Black and White Portrait Photography

When my first child was born almost 10 years ago a friend gave me the advice to be sure to take pictures with a roll of black and white film before the baby grew up. I was reminded of that advice when I ran across a book at the library called Mom's Little Book of Photo Tips, by Lisa Bearnson. The book was published in 1999, when my husband and I still used film. The book suggests that black and white film evens out skin tone and gives a "timeless" aspect to your photos. Also, for best results be sure to use natural light.

This is a photo that I took with a roll of black and white film and a simple point and shoot camera.


This photo was taken with a roll of black and white film and my father-in-law's old SLR camera - which I used here for the very first time. I was very happy with the results. These are some of my very favorite photos that I have of when my daughter was small!


Finally, if you're like me and have switched to all digital photography, why not try converting some of your photos in your photo software and experiment with which photos look the best in black and white! Here's one that was taken with my digital point and shoot just last week when we were at the beach with Grandma and PaPa, and converted using iphoto when we got home.

Another fun tip for us amateur photographers who record our family's "life stories" is to take photographs without faces showing. I love the natural look of these photos!