The Magic of Black and White Portrait Photography

Black and white portrait photography’s genius lies in its ability to highlight human faces against an array of tones and textures, rendering each individual face stand out against them all. The best black and white portraits often include striking tonal contrast, dramatic lighting effects and facial expressions which are hard to replicate post-capture.

B&W photography accentuates shapes, particularly eyes. When creating your images, be sure to focus on these areas, adding catch lights as desired for maximum visual impact – you can do this by placing a small lamp or flash above your model’s head.

Experiment with shadow and highlight in your portrait photography both when shooting the image as well as editing. Use techniques such as dodging and burning to draw attention to specific parts of a face, or add depth to a scene – either using software like Photoshop or directly in camera. Just be careful of overdoing it – too much contrast can quickly turn an otherwise realistic shot into cartoonish imagery!

As you experiment with this style of portraiture, it may be beneficial to compile a portfolio of your favorites and analyze what makes them distinct. This will enable you to understand why people gravitate toward it; for instance, if an image features high contrast levels with harsh gradation of tones it might be wiser not to pursue this style altogether.