WHAT THE ENVIRONMENT BRINGS TO THE PORTRAIT
Sometimes it isn’t just about skin tones and contrast. Sometimes the environment plays a huge part in the black and white portrait. Of course, the same thing can be said of color portraiture, but this IS the black and white portrait class so we are gonna stay with that.
This photograph of Briana was taken near the Superstition Mountains on a rather dull overcast morning in Arizona. I wanted to get something dramatic, but the exposure for skin tone left me with a very sad, mushy environment. I decided to convert it to black and white and add some spice to it with a monochromatic tone.
This took a little finessing to do to bring out the texture of the rocks and the desert flora.
KIMONO IN OMAHA
This image was one of the last images I shot on a workshop in Omaha. In fact, the model was getting ready to leave when she put on the Kimono. I asked for 10 minutes because I saw something in my head and wanted to try it out.
I went another way after the shot was produced, but I thought I may try to do what I had seen in that moment for this class.
CHANNEL MIXER
ADDED LIGHT EFFECT
FINAL IMAGE
BRET ON THE DOCKS
I am always looking for graphics in nature. Whether they are leading lines, obtuse angles, pure verticals and horizontals, the shape and line are so important to the image.
And I think they are even more important in black and white photography. Since we don’t have color to help lead the image in the viewers mind, we have to use the shapes and angles in what I think of as a more “pure” way.
Nowhere is this more important than in portraiture.
From headshot to full length, the environment can be subtle or over the top, but it is how we handle the tonality of black to white that helps make the image more dramatic… or less if that is what we want.
ASSIGNMENT: An environmental image that includes enough environment to make it integral to the image. Two shots, please.
IMAGE REVIEW MAY 13, 2016
IMAGE REVIEW: JANUARY 2017
