Cinematic Inspiration to Black & White Photography
In my previous articles I have been going over the Leica M9 Monochrom, Leica M246 Monochrom and Leica M10 Monochrom. Today we talk no cameras, only the light and the image.
The art of the "one color" composition
The black and white photograph is working with just one color (which is the definition of "monochrome" = one color), and as a new source of inspiration, let's not look at how other still photographers did it, but let's look at how cinematographers and movie directors do it.
The mood of the black and white
Many directors seem to love the dramatic visual of Danish movie director Carl Th Dreyer whom, in that sense, has set a tone for black and white movies.
Carl Th Dreyer (1889-1968) having breakfast in Paris.
It's not that Carl Th Dreyer had a choice between color or black and white. He had only black and white. But then he made some visual choices which made his visual language stand out. He didn't try to just film what was in front of him. He deliberately played with empty spaces, silhouettes, dark threatening and dramatic shadows and areas of black.
The Th Dreyer rules set out from the beginning in 1920-1921 were 1) the surroundings should reflect the personality of the characters, 2) while at the same time strive for simplicity, 3) the importance of diligence and preliminary work, everything must be prepared, and 4) produce a cinematic work which will be considered a classic work
Carl Th Dreyer "The President" (1920). The space reflects the personality of the character, with simplicity.
Carl Th Dreyer's "La Passion de Jeanne d'Arc" (1928).
Carl Th Dreyer's "Day of Wrath" (1943).
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The invention of dark and white in black and white photos
Carl Th Dreyer is a good place to look if one wants to find out who introduced darkness (as in black silhouettes and areas of black shade) as a dramatic contrast to the light. Have a look at the trailer for the 1943-movie "Day of Wrath" here:
Put the light behind them
The Fellini way shows how you make a person a silhouette by having simply more light behind the subject than in front of them. It's a very economical and simple way of using light that doesn't require any special setup. Just a person in shadow with a brighter background.
The light is on the face of the person in bed which has natural skin tone. And then on the wall that makes the person in shadow a silhouette. “8½” by Federico Fellini (1963, cinematographer: Gianni Di Venanzo).
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Simple as this. Just have the light behind and no softening light on the front of a person and you have dramatic silhouettes. Yet, notice the person in the back with light on him; and his skin tone in the face is exposed correctly. “8½” by Federico Fellini (1963, cinematographer: Gianni Di Venanzo).
Playing with silhouettes. “8½” by Federico Fellini (1963, cinematographer: Gianni Di Venanzo)
Black and white is brilliant for dark spaces where color photography tends to tilt over into odd colors that don't look right. Black and white makes it simple, it makes it about just the amount of light, not the colors of the light (also known as Kelvin temperature) or which colors are in the scene.
Also, generally digital cameras perform cleaner photographic files in black and white than in color. A camera that can perform well at 3200 ISO but display odd colors at 6400 ISO, the same camera can often be used at 6400 or 12,800 ISO in black and white.
The night is special, and the camera can expose longer exposures and thus make us see in the dark what the eye can't.
The White Ribbon (2009, directed by Michael Haneke, cinematography by Christian Berger).
Ivan's Childhood (1962, cinematography by Vadim Yusov, directed by Andrei Tarkovsky (and Eduard Abalov).
Elegantly lit scene where the parts of the persons in shadow have a contra light behind them to define the shape so they never disappear. Citizen Kane (1941, cinematography by Gregg Toland, directed by Orson Welles).
Darkness, large threatening shadows in a room and dark silhouettes are often used in movie storytelling to add drama before it is even in the dialog, although it doesn't have to be drama. Contrast and dark silhouettes and dark areas are beautiful in any still.
All this darkness, the magnificent position of the silhouette in the window ... and the usual slight overflow of light you often see in Spielberg scenes. Schindler's List (1993, directed by Steven Spielberg, cinematography by Janusz Kaminski).
In this still from Citizen Kane (1941, cinematography by Gregg Toland, directed by Orson Welles) the darkness and light also show the mood of the persons, and at the same time it directs the attention to the brightest tone, which is the face to the right.
These two stills from Citizen Kane (1941, cinematography by Gregg Toland, directed by Orson Welles) use the light in the room (spread with mist from a fog machine), which also creates light rays that are broken by the silhouettes. It's almost too much effect, except it looks beautiful.
