Night Photography
(And Black and White Photography)
By Ellie Race
Black and White Portraits
 |  |  |  |  |
|---|
This image is composed of an asymmetrical/symmetrical composition and shows an exaggerated and emotional look on the child’s face. The expressive looks bring on a dark and depressing outlook on the image.
It maybe even slightly disturbs you. The black and white colours bring a symbolic look of purity to the image and it makes the complex emotions of the image become a little more confusing. I really enjoyed taking these images and I think that they are really wonderful to look at because the purity of the child clashes delightfully with the sadness and fear on their faces. Something that I dislike about this image is that it may come across as slightly plain and ordinary. Even though this may be true I think that the intense eyes of the subjects and the stiff body posture brings the elements to push the image into extraordinary. From looking at this image I think I have achieved what I set out to do, I set out to create an emotional portrait that can, even though in black and white, will how all of the same emotions as in colour but in a heightened way. I hope that I can replicate the level of emotions that I have in this image, in other photo-shoots. The back and white of the photographs not only match with my dark/night/black and white theme, it also improves the quality of the image. I think that taking away the colour of the image, brings better quality because you have to rely on the atmosphere of the image and not distracting the person viewing the image with colours and shapes. The simplicity is everything.
The second image that I am going to be analysing further, is one of my favourite images out of all of them. The scale of sadness is great and gives a more intense wave of emotions than the first image that I looked at. The one single tear is everything in the image and the looking up could symbolise a number of things, including looking up for help to God. The image is not only imposing but gives a new outlook on emotions than the first image. Something that I rally enjoy about this image is the light and shadows that have appeared on the models face, they add to the atmosphere and add to the quality. The image gives off an impressive amount of attitude, but something that I would like to change or improve on the image would be the background. The white is crinkled and messy, this could be a good thing – to mirror the atmospheric tension that the facial expressions create. But I also think it can be a bad thing as it can draw your attention away from the delicate features of the face and distract you from the foreground. Something that I believe has been achieved from this photograph is a complex blend of deep emotion and imposing tension. When looking at this image I am glad I decided to incorporate a black and white theme into my night photography, it really adds to the project in a way that I didn’t believe it would and I really enjoy that it did this, it is a pleasant surprise to see it tie in so nicely. Overall I am extremely happy with the outcome of these portraits.
The third image that I’m looking at is something that really enjoyed photographing. The depth of the image is beautiful and I love the way that the asymmetrical composition works. The facial features of the model are soft and I think look very fragile. The freckles create an innocent look for the child yet that then also contrasts with the sadness of the closed eye and lack of smile. I think that the softness of the image really creates emotions and has the effect to stun anyone who looks at it. The black an white colouring of the image only adds to its quality and beauty. I think that the slightly blurry side of the image really draws your eyes to the place that I wanted it to – the face and the small freckles dotting the face. The microscopic hairs on her face can even be viewed in the image and the lack of re-touching or make-up really make it something else. Innocence could be perceived as the theme of this set of photographs but I really enjoy the ide of emotions. The huge array of emotions that are displayed through this series of work is great and I like to think that the images have some meaning and depth to them.