Many people just love photographing New York City graffiti and I’m a big fan too.
This example in Brooklyn isn’t as much as guerrilla graffiti as it is a more carefully planned and executed piece of wall art.
The graffiti on either side of the building stands on its own but I wanted to fully depict the building as I encountered it, from an angle across the street.
Photographing graffiti like this for a black and white final image is a challenge. You are first taken with the vibrant colors, which of course, you’re going to lose in the final output.
So the challenge is to use careful and varied post-processing techniques that reduce the artwork to its most elemental shapes and internal compositions. For the post-processing, you’ve got to use a variety of ‘filter’ effects contrast adjustments and experiment to find a combination that works to create a pleasing visual dynamic of highlights and shadows, form and composition.
So to test your post-processing skills, work on some graffiti, or other colorful art to see how close you can get to conveying the art within the art.
Happy Shooting,
Bob Estremera