Citizen Kane (1941, cinematography by Gregg Toland, directed by Orson Welles)
Edge light and pin light
Edge light is, as the name says, light on the edge of things. It generally adds mood and make things appear detailed and sharp. While edge light can also be used in daylight settings to add sharpness to things, it is particularly moody in darker settings which involve shade. As in where the light comes from behind, from the left or from the right, outside the frame.
Manhattan (1979, directed by Woody Allen, cinematography by Gordon Willis).
La Notte (1961, directed by Michelangelo Antonioni, cinematography by Gianni Di Venanzo).
A bit of pin light in the eyes on Schindler's List (1993, directed by Steven Spielberg, cinematography by Janusz Kaminski).
The edge light from outside the frame here adds highlight and shape to the water drops, as well as texture to the skin. Ivan's Childhood (1962, cinematography by Vadim Yusov, directed by Andrei Tarkovsky (and Eduard Abalov).
In Cold Blood (1967, directed by Richard Brooks, cinematography by Conrad L. Hall).
Edge light defines the cigarette smoke and the face by the table, as well as other shapes in the room. If you imagine you and your camera are standing by the window, there would no edge light, instead it would be soft light with lower contrast. Ida (2013, directed by Pawel Pawlikowski, cinematography by Ryszard Lenczewski and Lukasz Zal).
A strong light source from behind (top left outside the frame) adds long shadows and edge light that defines the person, the stairs and the statues. Citizen Kane (1941, cinematography by Gregg Toland, directed by Orson Welles).
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Greytones in black and white photography
Enough about darkness and contrast. In much black and white photography, a pleasant greytone range is a delight in itself. I personally think the full spectrum from black to white should be there too.
The Third Man (1949, directed by Carol Reed, cinematography by Robert Krasker).
Perfect skin tone, and a bit of pin light in the eye. Schindler's List (1993, directed by Steven Spielberg, cinematography by Janusz Kaminski).
La Notte (1961, directed by Michelangelo Antonioni, cinematography by Gianni Di Venanzo).
Ivan's Childhood (1962, cinematography by Vadim Yusov, directed by Andrei Tarkovsky (and Eduard Abalov).
Ida (2013, directed by Pawel Pawlikowski, cinematography by Ryszard Lenczewski and Lukasz Zal).
Frances Ha (2013, directed by Noah Baumbach, cinematography by Sam Levy) .
Frances Ha (2013, directed by Noah Baumbach, cinematography by Sam Levy) .
Ida (2013, directed by Pawel Pawlikowski, cinematography by Ryszard Lenczewski and Lukasz Zal).
The face in focus is the key when using light and editing black and white photos. The lit part of the skin in focus should look real. The rest of the photo can (and will) end up in any tone, bright or dark. (Movie stills are generally a bit darker than stills as they are illuminated on the screen).
The bright side of the face is correctly exposed, as it should be. The rest of the face, as well as the background is in shadow. Citizen Kane (1941, cinematography by Gregg Toland, directed by Orson Welles).
Faces are correctly exposed despite what else is going on in the frame. Notice also the pin light in her eyes. Citizen Kane (1941, cinematography by Gregg Toland, directed by Orson Welles).
Great composition, and notice that the faces are exposed so the skin looks right. The Apartment (1960, directed by Billy Wilder, cinematography by Joseph LaShelle).
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Blown highlights
Mostly we will try not to overexpose the highlights. We try to keep the entire frame within acceptable exposure, which means grey tones from dark black to almost white. I personally think that backgrounds which are overexposed, and at the same time in focus, are unpleasant to look at. It's like there is something there, but it's not well-defined - it looks like an error. I find that an out-of-focus (blurred) background can be as exploded in over-exposure as much as you want, it doesn't matter (as you are not bothered by the missing details).
But here are a couple of examples where over-exposed elements make sense:
The face in front is correctly exposed but is in the shadow, so the sunny background will be blown out. I don’t know if I think it is pretty, but in this context it communicates how bright (and warm) the sun outside the shadow is. “8½” by Federico Fellini (1963, cinematographer: Gianni Di Venanzo).
