Elements Of Good Photography - Contrast

Elements Of Good Photography - Contrast

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Great photographers know some basic tips that they put into practice when shooting a photo. No matter what type of equipment you own, you too can learn the elements of good photography that will help you to take better and more unique pictures. These elements are depth of field, composition, color balance, and contrast, and they interact with each other to tell a story on paper or film. Learn about how to manipulate these basics, and you can become a better photographer. One of these elements will be addressed here, the element of contrast.

Contrast?

Contrast is very simply the range of difference between the different tones in a picture. In black and white photographs, contrast defines the grayscale, and is the difference between the darkest tones and the lightest tones in the picture. When referring to color photography, contrast indicates how sharply the colors stand out from each other.

Controlling Contrast

If you want to control the contrast in your photograph there are several ways you can do it. The simplest way is to import your pictures into a digital photo-editing suite and find the contrast button, then drag the slider until you are happy with the image. If you are using a darkroom you can increase the level of contrast in the picture by using filters on the enlarger, remembering that the higer the filter number you use, the higher will the contrast be. Being able to control contrast is harder to do in the camera and also depends heavily on the available light, lens filters, and the exposure time. It's usually a good idea to shoot with a little caution and opt for less contrast than more since you can always increase the contrast later without losing quality.

A Good Quality of Contrast

While opinions differ on how much contrast is "just right," a good general rule of thumb is that your tones should run the gamut from very dark to very bright, with every level in between represented in the photograph. The best way to understand this is by thinking of a black and white photograph, where you desire to have a pure black, a pure white, and every possible shade of grey represented in each picture. You can tell if you have achieved good contrast when your subjects look clearly defined and your colors "pop".

Fine-Tuning

One of the classic tricks in the photographer's toolbox is dodging and burning photographs. This is a method for adjusting the contrast of individual parts of an image, as opposed to the entire thing. This helps in highlighting the subject (for example, lightening the eyes) or modifying the composition (perhaps darkening the background) and can improve the overall appearance of the image. One trick that photographers can do in the darkroom is to create a complex stencil that is placed on top of the blank photo paper. These stencils block off certain parts of the photograph and allows them to be exposed for different amounts of time than others, which gives the photographer more control over the contrast of the whole image. Technology has enabled us to use the photo editing suites to dodge or burn areas of interest with a mouse pointer.

When you "dodge" a photograph in a darkroom, you are exposing areas to light for shorter periods of time, or, for digital editing, an image will be lightened and lose contrast. Places in your picture that are "burned" will have higher contrast and the grain will be darker.

Learning to control the contrast in your photos can be a tricky skill, but practice at burning and dodging will soon make it second nature. Good contrast contributes to the narrative of your photograph and helps to make the important things stand out while the less important things fade away. When you are taking your photos, try to imagine before you take your shot what your contrast options will be, and be creative when photo editing in the darkroom or on the computer. As with all other good things in life, practice makes perfect!

About the Author:
Autumn Lockwood is a writer for Your Picture Frames. Shop online and see our selection of 4x6 picture frames in a wide variety of sizes, colors and styles. Visit our website to see our quality metal 4x6 picture frames now or call 1-800-780-0699.



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