Showing posts with label Portraiture. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Portraiture. Show all posts

24 June 2022

What's So Cool About Black and White Photography

 

Anonymous Abstract Portrait, Hanoi 2021

“Color is descriptive. Black and white is interpretive.” 
– Eliott Erwitt

The evolution of color has taken us to new depths of imagination and has answered many questions on what is possible. Virtually any camera can see 16 million different colors or shades of a color. The very nature of color can't be discussed without talking about the color wheel, color spectrum, color theory, color grading, or color space. We get taught our colors in primary school and our first notion of a social class is determined by the size of your box of Crayola Crayons. Nope, I never had that box of 64 with the sharpener in the back. Mama said, I'd never use more than 16. 

So why would we ever photograph anything in Black and White or change a color photograph to a stripped down monochromatic version of itself? Or even crazier, why buy a camera for $8,000 that ONLY shoots B&W? Well, here are a few good reasons why Black and White (monochrome) photography has remained so relevant.

River nude shot with Leica M Monochrome Type 246 with the 35mm Summicron on loan from Leica. They didn't appreciate me taking it out to the river, though. 

1. The Distraction of Color - The very first time this was explained to me, I didn't really see it. How is color a distraction? It's the real world as our brain perceives it! But I began photography with B&W film... Agfa, Kodak TMAX, Fomapan, Tri-X, Arista-EDU. All these were brands of film that had different qualities that rendered B&W tones that suited your style or purpose. 

The absence of color in a composition left a photo with a clearer view of it's fundamental elements. You saw lines, shapes, shadow/light values, and  contrast better. Texture popped out. It gave you a sense of form and balance within an image. Layering of depth and focus points become easily apparent and appreciated because you have reduced the photo to the basics and left it with only the properties that it needs by eliminating the frivolous.

Hanoi, Urban Rooftops, 2020 Sony a7rMkII

2. Creates Drama - Fine Art Photography is all about emotion. How does a composition make you feel? Emotion is moved and manipulated via drama. A landscape photo with dramatic clouds can be further emphasized in Black & White because of the deeper tonal values and separation of highlight and shadow. But it also brings out facial emotions in street photography, portraits, and documentary work. If emotion is the primary target, go Black and White. If there is no relevant color information anyway, such as in some architecture photography, go Black and White.


Up in the Andes Mountains of Southern Peru

3. Timelessness - Photography began it's existence in Black and White. It took 140 years before color became widely used. Many of the greatest and most influential photos taken in the world were done in B&W. It speaks to history, significance, and originality. It is almost synonymous with artistic style. That creditability is so consequential that when you turn a photograph B&W today, it borrows from our timeless past. We give it historical or artistic value just by losing the color, which has a tendency to modernize any photo.


Shot with film, 2006 Art Model, Mary posing on the side of a friggin' cliff. That's a bridge far below.

“Black and white creates a strange dreamscape that color never can.”  

– Jack Antonoff

4. Artsy - And speaking of artistic value... what is the number 1 thing we do when we want to "save" a bad color photo? Turn it Black and White! Instant improvement! And this is never better served more so than in abstract art, but not only that. Look up the most historically significant photos to date, almost all are Black and White or at least monochromatic. Interestingly enough, this mainly works in the medium of photographic art. How many black and white paintings do you see?

Just me...

5. Easier on the Camera - This probably sounds like a trivial excuse to use Black and White, but hear me out. We're talking about helping the camera take a better picture. The camera can't see color at all. It only translates electrical signals as it gathers photons of light. Sensor tech uses color filters and algorithms and processors to determine the quantity of red, green, or blue, thus deriving all the other colors from those primary ones. 

Well, when the camera doesn't have to work so hard for determining if a light signal is red, green, or blue... all it has to do is register tonal value! What do you get from that, deeper dynamic range and more latitude! Now you can partially understand why Leica makes an $8K camera. I've shot with it and it's remarkable! Hence the pic above.

Art Model, Katherine with Hades. Hades isn't a colorful hawk. Black and White is fine.

Understandably, color still has a significant roll in photography. You do NOT change everything to B&W. You use color when it is part of the narrative, needs to appeal to a wide audience such as in marketing, and most significantly in video production. I photographed a playground once to test my theory in this. There was a definitive loss in the narrative when you miss out on the vibrant color of the playground. 

