Over the years, I haven't done as much B&W conversion as I would have liked. During this break, I decided to look over my portfolio and find some images that would do well in a B&W conversion, and here are some of the first that I have come up with.
I would not have thought that a photo of a gorgeous redhead could maintain its appeal when converted to black and white. Surprise! Really nice.
I thought the first was a nice one to start off with. I think this feels like a natural for black and white. Lots of nice shapes and lines. The only problem with it for me are the shadows on the feet and hands, left foot in particular. For what it's worth, I think a little softer contrast in tones would be nicer, a little shadow lifting. #6 is very nice. Her skintones look just fine--both feet are well lit. Terrific pose. I like how the way you shot it makes her resemble the tall buildings. The foreground gives her a nice base and the shot a nice foundation. The composition feels a little out of balance with the building on the left drawing my eye a bit with its dark, bold tones. The last imagefeels a touch muted. Perhaps the background could be darker. I realize some people are aghast at the idea of selective color but might work with the second shot. She feels somewhat swallowed up by the scene. That might give her some more presence. Just some ideas.
All good, Ron, as usual. #1 and #5 are my favorites. Alyssa's pose is fantastic! I like the way her arm and leg are aligned. #5 -- fine freckles, Ferd. Your conversion did indeed amplify them, but I really need to see her red hair and green eyes (I imagine).
I'm not a fan of B&W usually, Ron, but these are very well done. #4 is a fine scene. Did you add the moon in post? Asking because I thought it would reflect more in the water. Whatever the answer, an excellent shot.
Nice set. My only critique is the sun/moon in #4. I would crop it out as it doesn't add anything to the photo, and competes for attention with the subject. With two light area's in a rather dark photo, the eye struggles on where to focus.
I think #5 is the best of the set. That is a gorgeous portrait!
Lovely B&W images, Ron! The eyes of that freckled young lady are beautiful. Well, not only the eyes actually, she is a beautiful young lady, including the freckles. I took some images of someone that told me not to clone out her freckles, too. The entire set of images is wonderful.
Brev00 wrote:
I would not have thought that a photo of a gorgeous redhead could maintain its appeal when converted to black and white. Surprise! Really nice.
I thought the first was a nice one to start off with. I think this feels like a natural for black and white. Lots of nice shapes and lines. The only problem with it for me are the shadows on the feet and hands, left foot in particular. For what it's worth, I think a little softer contrast in tones would be nicer, a little shadow lifting. #6 is very nice. Her skintones look just fine--both feet are well lit. Terrific pose. I like how the way you shot it makes her resemble the tall buildings. The foreground gives her a nice base and the shot a nice foundation. The composition feels a little out of balance with the building on the left drawing my eye a bit with its dark, bold tones. The last imagefeels a touch muted. Perhaps the background could be darker. I realize some people are aghast at the idea of selective color but might work with the second shot. She feels somewhat swallowed up by the scene. That might give her some more presence. Just some ideas....Show more →
Thanks for your comments! Your perspective on the last one is interesting to me. I actually chose it because of the contrast of the dancer and her tutu versus the darkness of the background. I felt like I punched the background as dark as it could be without it seeming to out of place in comparison to the lightness of the dancer and her tutu. So for me, it's not muted at all. And that's why I like to share here, to hear these different perspectives on my images.
GoodEgg wrote:
All good, Ron, as usual. #1 and #5 are my favorites. Alyssa's pose is fantastic! I like the way her arm and leg are aligned. #5 -- fine freckles, Ferd. Your conversion did indeed amplify them, but I really need to see her red hair and green eyes (I imagine).
THanks so much! I thought I shared her before in color, but I guess I haven't.
AGeoJO wrote:
Lovely B&W images, Ron! The eyes of that freckled young lady are beautiful. Well, not only the eyes actually, she is a beautiful young lady, including the freckles. I took some images of someone that told me not to clone out her freckles, too. The entire set of images is wonderful.
Joshua
Hi Joshua,
Thanks! When they have freckles, I always ask if they like them or not. Not all of them like their freckles, but when they do, I love to create shots like these.
Jim Rickards wrote:
I'm not a fan of B&W usually, Ron, but these are very well done. #4 is a fine scene. Did you add the moon in post? Asking because I thought it would reflect more in the water. Whatever the answer, an excellent shot.
Jim,
It's the sun. It (the sun) always seemed kind weird to me once I converted it to b&w. In color, it seems to make sense. But with your comment, and the next one below, it seems evident I should have cropped at the top of the trees and cut that out. So again, that's why I post here!
ChrisCoy wrote:
Nice set. My only critique is the sun/moon in #4. I would crop it out as it doesn't add anything to the photo, and competes for attention with the subject. With two light area's in a rather dark photo, the eye struggles on where to focus.
I think #5 is the best of the set. That is a gorgeous portrait!
Great set! I especially like #5, "Freckles". That's probably because I fell in love with a freckle faced girl and we've been married for 50 years!
I hope you are well and making it through this tough time OK.
Thanks, Doug. I had to lay off my editor and haven't had a shoot since 3/15. Heading into what is supposed to be my biggest month of the year. We'll make it, but it's going to be a tougher year than I thought.
And that's a GREAT reason for you to be biased. :-)
It's the sun. It (the sun) always seemed kind weird to me once I converted it to b&w. In color, it seems to make sense. But with your comment, and the next one below, it seems evident I should have cropped at the top of the trees and cut that out. So again, that's why I post here!
Thanks!
Ron
Here it is in color:
http://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49773961667_800292803a_b.jpg
Thanks Ron. The overall darkness of the scene led me to believe is was an evening/night shot. Of course the lighting balance is just right (bright on the subject, contrasting with background darkness to make the subject stand out) so you did well.
Yeah, Jim, totally agree. It does look like moonlight.
Jim Rickards wrote:
Thanks Ron. The overall darkness of the scene led me to believe is was an evening/night shot. Of course the lighting balance is just right (bright on the subject, contrasting with background darkness to make the subject stand out) so you did well.
castlk52 wrote:
Nice set and good job with the b&w post processing. Love #5 the most, it is so much better in b&w the eyes and the freckles are amazing.
