My 52 Week Photography Challenge Week 8
Make a Black and White Self-Portrait
I think I'm in love. Week 8 of my 52 week photography challenge started simply enough with a new project; make a black and white self-portrait. Searching Google for black and white portrait ideas yielded a portrait of a certain eighties pop singer. Gazing at the eyes staring back at mine, dark shadows surrounded the well lit mask of a face, a rough sense of goatee whiskers and the textures of his skin held my attention and inspiration grew. There is something in the beauty of black and white photography that I struggle to explain with words. In the absence of color, this black and white portrait relied on the play of light and shadow, textures, mood, pose and the subjects expression to stir feelings in the viewer. This one was captivating and I resolved to replicate it.
The eyes had to be in focus. Soft eyes kill a portrait. I set the camera on a tripod and prefocused on the spot I needed to stand and stuck a post-it note on the floor to mark it. Beginning with a single softbox proved to scatter the light too much. With the softbox removed the single flash was too much as well. I needed those wonderful shadows that make the face stand out. Cutting a piece of cardboard I fastened it around the flash gun to make a snoot, which concentrates the light in one spot, and aimed it at the ceiling. This still didn't create enough shadow and without flags to block the light somehow this had to do. I'd have to dodge the shadows in Photoshop later to darken them.
Making the portrait took several shots. The best I could do was make a shot and check it on the camera. Pose and shoot again. Repeat. The left eye pupil needed to be visible beyond my nose which couldn't break the line of the left side of my face and the eyes needed to be in focus. All this while keeping an acceptable expression was rather a challenge. Though below my jawline was too bright it's the best I could do in camera so the shadows were darkened as planned in Photoshop. All were made in color and converted to black and white. I found it's best to do the conversion in Photoshop as converting in Camera RAW seems to leave a bit of tint instead of true black and white. I did add a bit of sepia tint to this one in an effort to match the image I was trying to replicate.
After several attempts the photo above is the one I'm most pleased with and rather surprised that it matches so well the portrait I was trying to replicate. Thrilled and inspired I returned to the camera and tried some more poses.
Searching Google Images for more portrait ideas I wanted something darker, more moody and gritty. The image above is what I had in mind and an all time favorite. With this one I learned it's the contrast in tones that makes a black and white photo. Prior black and white images over the years seemed to lack any depth or feeling but this one really hit where I wanted. The only thing I might change is more detail in the hood I'm wearing but otherwise it's very nice. The viewer's eyes go straight to mine which is perhaps the essence of a black and white portrait. Those eyes should should draw you in and make you feel something.
I tried this one using much the same pose as the original image I wanted to replicate but more full face. It's not a powerful image but just a nice portrait with some wonderful shadows to bring out the mask of the face.
With a change of pose and zooming the camera lens out I made this upper torso shot that turned out really well. A reflector placed in a chair to camera left helps fill the shadows a bit on that side. The image has some mood and grit but isn't overpowering. I adore how the balance of light and shadow bring out the shapes and textures in a portrait.
The setup for this one is a bit different in that I replaced the black background with a large softbox directly behind me for a bright white background. The black section to camera right is a reflector I'm holding to help fill the shadows. It's the first time I've tried this arrangement and it seems to make the subject appear so crisp against the bright background.
Yes, I think I'm in love. Black and white photography is like an entirely different view of the world and almost as exciting as discovering photography all over again. Using black and white effectively I'm more aware of shapes, textures, light and shadow, the power of a facial expression and posing. I've learned so much in this challenge. It was difficult to write; to find the words to express what black and white photography made me feel. It's like I found a new world and it's all in black and white.
I hope you enjoyed this weeks challenge as well and found as much inspiration in it as I did. As always if you have questions or comments I welcome an Email or follow me on Twitter and Instagram. Thanks for reading!