Art of Portrait Photography in Monochrome

Art of Portrait Photography in extreme form lives in Monochrome, lesser number of color creates an abstracted imagery demanding efficiency from the photographer. Mono is derived from two words – mono ( one ) and chroma (color of a surface) – in art the terminology monochrome is used to refer to a painting made ‹‹with a single color or in black and white. We can easily recall about various physical filters for the DSLR cameras or the way of development for the traditional film photography – Sepia. Yet, Black and White is considered the most commonly used “Monochrome” variant. Black and White is achromatic in true sense – Black and white portrait is a special category of photography where achromatic gray value gradations, including extreme values ‹‹black and white is forced to represent the real color in an image. Before the advent of color photography, black and white process had no name, for the lack of alternatives they spoke generally of Photography itself.

Art of Portrait Photography in Monochrome

For its special ability to create a minimalist motif abstraction, the Monochrome method is particularly suitable for artistic intensification of an image statement and is therefore precisely in our time the ubiquitous colored pictures for many photographers ruins the idea as a medium of expression, the basic photographic problems increases from that of color photography as color is fully off inviting hard criticism about any flaw present in minute. The central design factor of a good black and white photographic image is the subject and its effective staged formal gray value dynamics, in color photography, the design possibilities with color entirely different and demands the power of observation, identification, evaluation‹ and their photographic realization by the photographer. The need for higher quality of the lens and body of camera becomes obvious to avoid technical flaws.

Art of Portrait Photography in Monochrome Demands Theoretical Knowledge

By wet chemical treatment with various metal salt solutions changes the normally black and silver image forming colored compounds, each of which raises different image effects. The simplest manipulation is no real toning: It is rather a coloring of a finished black and white with the stable dye particles of black tea. Digital manipulation provides roughly the effect is one can achieve in the darkroom. Adobe Photoshop essentially is the digital darkroom.

Art of Portrait Photography in Monochrome Demands Theoretical Knowledge and Sense of Art from the Photographer in an extreme point which we have discussed through the articles like – When to Use Black and White in Photography, Tips for Digital Black and White Photographs, When Absence of Color Makes the Photograph Perfect apart from the theoretical aspects like usage of Grey Card for Right White Balance or Zone System in Digital Photography, we can simply forget about hundred of articles specific on Portrait Photography we have published yet – for the starters, communicate with your subject and grab full theoretical knowledge either on traditional art or digital photography. Monochrome, not really applying an automated set of instructions on Adobe Photoshop.