Hi David,
Using in-camera filter effects, like this Red Filter on your Canon 50D can create some interesting results, but it can also create a rod for your back… particularly if you work in JPEG mode.
For those who are not familiar with using filters for black and white photography, they pass the colours that are similar to themselves while blocking the opposite colours. Because a black and white photograph is going to represent these colours as different shades of grey, what happens is that anything similar to the filter will appear as a brighter shade of grey in the picture while opposite colours go dark.
A red filter is too strong to be used with black and white film for portraiture, although I often used a red filter with a polariser filter in front of it to get intense dark skies.
With this portrait, I would have been inclined to photograph the image in RAW mode, and without any creative effects… I would then have worked to achieve a similar effect to what you have here using the RAW convertor in either Photoshop or Lightroom, or whatever RAW software you might have access to. Most RAW convertors let you convert a colour file into a black and white image and then selective adjust the effect of each colour, including the reds.
One problem I do have with this photo is that the background is too dark, to the point that you loose sight of Annick’s hair against the background. I am also curious as to why the bricks appear to have gone darker while a red filter should have made them appear slightly lighter.
In the example below I have opened the image in Photoshop and then used the Shadow/Highlight tool to brighten the shadows. I think the image looks better when we can see into the background some more.
Just two other comments for next time… when clothing is visible in a photograph, ask the subject to smooth out any wrinkles that might be apparent. And the second consideration; try and make your subjects relaxed before pushing the shutter button. If anything, don’t talk about the picture making process… talk about anything else and just make the pictures along the way.
Cheers for now, Anthony.
Image Doctor's edited version
