Pinch My Salt

Food, Recipes, and Photography

Breakfast in Black and White

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Black and White Breakfast

Now that the photo lab has re-opened for summer school, I was finally able to retrieve my final project and final portfolio.  I had turned in on the last day of my black and white photography class and since it was (slightly) late, I wasn’t able to take it home with me right away.  My final project was about food, of course.

Turns out that it’s not that easy to do food in black and white!  But in the end, the hard work paid off and I was satisfied with these two prints.

Black and White Banana and Apple

I am so happy I decided to take the photography class last semester. Not only was it a rewarding experience learning to develop my own film and prints, but going back to the basics really helped me to understand more about digital photography. Most community colleges still offer basic black and white photography classes and I highly recommend it to anyone who is interested in photography!

If you would like to see what I turned in for my final portfolio, keep an eye on my Flickr account as I’ll have the final four photos uploaded by the end of today.  And if you’re interested, you can see a slideshow of my 35mm black and white photos taken throughout last semester. View Slideshow

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Comments

  1. amanda says

    you know, i never thought about doing food photography in black and white but you are so right on! a huge part of what is alluring about food photos is the vivid, realistic coloring that allows you to imagine that it's real and you can reach into the screen and eat it. i would be sad if b&w food photos became a huge trend, but you did end up with some good ones! :-)
    Reply

  7. Nicole says

    Amanda: You're totally right, food really needs to be in color! Cynthia: I agree, I like the first one the best too. I don't know if the food itself is alluring, but I think the photo is more interesting than the other. Ruby: Thanks! :-) Lydia: You're right, I really had to think more about texture where I might have depended more on color normally. Kristen: Thanks! I don't know if you'll see many more black and white food photos here, but it's definitely been fun and I hope to keep it up outside of the kitchen! Shivapriya: Thanks, it's so nice to see your comment! I hope your move went well and that you will be back to posting more of your great recipes soon!
    Reply

  12. Helen says

    Well done! I've never tried but can imagine that doing food in black and white must be incredibly difficult. So much of the photo is about colour with food. These look good, the toast and egg is my fave.
    Reply

  14. Richard Shaffer says

    Nicole - LOVE the egg and toast photo. Are people able to add their own food photos to your Flickr account? I am considering enabling that with mine as a way to get people interacting. Richard
    Reply

  16. Terry B says

    Brava, Nicole! The slide show was fabulous. I did loads and loads of black and white photography before going digital. And I agree, the experience makes you a better photographer. It helps you understand light better.
    Reply

  17. Zino says

    I believe black and white shots are much better than color for capturing mood. In the first shot (the egg and toast) - I'm seeing a story half-told, maybe half-written, perhaps an idea of loneliness. I think black and white and the texture playground that this medium presents enables opportunities to paint compositions that are about feelings, hopes, and desires in way that is orthogonal to the color shot of the same scene. I hope you keep on experimenting. Good luck!
    Reply

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