Do wildlife photography and photograph a lion. No problem, you can go B&W or color. But try photographing a bird in the wild that has a distinct colorful plumage, like my personal favorite, the Kingfisher, and you've done yourself a disservice if you reduce it to monochrome values. Show me a rose without its color and I'll show you a failed experiment. Learn the difference and apply that wisdom well.

30 September 2015

Website Redesign. Still Sticking with REDFRAME!


Art Model, Leslie © 2015 Terrell Neasley
“One doesn’t stop seeing. One doesn’t stop framing. It doesn’t turn off and turn on. It’s on all the time.”
— Annie Leibovitz

In August of 2007, I started this blog and also got my website up and running. After long and tedious research and comparisons, I settled on IFP3.com, now known as REDFRAME to power my site. To date there has been 5 serious considerations to change to something more modern, more well-known, mainstream, and more popular among photographers I know. I thought a new change of pace may help get me the exposure I desired...maybe shake things up a little. But I keep coming to the same conclusion. Why? These guys still deliver everything I can get anywhere else, PLUS some.

Art Model, Leslie © 2015 Terrell Neasley
The first thing to get my attention was the unlimited galleries and sub-galleries. Most other hosting sites at the time limited you to a certain number of pages on the site and defined limitation of Gigs that were available to you. Redframe.com had none of that. I could customize my pages as I saw fit. The problem I initially ran into was the availability of TOO MANY OPTIONS! Trying to chose the styles, colors, and fonts I wanted to use was a welcomed "problem". When I first started my site, I was an amateur photographer and the entire site was a million galleries of art nudes! Of course, they were. You know me. Having the private galleries was pretty damn cool too. Another fun part was checking my statistics and page views. They've since allowed Google Analytics to link in on this part, but it was still cool to see a large viewing coming from Eastern Europe. This is one part of the world I see creatives who's work I most enjoy. Not sure why that is, but spots in the Ukraine and the surrounding countries constantly have my attention. So it was good to see the mutual respect coming from over there.

Art Model, Leslie © 2015 Terrell Neasley
“A good photograph is one that communicates a fact, touches the heart and leaves the viewer a changed person for having seen it. It is, in a word, effective.”
— Irving Penn

One of the main things that keep me now is the fact that they are constantly updating and improving. I gotta admire that. They don't get comfortable and sit still. I remember when I was considering a competitor that had some fresher looks. It was as if Redframe were reading my mind. They reinvented and released several new templates with a HTML5 platform that gave me that freshness I was looking for. After that point, I quite searching for something else. They innovate and do not mind change. Pricing has been consistent and reasonable since I began with them. Its even cheaper now since they threw in 3 free months when you do the yearly rates. They don't take any commissions from you when you sell using the shopping cart either!

I'm telling you. I've mentored several photographers over the years and have recommended this site to all of them when they express a need for putting together their images on a website. They just keep getting better without raising costs. They've always had a free shopping cart with no commission sales. But it was cool when they added platforms to maintain consistency for mobile devices, Search Engine Optimization tools, social media features, and now they have client proofing that was recently added.

Art Model, Leslie © 2015 Terrell Neasley
I've recently redesigned my website, PhotoAnthems.com. I think its a cleaner and fresher look. I wanted to streamline it a bit and make it more simple. It didn't take me that long to do. Trying to update my shots and select new and more recent pictures is the only thing that took a while. I have a lot of great shots if I do say so myself. I chose to concentrate on my travel, art nude, and portraiture work. I showcase what I love most, first. I'll bring in the commercial work a bit later. For my own reasons, I haven't ever really put much in terms of client work on my site. I've struggled a bit with the idea of having fun versus getting paid sometimes. I'm so passionate about those 3 things in particular (travel, art nude, and portraits). You really have no idea. Passionate may not be the right word. I think its a sickness, actually. I like photography in general. But I LOVE those three things. I'm consulting with a client right now for some product photography. It pays the bills. I like the client and I think we're doing cool stuff for her business. But man-alive, my aforementioned trifecta is where the magic lies!

