Photo Friday #6

Creating a dynamic black and white photo!  That's our challenge for today!  Many people turn to black and whites as their "cop out" for making a bad picture 'okay.'  Don't worry, I will be the first to admit it!!  However, creating an interesting, dynamic Black and White photo is more than just pressing the BW button in Lightroom, it's about creating depth in your photo.  A one dimensional picture is just boring but when you add the layers of shadows and light, that is when the magic happens. 

 Let's take a look!  Each of my "before" pictures are straight out of the camera.  The only thing I did was import them into Lightroom and press the BW button....

Before.....

After.....

 See the difference?!  By enhacing the shadows and the light you have a much more defined picture!

ISO 200, 1/3200sec at f/1.4, 50mm 1.4 lens

Before.....

After....

I love how you can see the dimension throught each curl!!  Stunning.....

ISO 200, 1/1250sec at f/1.4, 50mm 1.4 lens

Before.....

After.....

Max wishes he could have a bite!!  And yes that is our dirty table!!  Don't judge!  We have a 2 year old for goodness sake!!!

 

ISO 200, 1/200sec at f/2.8, 50mm 1.4 lens

Before.....

After....

ISO 2000, 1/400sec at f/1.4, 50mm 1.4 lens

Before....

After...

Here, I played with the differnt hues.  You can really alter the look of a BW photo by doing that!

ISO 200, 1/3200sec at f/1.4, 50mm 1.4 lens

Before.....

After.....

I love the Sepia, "golden" look here.....

ISO 800, 1/160sec at f/2.8, 50mm 1.4 lens

Before....

After.....

Love the expression, Love how the coloring enhances her eyes....

ISO 1000, 1/200sec at f/1.4, 50mm 1.4 lens

To edit the "after" pictures I started with the Lightroom BW presets!!  There are a TON to choose from!  Once I found one that I was happy with, I then altered the exposure, brightness, blacks, luminance, and hues.  It really makes a difference if you take a few minutes to create depth in your photo! 

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