A beautiful frame from "Branded to Kill" (1967, directed by Seijun Suzuki, cinematography by Kazue Nagatsuka) where the white line behind the subject is glowing of light. Try and put a finger over to remove it so see what it does for the picture.
Make it black enough
I find that photographers who get a monochrome camera often try to preserve as much greytone range as possible, where black and white photography, in my opinion, is a tool to express emotion and atmosphere – this is why it must go from black to white omitting as many greytones as needed to convey the idea.
MANK (directed by David Fincher, cinematography by Erik Messerschmidt). 1930s Hollywood through the eyes of alcoholic Screenwriter Herman J. Mankiewicz (Gary Oldman) as he races to finish the screenplay of Citizen Kane for Orson Welles. Photo by Gisele Schmidt, Leica Q.
The same photo with shadow details revealed after I ran it through the High Dynamic Range feature in Photoshop to show what was "hidden" in it.
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Photography Definitions
Aperture = The f/ stop on the camera that regulates how much light passes through the lens. On a f/1.7 lens the lens is fully open" at f/1.7. At f/2.0 the aperture inside the lens make the hole through the lens smaller so only half the amount of light at f/1.7 passes through. For each f/-stop (4.0 - 5.6 - 8.0 - 11 - 16) you halve the light. The aperture of the lens is basically the focal length divided with the f/-stop = size of the hole (28mm divided with f/1.7 = the hole is 45 mm). ORIGIN: Late Middle English : from Latin apertura, from apert- ‘opened,' from aperire ‘to open'.
ASPH = stands for "aspheric design".
Most lenses have a spherical design - that is, the radius
of curvature is constant. These are easy to manufacture by
grinding while "spinning" the glass. This design
however restricts the number of optical corrections that can
be made to the design to render the most realistic image possible.
ASPH lenses, however, involve usually 1 element that does
*not* have a constant radius of curvature. These elements
can be made by 1) expensive manual grinding, 2) molded plastic,
or 3) Leica's patented "press" process, where the element
is pressed into an aspherical ("non-spherical")
shape. This design allows Leica to introduce corrections
into compact lens designs that weren't possible before. Practically,
the lens performs "better" (up to interpretation)
due to increased correction of the image, in a package not
significantly bigger than the spherical version. The Leica Q 28mm lens has 3 aspherical elements out of 11 elements in the lens. Most Leica ASPH lenses from Leica has 1 or 2 aspherical elements.
Normal speric lens (grinded)
ASPH (note the shape of the glass as result of pressing rather than grinding)
Sphere: ORIGIN Middle English : from Old French espere, from late Latin sphera, earlier sphaera, from Greek sphaira "ball".
Banding = Noise in digital images. Horizontal lines in a horizontal pictures (if the camera is in portrait mode/vertical, the lines will be obviously be vertical). It's simply noise; the result of uncontrolled algorithms working overtime with an image the sensor really can't see because it's very dark. (If your image have vertical lines in it, it is more likely that the sensor needs remapping).
Bokeh = The visual quality of the out-of-focus areas of a photographic image, especially as rendered by a particular lens: It's a matter of taste and usually photographers discuss a 'nice' or 'pleasant' bokeh (the out-of-focus area is always unsharp why the quality discussed is if one likes the way it renders or not by a particular lens). ORIGIN from Japanese 'bo-ke' which mean 'fuzzines' or 'blur.'.
C = Continuous shooting. When the ring by the Shutter Release on top of the camera is moved from OFF to C, the Leica M 246 takes series of images as long as the shutter release is pressed down (3.5 frames per second).
CMOS sensor (as used in Leica Q, Leica M 246, Leica M 240, Leica X, Leica D-Lux, etc)
= (Complimentary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) chips use transistors at each pixel to move the charge through traditional wires. This offers flexibility because each pixel is treated individually. Traditional manufacturing processes are used to make CMOS. It's the same as creating microchips. Because they're easier to produce, CMOS sensors are cheaper than CCD sensors. CMOS allow Live View and use less energy than CCD.
DNG = Digital Negative, an open standard developed by Adobe. It is a single file that contains the raw image data from the sensor of the camera as well as date, time, GPS, focal length, settings, etc.
The alternative is a RAW file + XLM file where the RAW file contains the image information and the XML contains the rest of information about where, how and when the picture was taken.
