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Q&A BRIAN

LLOYD DUCKETT

Respected Fujifilm

X-Photographer

Brian Lloyd Duckett

talks about the

power of mono…

n Why is black & white still so popular?
This is the century of retro – just look at the
resurgence of vinyl music and our taste for old
clothes and cars. Black & white is the photography
zeitgeist and across all genres. People have a
hunger for it – weddings, fine art prints, portraits
and my own genres, street and documentary. But
Above The principles of light and composition combine to create a London
it goes much deeper, and I think a lot of people are
street scene bursting with contrasting tones and fascinating textures.
realising there’s a lot of learning value to be had
from a ‘back to basics’ approach. I encourage my
students to embrace black & white to help them
grasp the principles of light and composition.

n Can it be used to accentuate tone and texture?
Remember that your colours will be converted to
tones of grey and if there are too many similar
tones, the image can look flat and uninteresting.
Lighting is critical as it raises and lowers the
brightness values of the original colours, giving
a varying range of tones from blacks (shadows)
to whites (highlights) – and all points in between.
We can use textures to amplify these tonal
differences; try varying the camera angle relative
to the light source as this can accentuate texture
as the light skims over it. Generally, the lower the
angle of the light source, the more the light will
create highlights and shadows across the texture.

n Any words of wisdom for Camera School? Above Black & white lends a timeless ‘documentary’ quality to this quirky and
This exercise is all about using that light and brilliantly-observed candid moment. Perhaps he’s paw-sing for thought?
getting the exposure right. Think first about how
you want the end product to look. Bright and
breezy? Dark and moody? That will guide how you
use the light – and how light interacts with your BRIAN’S FAVOURITE GEAR
objects is critical. Experiment with the direction,
intensity and quality of the light. Natural light FOR BLACK & WHITE
has much softer characteristics early and late in
I shoot most of my documentary work on a Fujifilm X-Pro3. The
the day and can give you some pleasing tonal
rangefinder style suits the way I work, and I can get two bodies and
transitions. You may find that diffusing the window
a selection of prime lenses into a shoulder bag. I also love the way
light – maybe with tracing paper or a net curtain
you have all the key information in front of you
– will soften it even more. I find that deep, inky
without having to endlessly dive into
blacks can look lovely, but when it comes to the
menus. When I need a consistent ‘look’
whites, take care not to blow your highlights.
for a project I’ll use one of the built-in
film simulations, my favourite being
Acros. As for lenses, my all-time
Brian Lloyd Duckett is the founder of
favourite is the XF 23mm f/1.4 – the
perfect match for my X-Pro3.
StreetSnappers and the author of Mastering
Street Photography. He runs street workshops
across the UK & Europe. streetsnappers.com

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