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Photography Blog

47 Beautiful Black and White Portraits

October 27, 2015 · Nate Kay

A portrait photographer who shoots black and white photos understands the powerful emotion and mood a monochrome image can portray. Although the setup and environment may be similar, the techniques to create a powerful black and white portrait may be different for each photographer.

“When you photograph people in color, you photograph their clothes. But when you photograph people in black and white, you photograph their souls!”
― Ted Grant

Here are a few links to resources that will help improve your black and white portraits.

Tim Kelly – Portrait Mastery in Black & White
Tim presents 60 of his most impressive and diverse black and white portrait images and discusses the creative concept behind each one including gear, lighting, exposure, and posing strategies.
black and white photography

Fstoppers – A Guide To Black and White Portraits
Fashion photographer John Schell discusses techniques and tips he uses for capturing great black and white photos of his clients.

Tuts+ – Amazing Examples of Black & White Portraiture
In this blog post you’ll find a gallery of wonderful B&W photos as well as practical tips and techniques.

Black and White Portraits

Here is a collection of beautiful B&W pictures selected from our Flickr group.

Amine Fassi – Milla
Amine Fassi - Milla

Wild Priest – Stranger
Wild Priest - Stranger

Shirren Lim
Shirren Lim

Thomas Lieser – I never found the philosopher's stone
Thomas Lieser - I never found the philosopher's stone

Handy Andy Pandy – Black and White
Handy Andy Pandy - Black and White

Anh Tu Nguyen – Roland
Anh Tu Nguyen - Roland

Mahesh Balasubramanian – !!!
Mahesh Balasubramanian - !!!

Ben Roffelsen – Sarko
Ben Roffelsen - Sarko

Amine Fassi – Freddy…
Amine Fassi - Freddy...

Mahesh Balasubramanian – Deep Look !!!
Mahesh Balasubramanian - Deep Look !!!

Wild Priest – Stranger
Wild Priest - Stranger

Nimit Nigam – Eye to Eye…
Nimit Nigam - Eye to Eye...

Christopher – Portrait
Christopher - Portrait

Favian A. Roldan – kimberly
Favian A. Roldan - kimberly

Arron Haggart – movie night
Arron Haggart - movie night

Wild Priest – Kid
Wild Priest - Kid

Nimit Nigam – :O
Nimit Nigam - :O

Franck-Emanuel GOGUER – Justine's square portrait
Franck-Emanuel GOGUER - Justine's square portrait

Sylvie Van nerum – moi n/b
Sylvie Van nerum - moi n/b

cortoboy – cut
cortoboy - cut

Amine Fassi – Black Time
Amine Fassi - Black Time

Children of the Mist – Emotions (the Vatican´s Romas II)
Children of the Mist - Emotions (the Vatican´s Romas II)

Shirren Lim – .dog day afternoon.
Shirren Lim - .dog day afternoon.

Shirren Lim – .tibetan/.
Shirren Lim - .tibetan/.

Melinda Szente – When I have a camera in my hand, I know no fear.
Melinda Szente - When I have a camera in my hand, I know no fear.

Franck-Emanuel GOGUER – Kevin – La Défense
Franck-Emanuel GOGUER - Kevin - La Défense

Mahesh Balasubramanian – Peek-a-boo !!!
Mahesh Balasubramanian - Peek-a-boo !!!

Jaime Nicolau – Autorretrato en 18mm
Jaime Nicolau - Autorretrato en 18mm

Ruth Moucharafieh – Young at heart!
Ruth Moucharafieh - Young at heart!

Thomas Lieser – the mask of madness (self contained portrait)
Thomas Lieser - the mask of madness (self contained portrait)

julian oh – For those who tell the truth shall die
julian oh - For those who tell the truth shall die

samiKoo – Looking Confused
samiKoo - Looking Confused

Claus Jørstad – Old sailor
Claus Jørstad - Old sailor

Berit Alits – Mya
Berit Alits - Mya

jean76_58 – L…
jean76_58 - L...

Justin Piercy – Lionel salutes you
Justin Piercy - Lionel salutes you

Marco Bergner – Grandfather
Marco Bergner - Grandfather

Berit Alias – Mia
Berit Alias - Mia

Loïc Romer – Portrait
Loïc Romer - Portrait

Greig Reid – Daughter Oct 12 faded black & white portrait
Greig Reid - Daughter Oct 12 faded black & white portrait

Greig Reid – Son November 12
Greig Reid - Son November 12

Amlan Sanyal
Amlan Sanyal

Yane Naumoski – Captured Attention
Yane Naumoski - Captured Attention

Greig Reid – Son at Loch Oich, Invergarry, Scotland.
Greig Reid - Son at Loch Oich, Invergarry, Scotland.

Runar Eilertsen – Anette B&W
Runar Eilertsen - Anette B&W

Julian Bueckert – Nolan
Julian Bueckert - Nolan

Franck-Emanuel GOGUER – Justine
Franck-Emanuel GOGUER - Justine

Filed Under: Inspiration

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