IT’S ON A SLIDER FOR A REASON

A landscape of standard contrast, pretty much straight out of the camera.

By MICHAEL PERKINS

WHEN YOU FIRST TAKE UP PHOTOGRAPHY, it’s important to feel that you’ve nailed “the rules”, or whatever basic laws apply to the science part of making a picture. Focus. Composition. Depth of field. As newbies, we take comfort in knowing that we can competently follow the A-B-C-‘s of how to get a decent result. We see ourselves using various foundational pillars on which to drape our own technique. Color inside the lines and get a dandy image.

Then, of course, we enter a second phase in which we delight in selectively bending or shattering those rules, of taking out a pillar here or there, hoping that it’s not load-bearing. Our approach, our style, our artistry enters the mix more and more, perhaps not leading us to break every rule, but to know which ones to break, and when. That’s when we make the transition that we frequently talk about here, in the journey from taking pictures to making them.

Same shot with the contrast backed way out. Not a fundamental difference, but a palpable one.

One such pillar, for some people, is the whole issue of contrast. You can work your fingers to the bone doing web searches on various shooters’ takes on whether bold or flat gradations of tone are the ne plus ultra of pictures. Some say landscapes benefit from a flatter rendition, while others swear that the opposite is true. Some champions of soft, intimate portraits can also favor less severe demarcations between light and shadow, while others say a harsher take is the only “authentic” way to go. I myself have used contrast to completely re-make shots long after I thought I had done everything else I could to perfect them (see an original shot of average contrast up top and the flattened out version, just above). If I’m honest, I’ve also used it as a repair tool for shots that were slightly less sharp than I would have liked, but that’s a guilt trip for another day.

My point is that, if God hadn’t wanted us to play with contrast, He wouldn’t have put it on a slider. Few images are perfect SOOC (straight outta the camera), so a little nudge one way or the other doesn’t knock out one of those Sacred Pillars. Flex a little. The roof won’t cave in.