best high contrast black and white

J

JPschmidt

Active member
What are some settings you all would recommend to mess with to get a nice high contrast black and white?
(of course desaturating in post)

I know digital is best with blacks and whites rather than greys like film, so I want to take advantage of that with my next piece of work which is to be shot for black and white.

I dont mind going somewhat stylistically overboard, but what should I mess with?

Thanks!
 
Much like the chip charts of the past, I'd say test it out. Shoot in a similar situation ahead of time, tweak the camera settings, and figure out what looks best to you.

I shot on reversal 90% of the time in college, and while I know kodak is retiring my favorite stocks (along with anything else good and fun they ever made, see polaroid), You could also call up kodak and ask for more information about their discontinued b&w stocks and the few they might still make (we can only pray).

I loved the fall off of the reversal stocks... My advice, play around with some big bright lights, and see what you can do in camera and then in post...
 
1) Shoot Cinelike V instead of D. V is contrasty, D is flat and sees into the shadows more.

2) Bring your master pedestal down to -5. In Cinellike V, this will give you 0% IRE on your blacks. Black balance with your lens cap on to confirm this.

3) Use hard light with minimal or no fill.

4) Shoot tests to fine tune it.
 
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