Create High Contrast Portraits: Exploring Photography with Mark Wallace

/ adoramatv
In this episode, Mark Wallace demonstrates an easy way to create high contrast portraits. Mark uses two lights to create three different looks. You can create a similar look in your studio using seamless white paper or a white wall. Images were converted to black and white using Adobe Photoshop Lightroom, Adobe Photoshop CC 2020, and the Nik software collection.
-Social Links-
Model: Ximena Echeverri
Instagram: @u.xez
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Products Used:
Leica M10 Mirrorless Digital Rangefinder Camera, Black
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Leica 50mm f/1.4 SUMMILUX-M Aspherical -Black
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Sekonic L-858D-U Speedmaster Light Meter
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Profoto B2 250 AirTTL To-Go Kit
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Profoto Air Remote Transceiver
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Profoto Off-Camera Flash Speedring for Profoto B1 and B2
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Flashpoint XPLOR 600PRO TTL R2 Battery-Powered Monolight With XP-600Pro Ext Head
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Flashpoint Grid Set, for 8" Reflectors, Consists of 1 each: 10 deg., 20 deg., 30 deg.and 40 deg. Grids
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Aputure Fresnel 2X Mount:www.adorama.co...
Production Equipment Used to make this video:
DJI Osmo Pocket
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Sennheiser Evolution G3
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Sony Alpha a7 III 24MP UHD 4K Mirrorless Digital Camera with FE 28-70mm Lens
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Atomos Shinobi 5.2"" IPS Touchscreen Full HD HDR Photo and Video Monitor, Supports 4K HDMI Input
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#MarkWallace #Markonabike #ExploringPhotography

[@aklivn49]

EXCELLENT explanation. Never seen it explained this way. I’ve watched a lot of KZbin videos about soft boxes, hard light, soft light in stuff. But they never explained shape and form within the light and how to create it.

[@sandraamato6004]

Loves these. The last shot , with white background was my favorite

[@josephchan4198]

I should practice black and white photos also. Thanks for demo.

[@d.l.mcluvin8067]

Without a doubt your videos are my favorite. So easy to watch. You have a wonderful presence. Thank you so much

[@elmono3939]

Back to the basics: Simple does it. Good tutorial !

[@mikeconnor3602]

This is a great video, thank you. It is very helpful in making me understand light.. love your videos

[@davidcolephoto]

I don’t think I’ve seen anyone mention the difference between the exposure on the background and the exposure of that reflected light on the back of the model. That’s really useful information. Thanks Mark, I plan to put this into practice this week.

[@cosmicwoman8044]

Adorama is a youtube photography school. I wish there was a chance were Adorama can allow us to post our work after each lesson so we can share what we have learnt from Adorama. Possibly get a professional paid feedback from Adorama team?

[@markfitzell8894]

Simply one of the best lighting videos I’ve seen on KZbin 👍👍

[@ColinOYoung]

Sharing knowledge. Love it.

[@enduraman1]

The white background with the black shirt looks the best.

[@f33adventure]

Big thanks Mark. You always make it so simple.

[@paulhills1967]

My goodness Mark. This was a brilliantly made and explained video. Can't wait to have a go. Thank you.

[@TNrick]

Great video! Thanks for posting!!!😃👍🙏

[@looneyfarm1]

Love your teaching techniques...thank you

[@TeamHoff1]

thanks for this video - really want to practice these now!

[@armacanqui]

I love these series of videos Mark! Quick question: Could you do a tutorial or overview of the different types of backdrops (between seamless paper, vinyl, and textured/canvas)? I haven't really found a solid video outlining the pros/cons between them and what sort of photos turn out depending on which you use.

[@MarkWallaceVideos]

Great idea. I've made a few videos on backgrounds, but none comparing them. Here are a few to get you started. kzbin.info/www/bejne/qWa8nIGtiLRlj5o and kzbin.info/www/bejne/epbKm61omp1rmtU

[@dbaranovskiy]

+100

[@HimanshuSaini-mb8zv]

Amazingly and simply superb explanation 👌

[@lyta1138]

That was extremely clear. Great stuff.

[@iAmAdrianClarke]

Very helpful. Will use these techniques in my self portraits

[@fangbifxx]

Wow the results look so cool!

[@FiggyABQ]

Fantastic video and images. I love the look of the third scene with the white background. Besides being at f8, what are the other settings you used?

[@clarkbarrow6750]

You're a great presenter Mark. You give lots of excellent information and explain it all very well. Well done!

[@Bob-Horse]

Another fantastic video Mark.

[@Yiannis-T]

thanks Mark!so we don't need a softbox at all for this one!Because it's high contrast ,right?

[@csudip123]

Can you please share the camera settings for the shots taken - shutter speed, aperture, ISO, etc.? Thank you.

[@4n6design]

Fantastic set up and images!

[@speterlewis]

Thanks for another excellent video. We learn so much from you!

[@ShaneBaker]

Really useful! Many thanks.

