APOGEE PHOTO MAGAZINE: The Glamour Photographer's Notebook

The Glamour Photographer's Notebook:

The Magic of Black & White

by Gene Copas

There has been a big resurgence in the interest in black & white photography. It brings back the memories of the glamorous 30’s. And it has another advantage: it will work with any décor.

This photo was made some time back, but the beautiful model, Paula, has always been one of my favorites. Her classic beauty captivated me from the first time I saw her, and the photo still captivates me to this day.

I had her dress in a dark dress with a very subtle pattern, which would not be intrusive and would not take attention away from her face. When shooting portraits you want the face to be the most important thing in the photo.

The light was very simple. I used two flash heads attached to a Novatron 340 power pack. One head provided the fill light measured at f/8 with ISO 100 film. The head was fitted with a white umbrella. The second flash head was fitted a honeycomb grid and a Rosco 3008 Tough Frost diffuser. The honeycomb grid provides a natural vignette while the diffuser softened the light just enough to make a gentle transition from highlights to shadows. The Key light was measured at f/16. The Rosco Diffusion material is a heavy duty sheet of plastic material which was originally made for use in motion picture light and is quite heat resistant.

I always expose for the shadows and then print for the highlights. So my exposure was made at f/8 on ISO 100 film. The print required no dodging or burning. I like to spend as little time as possible in the darkroom. I have to admit I am basically lazy! As long a you know the contrast ratio for the film you are using, this works well. Color film will usually handle a 4:1 ration, while B&W will easily handle 6:1 ratios. Since my key light was only two stops more intense than my fill light, I was easily within the printable range of either color or B&W.

Just a word on shooting with digital cameras. I have had several photographers state that they don’t have a B&W mode. And that they can’t see B&W thru their viewfinder. Well, I have never seen a camera that allows you to see a B&W image in the viewfinder. And, with the plethora of computer artwork programs, it is very easy to convert a color image to black & white.