Photography 101 – Contrast

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28 July 2010

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When learning photography, you’ll discover there are lots of different elements that make an photograph appear the way it does. Exposure, film speed, camera quality, type of frame (like a gallery picture frame) and printing method all have an impact on the quality of your final print. Contrast is one of the easist elements to manipulate in photography and also one of the most important. When used properly, contrast can take your pictures to a whole new level.

Put simply, contrast is the difference between the lights and darks in your images. In terms or black and white photography, high contrast prints have very dark black and super bright whites with no shades in between, while low contrast images will have more grey. In color photographs, contrast can be used to describe the intensity of the colors and how they stand out in relation to each other. While there is no ideal amount of contrast in any one photo, a good rule of thumb is to create images with pure white, pure black and every shade in between. However, this is more challenging than it sounds!

Contrast in Action
As a photographer, youll probably find a set amount of contrast that works for you. Some prefer high contrast, some prefer low, but remember that its all about what works for you. As long as your images convey the message you want to pass on, no one is going to call you on the phone and tell you to change your photographs around.

If you want to see some examples of excellent normal contrast just look at the work by Ansel Adams. His landscape photographs in black and white cover every base possible in terms of greys, blacks, and whites, and are quite powerful because of it. No wonder Ansel Adams images are so frequently seen framed in simple black picture frames in homes and offices – as the contrast black and white tones are exquisite. As an example of high contrast, films like Sin City and The Spirit used high contrast imagery to tell their story.

Manipulating Contrast
There are several ways you can adjust the contrast of your photograph. Different types of film or digital camera settings will give your pictures different amounts of contrast. For example, slide film has a high contrast ratio compared to regular film. You can also increase the time your film develops or “push” your film so that your images will have more contrast. Be careful not to over-develop your film; while you can always make new prints your actual shot film is irreplaceable and cannot be fixed after you break it.

In the darkroom, you can apply a filter to your enlarger to change the contrast of your images. A #1 filter will be a slight contrast bump, whereas a #4 filter will dramatically increase the level of contrast in the final image. If you’re using a digital camera, most photo editing software has a built in contrast option that will let you mimic the changes you could make in the darkroom. Contrast is unlimited in what you can do with it so play around and take it to the limit and see what happens.

Contrast can also change what your viewers look at in your photograph. It can help further define important parts of your photograph as well as create a higher quality image when done properly. The right (or wrong type) of picture frame can also impact how the viewer looks at your picture so make sure to stick with a frame that has simple clean lines and avoid highly decorative, beaded or jeweled picture frames.

Use the pure black, pure white rule in every photograph and youll see a huge improvement in the images you produce. Once you understand what degree of contrast works in your photos, you’ll start to see how you can use contrast in the real world to shoot even better pictures. As always, the best way to get better is to keep practicing!