[@amv2471]

I’m taking a light course with you and I have a crush on my professor (sorry to your wife ) but it comes from respect and knowledge admiration thank you!!

[@Totallyfine29_]

Lol

[@agylub]

This is the best lesson for starting photographers I have seen. 3 years of art school in 10 min😂

[@fabrice9064]

Hi, I like your video. I would like a quick clarification if you don't mind. You said at the beginning of the video that Shapes are for Monochromatics and Forms for Colors. I did not understand why. Moreover, the last portraits are clearly monochromatics and displaying forms. Did i get something wrong?

[@eastvoltresearch]

Unfortunately, the Aputure Fresnel 2X Mount doesn't fit with the XPLOR 600PRO as you show in your equipment list. The bulb protrudes too far forward on the 600PRO to fit inside the Fresnel head.

[@theraven6836]

Excellent lesson.

[@SuperQBAH]

Another inspiring video. Thanks, Mark.

[@The22Healer]

Great as always Mark! Thanks for the tips!

[@MikeJamesMedia]

Thank you, Mark and Ximena. Very nice clean shots, and your points in the demo are completely clear. Happy Thanksgiving!

[@michaelj7069]

This was great stuff. Super simple but maximum impact.

[@fuji3164]

Mark why did you use a light behind in the photo where the background was pitch black???.

[@kavi14in]

excellent illustration....

[@amaitra]

Awesome video!

[@beachbum4691]

Fantastic., A brilliant intro.to high contrast work - (Buys Fresnel-Lens for my focusable snoots) ;)

[@muskyread]

This is one of the most educational videos I've ever watched. Superb work.

[@ЕвгенийЛагунов-ц2ы]

Thank you, Mark. Awesome video!

[@sunglint]

excellent examples and descriptions, thanks!

[@skiiizo]

Merci Monsieur ! It was very interresting ! Thanks a lot !

[@MrFredypalacio]

Excelente informacion. !!! TKS

[@garfield4108]

Looks great. I really need some grids! And I can't find any egg-crate type ones to fit my Elinchrom lights :(

[@MarkWallaceVideos]

Give Adorama a call, they can connect the dots. 212-741-0063

[@bewithabob]

Leica M10?

[@garfield4108]

I'll try that Mark. Thanks. Love watching your vids. You and Gavin were my introduction into Photography way way back now

[@teacheralam]

Very nice thx you... very nice...

[@EddyForero07]

🇨🇴 Colombia 🇨🇴 YES!!!

[@fabipuello]

Awesome!

[@focus1ist]

Great video!

[@stefanhansen5882]

Thanks a lot for this! One question: How about the ambient light in the room - how much does that matter? E.g. what would happen if you took the same shots with the same light sources, but with the ambient light turned off?

[@michaelteak]

He’s shooting at f/8 which would kill most ambient light in most situations.

[@ivantheterrible2796]

More MARK please!

[@gspam154]

Great video Mark, thank you. The camera being tilted on the tripod was driving my OCD nuts though :)

[@MarkWallaceVideos]

Ah yeah, It's hard to see me unlock, adjust, shoot, and lock again. Now it's going to drive ME nuts. hahaha.

[@KelvinChanMcSquared]

True master thank you

[@MitchGurowitz]

Cool explanation, thanks!

[@yvindholtskog2521]

Why are you metering the light to f8 specifically? Beautiful images!!😱

[@MarkWallaceVideos]

Øyvind Holtskog F/8 is my go to setting for portraits. It has good DOF and it small enough to control the ambient light.

[@enduraman1]

Øyvind Holtskog The aperture controls the depth of field. How much of the person do you want in focus. If you want all of the subject in focus, then f/8 works great.

[@johnleighdesigns]

great thanks for sharing the inspiration

[@chirag4]

the correct term for B&W is *Achromatic* (without color), .... NOT *Monochromatic* (containing or using only one colour ; Light or other radiation of a single wavelength or frequency). *Leica* got it wrong by calling its 'B&W-only' camera as 'M-Monochrom', but, *Phase-One* is right when it names their XF150 'Gray-scale' camera system as "Achromatic".

[@chirag4]

Grayscale is a range of shades of gray without apparent color. The darkest possible shade is black, which is the total absence of transmitted or reflected light. The lightest possible shade is white, the total transmission or reflection of light at all visible wavelengths. Black and White image contains only two levels. Gray image is represented by black and white shades or combination of levels for e.g. 8 bit gray image means total 2^8 levels from black to, white 0 = black, & 255 = White. Grayscale image have a continuous range of gray values while a binary image is a digital image that has only two possible values for each pixel. Grayscales are represented as integers within the computer. In order to represent a gray scale by a number, a computer must first decide how many bits (binary digits) to use to represent the grayscale. Black and White image is a special case of Grayscale image where the gray value/level is restricted to be pure white or pure black only in contrast to varying gray level of white or Black in case of gray scale image. Grayscale image has gray values ranging from 0-255 where 0 =black, 255= white while the black and white image has only 0 and 1 values where 0 =black, 1=white. grayscale image has the value from 0-255, whereas black and white has the value of 0/1 only. Binary images are images whose pixels have only two possible intensity values. They are normally displayed as black and white. Numerically, the two values are often 0 for black, and either 1 or 255 for white. Binary images are often produced by thresholding a grayscale or color image, in order to separate an object in the image from the background. The color of the object (usually white) is referred to as the foreground color. The rest (usually black) is referred to as the background color. However, depending on the image which is to be thresholded, this 📷polarity might be inverted, in which case the object is displayed with 0 and the background is with a non-zero value. Some morphological operators assume a certain polarity of the binary input image so that if we process an image with inverse polarity the operator will have the opposite effect. For example, if we apply a closing operator to a black text on white background, the text will be opened.

