BLACK & WHITE ONLY: Nude Photos
Black & white photos have a beauty all their own. This is a place for posting and discussing black & white photos, also monotone sepia photographs as well as the aesthetics of portraying nudity inB & W.
Trying to Explain Why I Love B&W Nude Photos
Return to DiscussionsI don't pretend to be any sort of a professional when it comes to photography. However, I'd like to explain why I'm particularly fond of Black and White, especially when it comes to nude photography.
There are a lot of element that go into a good photograph: Composition, Balance, Light and Shadow, Contrast, Negative Spaces, Area of Focus--to name a few. When I see a B&W nude photograph, the light and shadows play off of the figure, mold and define it in a sculptural way. Similarly, contrast makes important elements stand out, while others recede. Having elements at both ends of the spectrum lends itself to planning and good composition. In shooting a B&W photo, one needs to be aware that, in real spaces, there are times where color intensity can easily misinterpreted as contrast. It may be an oversimplification, on my part, to say that varying color patterns often make a color photo work--since color aids the two-dimensional portrayal of three-dimensional reality. There is much more experience and planning required, however, in the creation of Black and White. Different colors of similar intensity can often appear the same so that nothing really stands out. A B&W photographer must be keenly aware of what he/she is shooting and how it will transform color reality into Black and White.