Becker and B&W

Spent the morning on Becker’s [b] school site catching up on missed lessons. Gotta love his style!

Don’t know how I missed it, but a while back he did a short on black and white photography and how he likes to shoot in black and white as opposed to changing a color photo to b&w in post production. He says one of the reasons it because it saves time. I used to shoot b&w film, but really never thought about shooting digital that way.

So, always one to want to try out something right away, I convinced the E-man to sit for a few shots. I got about 4 really good ones out of 30 or so. He likes to act silly. I always think he looks best a little serious – although his smile really lights up the room.

Shot outside in shade (on our back deck) Nikon D80, AF-S Nikkor 18-135mm lens, f5.6, 1/125, ISO 800, focal length about 95mm
In Photoshop:

• Adjusted levels – a bit underexposed
• Used Spot Healing Brush to clear up some acne
• Used CPM Action “Powder Your Nose” to take a bit of shine off the forehead and nose
• Used CPM Action “Sharp as a Tack” to sharpen eyes and a bit of the hair highlights
• Added CPM Action “A Touch of Light” to light side of face .
  

I played around a bit with some of Jodi’s B&W filter actions, but I like just plain ole black and white best.