[@Savage1776_]

I love the fact that these tutorials are up on KZbin. But I'm just getting into flash photography and using bounce lighting. I wish there was a little more in-depth tutorial is I'm going on like with the settings and the setting up and so forth. Many of these videos are just like okay put your like here here here and pop your picture. Does anybody know where there's a similar tutorial it's a little more detailed?

[@algheroman6476]

Yes. Knowing what the camera settings used would have been useful to better understand.

[@pets2616]

Thank you so much ♥️

[@josetrisan8646]

thank you so much for this!

[@BlueSky......]

why do models have to be images and not photographed in the morning?

[@tanwk123]

Hi Mark, mind asking you, was your godox set to slave mode so that the b2 can flash and trigger the godox light at the same time?

[@MarkWallaceVideos]

deric tan yes, that’s exactly right. I used slave mode.

[@Zac-o1c]

Hey Im new in photography can anybody explaon to me the iso shutter speed and aperture use in the video

[@gordw6402]

Thank You for the great video. Profoto triggers Godox as well?

[@russdixon614]

the Godox is triggering optically from the Profoto

[@MarkWallaceVideos]

Almost all studio strobes have a sensor on them, it "watches" for other flashes to fire. The trigger is from the Profoto flashing. When the Profoto flashes the Godox "sees" it and also fires. That's why I had to move the Godox pack so it could "see" the Profoto flash. Using this feature you can trigger one light and all the others (no matter what brand) will also fire. Some speedlights also have this feature. You just have to put your flash in "slave" mode.

[@MarkWallaceVideos]

7:30 is where I explain it.

[@3obardThawn3]

Can I get results like this with a speedlight???

[@MarkWallaceVideos]

METHOS THE CLOWN Absolutely. Rogue makes grids and modifiers that are perfect for this. You can get the exact same results.

[@bedevere007]

awesome' he reminds me of Rasputin

[@pjhaebe]

How are you getting the black background in the first series with a white wall?

[@MarkWallaceVideos]

Pj Haebe All walls are black unless you illuminate them. Using the grid I’m simply keeping the light off the wall. So it’s black. There is no light on the wall.

[@MarkWallaceVideos]

Pj Haebe kzbin.info/www/bejne/ZorLlXWid9WngJo

[@SuperTrenn]

love

[@06147433]

Setting on camera?

[@dartagnanpascaljoseph3985]

What are the settings you are shooting at Mark?

[@MarkWallaceVideos]

Dartagnan Pascal JOSEPH ISO 100, f/8, sync speed (1/160)

[@1911geek]

I wonder why he missed her right jar line is a bit abnormal, throw it to shadow. I feel the left is more flattering. same theory and execution just choice and favorable features

[@VijayOnline101]

Why am I not seeing the background in pictures taken before the Godox light was turned back ?

[@MarkWallaceVideos]

vijay kumar several reasons. Mainly because there is no light hitting the back wall. I’m using a grid to control the light. I’m also using the inverse square law. kzbin.info/www/bejne/ZorLlXWid9WngJo

[@frankc3834]

Perfect!

[@pattymattes7124]

Thank you!!!

[@particlesofenergy]

flare vs high key

[@naseerc]

😊

[@user-Mr.Xuyen96]

hello... I am from viet nam

[@Lastman10101]

Steve Jobs :)

[@jonneymendoza]

first!

[@charliemcdougall]

"Turtleneck and chain, please," said the '90s.

[@agylub]

Boring and ugly light?? That looks like 50% of fashion ad photography today

[@derryk1]

Back in the 1990's there was a whole trend of black and white ads in fashion magazines. Calvin Klein had a whole series out with just the straight on deer in the headlights flash photo mostly of Kate Moss. Other photos had a lot more contrast but all were in black and white. This reminds me of those old ads.

[@mohomami9684]

Not fair as you are using camera and glass (about $13k) designed for BW photos and that’s why the photos are punchy.

[@alun7006]

You can do this with a $500 entry level DSLR.

[@fuji3164]

Shoot raw and experience the power of post processing.

[@davidcolephoto]

I don’t think I’ve seen anyone mention the difference between the exposure on the background and the exposure of that reflected light on the back of the model. That’s really useful information. Thanks Mark, I plan to put this into practice this week.

[@Gentlman222]

Great video!