Color And Monochrome: Dos And Don’ts Of Using It For Glamour Images
Sooner or later, any every beauty photographer encounters one particular choice, which only seems to be an easy one. It sounds fairly simple, but evokes tremendous doubts. This dilemma lies in choosing between color and monochrome photography.
It was simple back when photography only existed in grayscale – nobody would be concerned about the issues of colors, shades and how they match. Photographers successfully depicted astounding beauty photographs without a full palette a human eye can perceive.
With colors becoming another vital factor of a picture’s aesthetic quality, beauty photography altered dramatically. With the help of digital photography anyone with little effort is able to reproduce all the abundance of colors, which seems a strong enough argument to stand by “colorful glamour”.
As to your own decision on this curious problem, it should be based upon studying pros and cons of both color and monochrome. There is no point advising about which of the ways fits best for you – Artistic Glamour Photography prefers freedom instead of concrete rules.
Firstly, it should be clarified that shooting a good monochrome photo is just as challenging as if you aimed for depicting all the shades that exist. Should you consider either of them a no-brainer, you will suffer a heavy disappointment after some time.
Light always remains a critical issue for both color and monochrome photohraphy. Without the proper lighting the mood will be spoiled and the photograph would be flat. It always happens so. Whether you are a fan of old school or prefer shooting in color, light is equally significant for your artistic success.
The only distinctions are connected with the photograph’s impact upon the viewer, with each of the two approaches it is different. These are sometimes too important to ignore:
- Colors are excellent for placing accents you want your viewers to concentrate on. Colorful photo attracts immediate attention; composition is easy to arrange based on the colors of its key elements; different shades create different mood and contribute to the impact a photo can have.
- Black and white puts more stock in texture and forms rather than different tones and shades. Black and white photography enables the viewer to notice the interaction of light and objects within the frame, allowing to see those patterns more clearly. If you aim for a touch of subtlety and exquisiteness while wishing to retain and even enhance the artistic impact, monochrome is a precious technique. Also, monochrome hides color aberrations you wouldn’t like to demonstrate, like unnatural skin shades.
- Various kinds of monochromatic image have different effects on its mood. For example, sepia is fairly popular with photographers. You might also try other techniques: duotone, infrared, high-key etc. There are countless tutorials online, so you can learn much if you want to.
- Colors also can supplement the gray-scale image to emphasize some elements of its composition, it may be a cliche, but why should someone’s superstition forbid you from using it? Even the most trivial technique can be used in an unusual way, so it really is entirely up to you. Colorful spots on black and white background can attract viewer’s attention and create certain mood; monochromatic spots on otherwise a colorful photo can serve the same purpose of drawing attention and creating atmosphere.
As in most cases, no way is really preferable or less challenging, both color and black and white glamour photography have their fans who never cease to discuss the advantages and downsides. In fact, you don’t need to choose, if something serves your purpose best of all, corresponds to the mood of your photo and delivers your message efficiently, you should have no doubts about what you do. It isn’t methods and schools that create masterpieces, it’s people, their vision and their talents.
More On Photography Instructions
Incoming search terms:
