5 Helpful Tips for Better Black and White Portraits

A black and white portrait can be one of the most powerful ways to represent a person, but it takes more than just desaturating a color image to make an effective final photo. If you would like to learn how to do that, check out this fantastic video tutorial that will give you five tips sure to help you create better black and white portraits. 

Coming to you from Ian Hippolyte, this excellent video tutorial will give you five helpful tips to help you create better black and white portraits. I think Hippolyte's point about planning ahead for a black and white edit is particularly salient. We often decide to make an image black and white during the editing process, and while there is nothing wrong with that, you can often play to a black and white image's strengths by planning ahead. Because they lack color, such photos have to leverage things like contrast and texture more to be compelling, and as such, if you can plan things like wardrobe, makeup, and lighting to accentuate those characteristics, you can ensure you end up with the best possible result. Check out the video above for the full rundown from Hippolyte. 

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Alex Cooke is a Cleveland-based portrait, events, and landscape photographer. He holds an M.S. in Applied Mathematics and a doctorate in Music Composition. He is also an avid equestrian.

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