Guess What? At SKY, we are celebrating Black Friday, too! – but sorry – there is no sale… or special promotion… or 3:00 am opening.
For us it’s Black & White Friday! We thought that we would present some of our favorite Black & White portraits and provide a few quick tips that can help create mood and make Black & White photography so captivating – and often much more interesting than color photography.
When we plan a portrait in Black & White, we know that we want to concentrate on the emotion in a relationship. Think about getting close so your subject fills the frame. Notice, with the lack of visual clutter and the dark background, we have been able to create a truly intimate moment.
In this next example, we can see how cropping an image can alter the message – and possibly the emotional impact. The photo below emphasizes the relationship between the mother and child at a special time in their lives; expecting Mommy’s new baby.
But by cropping the image later we now have a portrait of a beautiful moment between big brother and his soon to arrive little sister.
Converting color images to Black and White also helps to unify a portrait. In the example below, the brother’s outfit was far more casual then his twin sister’s lace dress. By printing the portrait in Black and White we have a portrait that focuses on the children’s faces and less on their clothing choice creating a more dramatic look.
Whether you choose a high key Black and White like this:
Or a soft sepia like this:
Consider a Black and White portrait for your home!