The Power of Black And White Photographs and Portraits (Own Work)
I have always loved black and white/ monochrome photographs. There is something to be said for the power of removing the distraction of colour. It's removal allows us to see the fundamentals of a photograph - the very essence of which is the interplay between dark and light, highlight and shadow.
This distilling of this "essence" allows the emotion and atmosphere to be intensified. I feel this is especially so in my favourite type of photography which is portrait photography.
These are all shots of the same model (the lovely Zoe C.T.) but slight differences in lighting, processing and toning create a different feel to them. As I stated I think the monochrome process helps to accentuate this. I hope you agree. Let me know what you think in the comments.
(Apologies if the photo alignment is wrong I'm still trying to get used to html formatting.)
Good stuff. I love the vintage look you get with the film looking blacks. Are these film or digital?
Thanks. These are all digital and I used Nik Silver Effex Pro to do the B&W conversion which gives a very filmic look.
I think modern digital cameras (SLRs) have a look that is a bit too clean compared to old film - obviously there is no grain but the sharpness is also so extreme that things look a bit hyper-real - that's where plugins like Nik help.
I do have a Polaroid Land Camera that I used a bit but unfortunately Fuji stopped making the instant film for it so it became too expensive and by the time I was getting the film it was already out of date and degenerating.
The last batches of film that I used last year were predominantly cracking and tearing which is just heart-breaking when you have captured a perfect moment and it's ruined because the different bits of the paper and film have come apart inside the polaroid cassette.
When it used to work it gave a very vintage look straight out of the camera!
I've been using Mastin Labs and VSCO lightroom presets the they work great to simulate film. VSCO Tri-x looks great.
OK not familiar with those are they expensive?
Around $100 for each pack. I have one Kodak Portra from mastin labs and one set from VSCO.
@cloveancinnamon OK thanks will check them out.
I agree that most digital looks too clean. I like where you have taken it. It's very pleasing.
Thanks:)
I think I fell in love with Zoe C.T. She is really sexy! What can I say.... I love women. Great pics!
Lol. Sadly she moved to Ireland so it is unlikely I will get to photograph her again.
Magnifico!
Thank you:)
👍excellent pictures
Thank you.
Very nice @thecryptofiend :D
Very pretty.
Thank you for your kind comment:)
Nice work :-)
Thanks!
Forgot to say if people are interested I might be able to post some of the colour versions for comparison (if there is a colour version I made - sometimes I do both- unless I'm using black and white film obviously).
very nice photos, I agree monochrome really makes and image stand out.
Thank you:)
Bellas fotos, se ven nitidas y tienen su misterio
Thank you so much:)
Beautiful photos. I've always loved classic black and white photography. There is something so arresting about the images.