Today’s Post by Blue Moon Staff
I’ve noticed a trend in viewer reaction to some of my glamour images. Even though only a few of my posts on Social Media featured black and white photographs, it turned out that many of them were the most popular. And I think I can understand why.
The Monochrome Advantage
Sometimes color can confuse a viewer removing the focus from the photograph’s actual subject, which can be true, I believe, in portraiture and especially with glamour photography
Other genres: Some black and white images, such as landscapes, have more drama when seen in monochrome. Without a blue sky to distract a viewer, clouds can “pop” creating a more exciting look particularly in infrared landscape photography.
There are many ways that you can produce black and white digital images: You can capture photographs in color the same way you do now and then convert the image file to monochrome later using software such as Silver Efex or Exposure. You can also shoot black and white images directly in-camera using the camera’s monochrome setting.
These day,almost all DSLRs and mirrorless cameras offer JPEG monochrome shooting modes and many even have toning effects that let you shoot in toned black and white and see how that looks while making the image. Tip: If you shoot in direct monochrome mode, be sure to shoot in RAW+JPEG mode so you’ll also have a color (RAW) file if you change your mind later. It took me a long time to figure that out.
When making portraits the advantage of shooting in direct monochrome mode provides instant feedback and helps focuses your vision and it lets you show your subject what you’re trying to accomplish. You don’t have to explain to them how you’ll convert the shot into monochrome later; it’s already there on the LCD screen! This approach provides an immediacy to the process and if you like, you (or they) can make B&W prints using a printer or drop the memory card off at a local Walgreens.
How I made this shot: I photographed aspiring model Laura May Bachmayer doing her best Holly Golightly turn in my home studio using a somewhat low-key lighting set-up. I placed an LED light panel at camera right with a 30-inch Westcott 5-in-1 reflector located at camera left. A Savage Pecan-colored seamless paper background was suspended from JTL stands. The camera used was a Canon EOS 60D with EF-S 15-85mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM lens (at 70mm) with an exposure of 1/10 sec at f/5.6 and ISO 800.
The image was originally shot as a color JPEG before I switched to RAW+JPEG capture for my studio work (and everything else.) The color JPEG file was retouched in Photoshop using Imagenomics’ Portraiture, then converted to monochrome in Silver Efex. The final touch was adding a layer of the Glamour Glow filter from Color Efex with the Glow Warmth slider slightly tweaked before adding the image borders from the same plug-in.
Here’s a book nude photography that should be in everybody’s bookshelf:
