledlighting,and

diffusedlighttendstoenhancegraduations

in tonein yoursubject’sskin– it’sgoodat

hidingblemishestoo!Whetheryoudecideto

lightyoursubjectusinghardorsoftlight,it’sa

goodideatoensurethatyourportraits

contain highlights in the right places to draw

in theviewer– catchlightsin theeyesare

vitalin black& whiteportraitsasthisis the

firstareathatyourviewerwillbedrawnto.

Eyescanbeenhancedsubtlyduring

post-processing,butit’salwaysbetterto

createrealcatchlightsratherthangivingyour

subjectsglowingeyesduetooverzealous

useof theDodgetoolin Photoshop.Another

lightingtrickincludesaddinga rimor

hairlighttocreatehighlightsin yoursubject’s

hair,orhavingthemapplylipglossorlipstick

tocatchthelight.

Theblack& whiteapproachworkswellno

matteryoursubject’sskintone,andcanalso

beappliedtobothlow-andhigh-key

images.Low-keyimagesarethosethatare

predominantlydarkin natureandcontaina

majorityof darktones.Low-keyshotstend

tosuitmoredramaticlighting,andby

exposingforthehighlightsyoucanletthe

shadowsfalltopureblack.High-keyimages,

conversely,areweightedtowardsthebright

sideof thehistogram,andarefloodedwith

lightandgenerallyshotagainstbright

backdrops,ordirectlyintothelightwhilst

exposingforthesubject’sskin.Justkeepan

eyeonthehighlightstoensureyou’renot

blowing the exposure and losing detail.

EKATERINA JURKOV

A/SHU

TTERSTO

CK

ALEKSAN

DAR

MIJ

ATOVI

C/

SHU

TTERSTO

CK