Effect of B&W filters on people

[macandal]

I am not against testing, but due to the number of variables I have going on here, I’m trying to minimize as much as possible the number of total shots I will have to evaluate. For this reason, I’m asking, has anyone ever used B&W filters on people? If so, would you mind sharing your results? In case you are wondering, my variables are: the number of lights, the power of the lights, developing time (N, N+1, N+2), the filter to be used. I have the usual B&W filters: red, yellow, orange, and green.

Thanks.

[Denny]

You can find some info in Ansel's The Negative, look for "portraiture" in the index.

[Jim Noel]

Your knowledge and use of lighting as far as placement, type, diffusion, and other factors is far more important than any filter whether photographing people or anchovies. It makes a difference also as to what people you are photographing- pre-teen girls, pre-teen boys, teenage boys or girls, young women,young men, middle aged men or women, older men or women. Types of facial features to be emphasized,or de-emphasized is also extremely important. Once these problems are adequately solved you are likely to find you don't need filters. I use filters on only extremely rare occasions, i do it with light. Books and articles can be of help on this,but only practice, lots of practice will answer your questions.

[Jim Noel]

Mortensen's book on Portraiture, and "On Portraiture " by Fred Archer are probably the best two books in existence. certainly none of the books I have seen published in the last 30+ years come close to these.

[Drew Wiley]

What kind of people; what kind of film; what kind of overall contrast (lighting ratio as well as degree of film development etc). The kind of "rugged" portrait
of a weatherbeaten old seaman might not be appropriate for a woman who does not want her wrinkles or freckles accentuated. That's why portrait photographers of older men often selected orthochromatic film to darken red spots. Now that effect could be achieved with a deep green filter using panchromatic film. Then not all film are equally panchromatic. Some have extra red sensitivity which can come out looking paste-like on a smooth strawberry complexion. For this kind of problem I have frequently employed a very light yellow-green filter, which brings these films more in line with how human vision perceives tones. Then there are all kinds of "ethnic" skintones, environmental portraiture options (involving both landscape techniques and portrait evaluation). In a studio, lighting ratios can be controlled. Outdoors they sometimes cannot unless you plan your location and timing carefully. Sorry, but there is no silver
bullet out there. You have to be thoughtful about your strategy in this respect, and that is difficult to do without an initial learning curve in which you are going
to make some mistakes. But one of the mistakes many beginners do make is to carry around way more filters than they actually need. For black and white
outdoor portraits (versus color film) I might carry exactly one: that pale yellow-green, for example, the Hoya X1.

[Heroique]

You can find some info in Ansel's The Negative, look for "portraiture" in the index.

Count on AA to provide practical tips, as he does in that very section:

"The use of a greenish filter (#11 or #13) will tend to give more vigorous flesh values, most noticeably in the lips and ruddy or sunburned skin."

Not being a portraitist, I've always been curious if "vigorous" is a common way to describe (Caucasian) flesh values with panchromatic film.

[Drew Wiley]

Just remember that AA used traditional Wratten filter numbers. When in doubt, a modern filter manufacturer will have a chart of equivalence somewhere in their
data base if they have a differing numbering system of their own. For example, that no. 11 noted in the previous post equates to the Hoya XO.

[Jim C.]

You could Google for examples of how the different filters render colors and skin on BW film.

[BrianShaw]

You could Google for examples of how the different filters render colors and skin on BW film.

Similarly, most of the filter manufacturers catalogues illustrate exactly what each filter will do.

[jnantz]

sorry for cross posting a reference to another website ( apug )
http://www.apug.org/forum/index.php?...an-film.71898/
but a few years ago i asked what filter sets could be used
to create the "ortho" look from films like tri x ortho &c
and the answers were greenish filters.
that is what AA was talking about.
red lipstick, brick walls becomes black, ruddy/ leathery/sunburned complexion, "character" portraits for me
( karsh used tri x ortho often ) .. unless the woman is wearing makeup
it can really mess with the female complexion, splotchy, not very flattering.

in other words,
with the greenish/bluish filters you can make pan film look like xray film or paper negatives
or dry plates ( any pre-1910 film/plate ).

good luck !