Art Model, Leslie © 2015 Terrell Neasley
“Once photography enters your bloodstream, it is like a disease.”
— Anonymous

Maybe the only other passion outside of those top 3 is TALKING about photography. I teach One-on-One courses and this is a fun thing. A lady asked me just yesterday how many hours a day during my one-week session could I give her. I laughed and told her as long as I got 4 hours of sleep a day, I'd devote as much time as she needed (and could handle) towards her learning. And I was serious. I block out the whole day for students and as long as they can keep going, I can keep going. I know some people have jobs, kids/family to get back to, etc. I at least need 4 hours each of the first two days and I can deliver what you need to know. I'm flexible and can talk on this all day. Some of you who've met me have no illusions that this is an exaggeration.

26 July 2015

Looking Ahead - For Gallery and Exhibition Opportunities


Art Model, Covenant ©2015 Terrell Neasley

"The entertainment is in the presentation."

This past week is the first real fresh week for me since returning from Central America in June. I'm just now getting back into the swing of things and I'm eager about it. I teach One-on-One Photography Classes with independent clients and my schedule has just now opened up to where I can get back on that. They are week long intensive, but at your pace foundation instruction classes to begin with, but I give clients an option for a second week at more advanced principles of understanding light as well as working with the absence of it. I can travel to anywhere in the United States, but my best work will be here in Las Vegas. I definitely encourage potential clients outside Nevada to travel to Las Vegas, secure accommodations, transportation, and give me a week of your time. My last student was at the end of February and I left for Guatemala City just days after that. Its now MID-JULY and I'm just getting things to where I can start it back up.

Art Model, Covenant ©2015 Terrell Neasley

I can now also concentrate on accepting clients for more Photography Projects, as well. That's the principle part of my photography business which is shooting of course. I will continue my main line of portraiture and event work for clients, but at this point, I'm also looking to step it up a bit and operate outside the traditional fare with more Food and Interior Design Photography. But my Portraiture Photography work will be focusing instead on that particular client that needs something new, fresh, and different from the norm that involves a bit more of my artistic side with the creative liberties to push the envelop.

Market Square, Antigua, Guatemala ©2015 Terrell Neasley

Market Square, Antigua, Guatemala ©2015 Terrell Neasley
Lets see, what else? Oh yeah, the 3rd principle element. Photo Sales! I don't traditionally print small. I used to, but I'm more happier concentrating on work that goes on walls, not just sitting on coffee tables. I have books for that. 30x20 and larger is the realm of reality where you'll find me. I make images that are made for books and walls. Display and presentation are key concepts that help define what happens to my images and artwork. Shoot, Edit, Print, AND THEN PRESENT is the final step of the process. It does not end with the print. A print can never make it out of the portfolio. A print on its own will be appreciated by the small circle of its creator. However if said print is destined to be viewed by the world, Presentation is key.

Of course you have the web, web portfolios, web galleries, and archives that can store photos and make them available for viewing. My argument is that seeing a shot that will be viewed upon various screen size resolutions and color shifts does nothing for the image. It does not serve the creator nor the viewer the way a printed piece commands respect. As opposed to sitting transfixed in front of a small screen browsing away at the speed of your scroll wheel, an exhibited piece of art demands the viewer to work a little bit. Engage a little bit. Spend a little bit. Invest a little bit. It requires the viewer to leave home, jump in a car, and arrive at a predetermined destination. It insists that the viewer forgo an alternative form of leisure or other investment of time and trade this opportunity for the cost of being present and standing before my work of art.

Street Corner, Matagalpa, Nicaragua ©2015 Terrell Neasley
Now my job is to make this investment of time worth the price of admission and elicit such an emotional or calculated response as to implore the viewer to take this work of art home before a rival buyer might make this choice. That's my job. And if I can do my job successfully, this process will repeat itself again and again perpetually. I understand that some pieces will not be successful. I understand that some pieces I have emotional ties with may fail with you and you make wish to take home an image that I would never have believed to ever garner attention. This has happened before. The work that I so loved, sat while another image sold quickly.

