contrast
Fog can be deceptive. As it happens with other weather phenomenons, the way our eyes and mind perceive a foggy landscape is different from what the camera will capture.
One of the reasons is that contrast can be tricky to find in fog. As we know, contrast is really important in black and white photography, so we need to know how to create it in foggy conditions.
Read MoreI always carry one of my RX100s with me and try to take a few photos everyday no matter where I am or what I am doing. Most of these photographs are no good, but every once in a while, I run into a scene I love.
This was the case a couple of days ago coming back from the grocery store, shopping bag on the shoulder and camera in my pocket. It was a nice and calm night, and these two swans were hanging out on the river. I loved the contrast between the dark water and the white birds.
The RX100 doesn't excel in low light, but it is the best camera -by far- to carry along with the groceries. I took a few shots, hoping for the best, and kept walking. I really like the final image, an unexpected one that I was able to make only because I was carrying my camera with me.
Contrast is one of the most important elements in photography. I'm not talking -only- about the slider in your photo editor to manipulate the tones of the image.
Contrast means difference. Creating difference between your subject and everything else, you are able to tell a story.
This can be achieved using the differences in color and luminance, but also using shapes, textures and more.
While we seek contrast between the subject and the rest of the photo, we want to minimize it within those elements - thus increasing it between them. One of my favorite techniques to achieve this is long exposure photography: smoothing out water, for example, we remove contrast from it hence increasing that contrast between the water and our subject.
I show you some examples of this and other techniques in this video:
