Black and white portrait photography

Good black and white photography yields an almost primeval power - it has such visual impact. One of the keys is to achieve a good tonal range, which I hope I've illustrated with the above shot of Jack. Further examples can be seen on my portrait photography page. These results generally require a lot of additional work after taking the shot - either in the darkroom, using techniques pioneered by Ansel Adams, or using digital processing software such as Adobe Lightroom or Photoshop. The latest versions of these programs allow you to mimic the effects of all the classic B&W filters in order to enhance contrast. Another key technique is dodging (lightening) and burning (darkening) which gives you very precise control of contrast. Be prepared to experiment!