Although no longer a necessary, shooting in Black and White is still a popular style especially within the world of fashion. So why do photographers still shoot in Black and White?
Black and White will always carry a classic, timeless feel to it. Colour has developed over the years and become far more saturated, so without this it make it difficult to place the time frame of the image. Where fashions are constantly influenced by those of the past, black and white helps make a modern image appear more classic, or make an older image look questionably modern. Black and White also makes the most of any negative space in the photograph and helps to separate your subject from the background and create an image with more depth. Also useful in fashion photography, Black and White highlights shape, pattern and form. With no distractions of colour, bolder patterns can be photographed side by side without 'clashing'. Black and White is also perfect for highlighting the beauty in skin tones and it's extreme tonal range takes away from the distraction of colourful make up and focuses on the form of the face.
For these reasons, fashion photographers like Peter Lindbergh built their whole career on shooting in Black and White. After looking at Givenchy's editorials, I notice they use the effect to their advantage in all of the ways above, allowing them to experiment with textures and patterns and form of the body and face.
Geffin, D. and and, D.G. (2014) Why it’s still important to shoot in black and white. Available at: https://fstoppers.com/education/why-its-still-important-shoot-black-and-white-48141 (Accessed: 25 April 2016).
No comments:
Post a Comment