Fifty shades of gray. My love affair with black and white.

Black and white photography

I first was smitten with black and white photography in high school where I learned how to develop my own film and create my own prints in the darkroom. I spent many hours in the dark on sunny summer days and I loved it. Color can be distracting to an image unless it plays an important roll in telling the story. I love being able to paint with light and shadow and Black and white in the perfect media for this. I remember carrying two cameras at weddings. One loaded with color film and the other with black and white. I have to decide on the fly if the image in my head I want to create is better translated in color or B&W.

Things are a little less challenging in the digital age. These decisions are made on the computer in post production. I’m a big fan of lighting techniques used by master photographers in the forty’s and fifty’s. You can see this influence in the image below of Lindsay in the Embassy Suites in downtown Buffalo. 

Take a look at these monochrome wonders!

     A large widow on my right provides the key light source. I balanced the window light with a kicker on my left to add rim light to Lindsay’s arm and vintage head piece. Keeping with the classic, vintage style of B&W here’s a photo of Nicole and Joe’s first dance in the golden ballroom of Statler City. The ballroom is dim in general. I cross lit the dance floor with two Canon speed lights set up in the balcony. One stage right and the other stage left.

Later that same night…Nicole and Joe wanted snow for their Winter wedding. Better late than never, it finally snowed after dark. This shot was taken in front of Statler City with Buffalo City Hall as the backdrop.

This next image showed a test for the “real” photo taken next. The bridesmaids job (yes, we put them to work) is to fluff Kelli’s wedding dress and then run out of the shot as I drag the shutter. I really like how this “test” shot turned out. It has a nice vintage vibe.

Finally, what would a salute to classic Black and White photography be without showcasing that historic grand old theater Shea’s Buffalo. Here is Arielle and Ted taking their curtain call at the end of their reception at Shea’s.

I have always wanted to shoot an entire wedding in black and white. Any takers out there?