A Camera Raw profile (that is specific for that camera) in the computer helps the software program, for example Adobe Lightroom, to translate the RAW data into the image.
DOF scale on the lens
DOF = Depth of Field. This is how much of the image will be in focus. The measurement on top of the lens lens shows lines for each f-stop that indicates from which distance to which distance the image will be sharp. Shallow DOF is a generally used term in photography that refer to lenses with very narrow focus tolerance (which can be used to do selective focus; making irrelevant subjects in the foreground and background blurry so only the subjects of essence are in focus and catches the viewers eye).
EVF = Electronic ViewFinder. The EVF-2 is the model that can be used on the Leica M 246 (and Leica M 240 and Leica X)
Exposure Bracketing = The possibility to set the camera to automatically record a series of images where the exposure is above and below what the camera measures. The idea is that at least one of the images will be correctly exposed.
A 28 mm lens has a 74° viewing angle
Focal length = For example 50mm or 28mm. It originally referred to the distance from the sensor (or film in older days) to the center of focus inside the lens. Nobody uses that measurement, except those who construct lenses! For users of lenses, focal length refers to how wide the lens sees. The viewing angle, which is often given in for example 90° viewing angle for a 21mm lens, 74° viewing angle for a 28mm lens, 6° viewing angle for a 400mm lens, etc.
Each human eye individually has anywhere from a 120° to 200° angle of view, but focus only in the center.
Full Frame (FF) = The size of the sensor is 24 x 36mm which is the format Oskar Barnack and Leica Camera AG invented with the first Leica that was introduced in 1925. Many other formats invented since, such as APS, APS-C and all usually refer to Full Frame ratio, by which it means what size they have compared to Full Frame.
Full Frame is "king of photography"
The 24 x 36mm Full Frame format is so "king of photography" that it has continued to be the ideal for all cameras. Besides this, there exists Large Format cameras such as 4x5" (100 x 125 mm) and Medium Format 6x6 (60 x 60mm amongst other sizes in that area).
ISO = Light sensitivity of the camera sensor is given in ISO (International Organization for Standardization). It's a standard that was used in film and is now used in all digital cameras also. The base ISO for the Leica Q sensor is 100 ISO which means that this is what the sensor "sees". All other levels are computer algorithms calculating the effect as if the sensor could "see" more (hence noise at higher ISO levels).
ISO goes in steps of doubling: When the ISO is raised from 100 ISO to 200 ISO, the camera only need half the amount of light to make a picture. For each step in ISO to 400, 800, 1600, 3200, etc the light sensitivity is doubled for the sensor (and the camera sensor only need half the light of the previous ISO to record the same image).
JPEG = A standard for picture format made in the 1990's by Joint Photographic Experts Group). Mostly referred to as JPG as in L1003455.JPG which would be the name for a JPG file from the camera.
Summilux = Refers to the maximum lens aperture - normally f1.4 , "-lux" added for "light" (ie. the enhanced light gathering abilities).
Leica = A compound word derived from " (Lei)tz" and "(ca)mera". Apparently they were originally going to use "LECA", but another camera company already used a similar name in France, so they inserted the 'i' to prevent any confusion.
Lens hood = A tube or ring attached to the front of a camera lens to prevent unwanted light from reaching the lens and sensor. ORIGIN Old English hod; related to Dutch hoed, German Hut 'hat,' also to hat.
Level Gauge = This is a tool in the viewfinder to see if you hold the camera 100% horizontal and/or vertical. You can turn it on in the Menu. On the Leica M 246 you make it visible in the viewfinder by pressing the INFO button (the round one on the back of the camrea by your thumb).
Live View = This is the ability to see the image the sensor see, live, via the screen of a digital camera, or via an electronic viewfinder (EVF).
Meßsucher (rangefinder or distance finder) = Mess = range, sucher = finder. It is always correctly written with the "ß". There are technically not three "s", rather the "ß" and one "s" because it is a word constructed by the combining of two precise words.
ND = Neutral Density filters are grey filters that functions as 'sunglasses' for lenses. They simply block the light so that a lens can work at for example f/1.4 in sunshine. A 3-stop ND filter is recommend for most Leica lenses.