Art Model, Covenant ©2015 Terrell Neasley

Art Model, Covenant ©2015 Terrell Neasley
I haven't bothered with exhibition to much in the past. Now its a focus. I now have preparatory work to do in terms of finding exhibition opportunities, selecting pieces for display, and having those pieces made available in the right form of presentation. This in and of itself is not a cheap process, especially with the way I choose to present and have my work hung. I make it especially more challenging on myself, because I have to insist that my nude work is part of this process and some spaces may have difficulty honoring this due to various policies. Nonetheless, it is a must. If I'm not showing my art nudes, then what's the point. In some instances, that is the main concentration and exhibit focus. And that's where you can come in. In changing tactics like this, I definitely need some insight. Having seen my work, if you think you know of exhibition opportunities that can accommodate me, then please message me the details. I'd love to hear from you!

06 March 2012

On the Portraiture

"A portrait! What could be more simple and more complex, more obvious and more profound."
- Charles Baudelaire, 1859



Life...

This is the single most important element of photography that I absolutely have to photograph. Its the summation and hub of every element or aspect of photo that I endeavor to shoot. And if you drill down from there in order of importance for me, then next is the nude and then the portrait takes the tertiary role. Everything else that I do are either in supplement or complimentary to those three primary focuses for me. Life in general is what I endeavor to capture and in its purest form, the nude represents my favorite aspect of that, but the portraiture of my model is the deepest connection I have with the nude and is probably the most powerful aspect of anything I do.

Does that make any sense? I do some interior/architecture photography. Its still a representation of life, as in someone's expression of life as they see it for either a functional or aesthetic purpose. I photograph events and occasions which are moments of life taking place. I do still-life photography for my fine art work. This is evidence of life that it has existed and left its mark. I have photographed death which is the culmination of life or rather the conclusion of one aspect of it. I photograph life and death along with everything in between, as most every photographer does, I guess, to some degree. And like many, I do have my specialties. I will shoot almost anything and add my particular style of interpretation to it, but my primary focus in life is the nude and the portrait.


The interesting thing about the portrait is that it does not need to be nude. In some cases, the difference is not obvious and then sometimes it is. Whether a close up or the bust, the portrait still remains the most powerful aspect of photography, I believe. It is powerful because its limits are boundless. A good portraiture does not have to have pleasant features to be impactful. Exposure does not have to be correct, nor does even the focus. Sometimes, in the same way interesting ruins or abandoned buildings can be appealing, rough facial features can also draw the attention. However the portrait has one other distinguishing component that no other genre of photography captures and that's the connection that any human being can have with the subject by peering into the eyes. Even in some cases where the viewer cannot see the eyes of the subject, there can still be an implied connection between the mind of the viewer and that of the subject. You might wonder where the subject has come from, what they feel, or how they came to be. There is a voluntary transference that takes place which can draw in the viewer unlike no other depiction of any image.


"Who sees the human face correctly: the photographer, the mirror, or the painter?"

- Pablo Picasso

Mesmerizing, hypnotic, and even intoxicating can be terms ascribed to portraitures that are done well. This is why I love them above landscapes. I was looking through some of my images from my hiking expeditions over the last few years I've been in Las Vegas. I will go with people from the meetup groups I belong to or with close friends of mine. Ofttimes, I will go alone. However when I do go with people whom I may know or not, its funny how I'm one of the few photographers who will return from these trips with almost solely portraits and hardly any landscape. I was recently asked to licence a photo of Big Falls, a major natural landmark at Mt. Charleston, here in Nevada for a local publication. I've been up there several times, but had to look hard to find a good shot. Then when I found one, it wasn't anything that I had initially edited. Pretty much everything was of faces. Faces along the way. Faces with the falls. And faces along the return trip. Its the human condition that I shoot, although that may be a term quite overused. Most of my portraits are not posed, but rather candid shots in the moment where the subject may or may not know I'm taking the shot.





Heads. Faces. Some people are more interesting than others and for me, that starts often with the hair and then the eyes. Hair will often get my attention, but the eyes will draw me in and then I think to myself that I need that person's head. I tend to like faces that seem to tell a story or which may make me what to know about this person. Its interesting on the things that draw me to one person over another, because this is how I see the world. I am constantly looking at people. Its like a radar. I can pass through a crowd and there might be only a few faces that bleep in my range of scope. Some ping quite strongly with me. Others may ping less strongly, but my desire to photograph their portrait is no less as strong. What can I say? I like faces.

"Every portrait that is painted with feeling is a portrait of the artist, not of the sitter."

- Oscar Wilde