Contrast-Control Filters and Skin Tones in B&W Portraiture

waffles · Jul 27, 2019

I've only ever used contrast-control filters (yellow #8, yellow #11, red #25, etc) when shooting landscapes outdoors. But I've recently read about some photographers using orange/green filters to modify the way skin tones are rendered in black & white portraits. Does anyone here have any experience using colored filters with studio strobes? What colors do you use, and what effects are you going for? Can you upload an example of a portrait that was taken through a colored filter? Thanks

waffles · Aug 28, 2019

pentaxuser · Aug 28, 2019

I can't help here at all as I don't do studio portraiture but it surprises me that there has been no response at all

pentaxuser

visual impact · Aug 29, 2019

Be careful using yellow, orange and red filters to modify the tonal range of skin tones. They absorb a lot of blue light which can darken blood vessels close to the skin surface and make them noticeable. Some of the nicest skin tones I have seen in monochrome portraiture have been made on ortho blue green sensitive film. The makeup will have to look strange to get the best results. I think Ilford still make an ortho film at least in 4x5 sheet anyway.

AgX · Aug 29, 2019

Basically it is about 4 issues:

Rendering of

-) skin tone

-) colour of eyes

-) skin marks as freckles, liver spots

-) veins

less obvious: -) hair tone

The colour of eyes being various, skin marks in the red region and veins in the blue region. Use your basic knowledge on contrast filters to contemplate on the situation in camera/lighting filters in portraiture. Keep in mind that the spectral sensitisation of the film is of effect too.

For the eyes you could use all, blue, green, red filters.
For the the rest blue or red for either extreme

visual impact · Aug 29, 2019

All these considerations to be taken into account means no single filter will likely do the job. That's why a friend of mine shoots in color in capture or film. Then makes up the required masks in Photoshop to use portions of the channels to build the monochrome. The file is then output on a high resolution film recorder and a new B&W negative written for enlargement onto gelatin silver paper. Tonal separation issues solved. Food for thought.

jim10219 · Aug 29, 2019

Skin has every color in the rainbow in it. The colors are subtle, but they're all there. So, using different filters will produce different results. It's also common for some photographers working in B&W to use colored gels in their lights to help control the tonality, as opposed to using an over-the-lens filter. This allows you to apply different "filters" to different areas. It also gives you a better idea of what you're end result will be.

One thing that has traditionally been overlooked in portraiture is how different colors of skin can look vastly different under different conditions. Most of what you'll find online and in print about skin tones and photography applies mainly to traditionally north-western European skin tones. Much of what is written doesn't apply to people with other ancestries or skin tones. For instance, darker African skin tones tend to hide all kinds of wonderful overtones and undertones of color that most photographers will overlook assuming what their seeing is just a shade of brown. When in reality, there can be strong shades of purple, yellow, green, blue, or anything else that can really pop under the right light.

AgX · Aug 29, 2019

jim10219 said:
This allows you to apply different "filters" to different areas.

Good point.

jim10219 said:
One thing that has traditionally been overlooked in portraiture is how different colors of skin can look vastly different under different conditions. Most of what you'll find online and in print about skin tones and photography applies mainly to traditionally north-western European skin tones. Much of what is written doesn't apply to people with other ancestries or skin tones. For instance, darker African skin tones tend to hide all kinds of wonderful overtones and undertones of color that most photographers will overlook assuming what their seeing is just a shade of brown. When in reality, there can be strong shades of purple, yellow, green, blue, or anything else that can really pop under the right light.

However this likely will not be emphazised enough in b&w photography to make the average viewer aware.

GregY · Aug 29, 2019

I virtually always use a yellow or orange filter for all my landscape work (medium of LF) or travel photos w 35mm. On the other hand I never use filters when doing portraits (even environmental portraits)....& i always use slower films like FP4+ (pretty much my standard) for medium & large format portraits.....with consistent results

waffles · Aug 31, 2019

visual impact said:
The makeup will have to look strange to get the best results.

How is it "strange"?

Mick Fagan · Aug 31, 2019

Around 40 years ago I stumbled upon someone with a yellow green filter (YG) I was intrigued and read what I could find out about it. No internet back then, so it was a long and winding road. Eventually I borrowed the YG filter and shot a roll with a caucasian model with a background of middle green foliage.

The differences between shots with the YG filter and no filter were there, subtle but there. The background was ever so more subtle and her lips popped a bit compared to the no filter shots. I didn't think the outlay for the filter was worth it, so I never went further.

Mick.

John51 · Aug 31, 2019

waffles said:
How is it "strange"?

When shooting a movie with ortho film, the cast would have blue/green makeup to lighten their complexion.

pentaxuser · Aug 31, 2019

waffles said:
How is it "strange"?

Apparently true of early pre-war B&W television. The actors, presenters had to wear, I think, green lipstick. Normal red lipstick came out black

pentaxuser

Contrast-Control Filters and Skin Tones in B&W Portraiture

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