You can change from Process 2012 to 2010 in the bottom right corner of Lightroom (in Develop mode)
Process = In Lightroom the Process 2010 and Process 2012 refers the the usual definition of process (a series of actions or steps taken in order to achieve a particular end. It comes from Latin, 'moving forward').
Lightroom could be said to be a process tool:
1) The first process is when you import the images and the file is recognized by the Camera Raw as from a camera model and that profile is applied to the image. That is simply a camera profile that knows that this number is this type of red for this camera, and so you see the image in the right balanced colors to begin with. That is the import process.
2) Then you make the choice if you wan to use Process 2010 or Process 2012 which is two different ways to process it further. Each have multiple tools it opens up for you to use and those tools are based on algorithms on how the image should behave on a tonal courve if you change contrast, exposure, etc.
3) The export is another process where you define what size and resolution you want, and then start a batch-process so Lightroom performs that process for you on a number of images in one batch (including where they should be saved).
There are numerous other processes that can be performed automatically, like writing keywords and changes into the XMP file of the image, backup to other drives, synchronization with databases, etc.
ND (Neutral Density) filters to put in front of lenses to reduce the amount of light that comes in. They don't have any other effect than that and doesn't change contrast, color or anything.
S = Single image. When the ring by the shutter release on top of the Leica Q is moved from OFF to S, the Leica Q takes one photo at the time (Single). The other possibility is Continuous (see above).
Spot meter = A light meter that measures a small spot of reflections from a surface. For example a SEI spot meter (Salford Electric Instruments) or Pentax one-degree spot meter. Many digital cameas has a built-in spot meter that measures just a spot of 1 to 3 degrees in the center fo the frame.
SLR = Abbreviation for Single-Lens Reflex; the lens that forms the image on the film/sensor also provides the image in the viewfinder via a mirror. The Leica Q has no traditional viewfinder and no mirror. the image seen in the EVF is what the sensor sees.
Summilux = Refers to the maximum lens aperture - here f1.4 , "-lux" added for "light" (ie. the enhanced light gathering abilities). In Leica terminology a Summilux is always a f/1.4 lens and a Summicron is a f/2.0 lens.
Viewfinder = a device on a camera showing the field of view of the lens.
1) A built-in viewfinder in a camera that simply show the frame you get when you look through the viewfinder.
2) A rangefinder viewfinder which is also used to focus the lens. In Leica M cameras two pictures has to meet and lay 'on top of each other' for the picture to be in focus.
3) An external viewfinder, usually on top of the camera in the flash shoe, so as to show the field of view of lenses wider than what the built-in viewfinder can show (15mm, 21mm, 24mm, 28mm etc viewfinders exist)
4) Very simple "aiming-devices" on top of a camera that is simply a metal frame without any optics. Just a frame, as for example very old cameras (the original Leica), or when using cameras in diving where you can't look through the camera.
5) A Electronic Viewfinder (EVF) that shows what the sensor sees "live".
XMP = (Extensible Metadata Platform), an ISO standard for the creation, processing and interchange of metadata for all kinds of resources. Usually when I refer to it, it is archiving the keywords, editings settings, camera brand, aperture speed, GPS data and any other metadata for an image, into the XMP file that is part of a DNG file (digital negative). In Lightroom and other editing tools it is important to make sure the data is saved to the file so they don't stay only in a software or catalog. When the metadata is inside the image file (in the XMP), it can be indexed, searched for and is also imported and shown as part of the iamge info whenever the image file is imported in another software. Where should you keep the info about a photograph? In the XMP, of course!
Above: A black and white movie still from "Branded to Kill" (1967). Cinematography by Kazue Nagatsuka , director Seijun Suzuki.
LEItz CAmera = LEICA
Founded 1849 in Wetzlar, Germany.
Thorsten von Overgaard by Ray Kachatorian
Thorsten von Overgaard is a Danish-American multiple award-winning photographer, known for his writings about photography and Leica cameras. He travels to more than 25 countries a year, photographing and teaching workshops to photographers. Some photos are available as signed editions via galleries or online. For specific photography needs, contact Thorsten Overgaard via email.
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Carl Th Dreyer's "La Passion de Jeanne d'Arc" (1928).-vredensdag-45-640w.jpg)
