White on black 2... by marlboromaam

White on black 2...

Shot in black and white in natural light. Doing my own black and white theme for the month of April. Going back to class so to speak... My goal for this month is NOT to do "product" photography - I do NOT want my subject to look like it's floating in air on a washed out background. My goal is to maintain some detail in the background and still keep a good focus on my subject. It's much harder to do than I remembered!

The human eye can see about 30 shades of gray between black and white - forget about the infamous book, and an average RGB computer screen can detect 256 shades of gray which we can't see anyway. How many shades are there really? Only God knows!

Finding six white subjects was a chore for me! Off white or cream I have, but very little pure white subjects around the house. My black background is a shower curtain. I found that shower curtains make great backgrounds and they're real cheap! I had to resort to some old costume jewelry. These fake pearls were a pain to shoot! Keeping the detail in the black background was making me wash out any details in the fake pearls. I think I found a balance between the two. Shooting in deeper shade helped! White on black seems to be the toughest one yet to maintain detail in both subject and background.

What the eye perceives as black or white in a black and white image is a task - light, f-stop, ISO, focal length, etc. all play a role in the nearest to perfect image you can capture. Keeping detail in your subject and background along with the tones the eye perceives as black and/or white is NOT easy.

This is turning out to be an interesting re-learning experience. It really was an assignment for John Frair's class so many decades ago. God bless him! I would love a do-over in his class if he was still around.

1st week - only shades of gray in natural light - done
2nd week - black on white in natural light - done
3rd week - black on black in natural light - done
4th week - white on black in natural light
5th week - white on white in natural light
You have captured the pearls beautifully on the black background.
April 19th, 2021  
@wakelys I really do appreciate how supportive you have been with my back to class bit, Susan. Thank you very much!
April 19th, 2021  
This is lovely - not an easy genre to get true black and white!!
April 19th, 2021  
@30pics4jackiesdiamond Thank you, Jackie! No, not easy. This was an assignment in my 2nd b&w class decades ago. Some students seemed to achieve the goals every time! Others - like me, some of the time. Still I'm determined to master it, if it takes me many more tries, but will give it a break for a few months or a year. =)
April 19th, 2021  
So gorgeous
April 19th, 2021  
This is quite pretty - like the way the light catches them
April 19th, 2021  
The pearls just glow. Beautiful. Fav
April 19th, 2021  
Love the folds of the black cloth that sets off the pearls nicely
April 19th, 2021  
It looks really good. I like it.
April 19th, 2021  
Well done, it pops.
April 19th, 2021  
@dogwoman Thank you!

@milaniet Thank you, Milanie!

@kvphoto Most appreciative! Thank you, KV.

@k9photo I am so happy you noticed that Kate! Thank you!

@mittens Thank you, Marilyn!

@larrysphotos Thank you, Larry!
April 19th, 2021  
it is a cool mono shot maggie, i like it
April 20th, 2021  
Gorgeous lighting!
April 20th, 2021  
@phil_howcroft Thank you, Phil!

@ryan161 Thanks, Ryan! Nothing like outdoor light. =)
April 20th, 2021  
Bravo! You’ve got nice deep shadows in the fabric ripples, and the pearls just glow.
April 20th, 2021  
Beautiful shine on the pearls. Like the strong contrast against the ball.
April 20th, 2021  
So pretty and elegant.
April 20th, 2021  
Wonderful contrasts.
April 20th, 2021  
Those pearls are just glowing!
April 20th, 2021  
@ljmanning Thank you, Laura!

@dutchothotmailcom Thank you, Esther!

@sherimiya Thank you, Sheri!

@ludwigsdiana Thanks, Diana!

@kjarn Thank you, Kathy!
April 20th, 2021  
Beautiful captured.
April 21st, 2021  
@haskar Thanks, Haskar!
April 21st, 2021  
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