Let Me Tell Ya 'Bout Black Chicks

When I shoot women of color I usually don't change much of anything in terms of lighting, exposure, or my set-side manner. I'll admit, there are times when I think to myself, "The darker the skin, the more I might want to consider contrast issues," i.e., contrast between the model and the background and/or the environment she's placed in, but that's about it. For whatever it's worth, I consider the same implications for someone of very light skin.

All people photograph nicely, make that good skin tone will result, when exposed using 18% gray as an average reference for exposure regardless of skin color. Whether you're shooting a Nordic blonde or a Jamaican black, reading the light bouncing off an 18% gray card or the light falling on your model is going to give you good, average, skin tone for all subjects whether they're black, white, green, or purple. 18% gray was a reference developed by film manufacturers and it's been engineered into sensors and processors for digital capture.

As mentioned, when I shoot black chicks I don't change my manner. I don't suddenly try to act "black," peppering my speech with hip-hop talk. I'm the same me regardless of my subject. I don't quickly toss a Rap or Hip-Hop CD into the stereo simply because the model is black, unless it's requested. I only mention this because I've seen it happen. As a side-note, I have fairly eclectic musical tastes and I keep everything from The Beatles to the Black Eyed Peas in my CD collection. When shooting, I can satisfy most models's musical cravings with just about anything popular except Country/Western, Bluegrass, Big Band, Gospel, or the musical stylings of Ooom-pah-pah bands. The latter, I might add and to best of my recollection, has never been requested.

I'm only writing briefly on this subject because on more than one occasion--make that on more than a few occasions--I've had photographers or videographers ask me if they should be over-exposing for black people or beaming, as they sometimes have said, "Way more light on them." I'd mention my usual response to these shooters, which is often in the form of two words made popular by comedian,Chris Rock, but I don't want to risk offending anyone here, on my blog. When I offend people, which I do often enough, I prefer to do it elsewhere.

Models featured in this post are, from top to bottom, Alisha, Trina, and Andrea. Also, from top to bottom, the models are depicted in examples of glamour, art, and fashion.