Portrait with Yellow

I am entering this portrait in the I Heart Faces "yellow" challenge this week.  I considered using this portrait for last weeks "flower" challenge, but this is a favorite portrait I have with yellow.  Soft buttery yellow looks so beautiful on a little girl...

The I Heart Faces challenge this week is yellow. (I was entry no. 15)

If you enjoyed this post you might also like:

Black and White

Bridal Portrait

Bundled Up

Bridal Portrait

This photo is from one of the funnest weddings I photographed.  This pose continues to be a favorite.  I love how expressive eyes can be.  

The I Heart Faces challenge this week is faces and flowers - the photo should have both!  (I was entry no. 508 of 646).


If you enjoyed this post you might also like:

Black and White

Africa Collage

Bundled Up

High School Senior: Dramatic Black and White

I am very excited to see the entries for this weeks "I Heart Faces" challenge. The theme for the week is "Dramatic Black and White". Photographers are to submit a photo with at least one person's face, that shows "dramatic, sensational and/or moody" Black and White. Conversion and editing technique is important for this theme.

I have been studying Black and White photos (and conversions) over the last decade. My "style" for Black and white conversions comes from classic film and vintage photography. In the pre-digital photography days, photographers carefully considered backgrounds, textures, and contrast. Photographers thought out and could plan out what areas of a photo would look dark and what areas would be light. Colored filters with black and white film could be used to control what colors "looked" the lightest in Black and White.

Color photography doesn't remind the photographer to remember what a background will look like in a photo - will the greens look dark or light compared to the subject. Will the blue sky look darker then the skin, or lighter? Some photographers strove to make the skin (of a Caucasian) look creamy and light, a point sometimes overlooked when converting a color photo into Black and White today. Today's photo kiosk Black and White conversion frequently leaves skin looking too dark, which the eye perceives as gray. These details are the reason some people are vaguely disappointed when converting a beautiful color photo into a black and white photo.

My current philosophy (tendency) in converting a black and white photo is somewhat classic - make the skin one of the lightest components in the photo (again, for a Caucasian subject). When you have a bride or subject in a white dress, make the white dress the lightest (but still show fabulous detail in the lace and beading); and then make the skin light, but significantly distinct from the dress.

The High School senior image I choose for the challenge shows my current philosophy of black and white conversion. The result does not feel vintage - with the relatively modern white backdrop paper, I believe the look is contemporary and stunning.


If you enjoyed this post you might also like:

Family Portrait

Fun Outtakes

Bundled Up

I am participating in these memes:

I Heart Faces (Week 13, 2010)
Click here to see the winners. 
(I was entry no. 6 out of more then 1250)
I think this is a record for the number of entries to I Heart Faces.

I Heart Faces No. 1 : Balloon theme

I Heart Faces is a photography meme website focused on capturing faces and emotions. The site has a weekly themed photo challenge, and this week's theme is "Balloons".

Here is my entry. This is the first time I am entering the meme. I took this photo of my daughter in 2008. Technically, there are several faces in this photo. One is blue, one is yellow, one is green, and one is Miranda. :)

If you enjoyed this post you might also like:

Black and White

Bridal Portrait

Bundled Up