filter for portraits in black n white

[conscuba]

hi,
what filter can u use for reducing bad acne on male teen, and for b/w film portraits in general.i know u can do a lot in photoshop,but would rather not.
thanks

[soulman]

Red filters are good for minimising anything red on a face, so they tend to produce what can be lovely white looking skin on caucasians. They do odd things too lips though, so you might need to experiment with lipstick or some other way to restore a natural looking colour there.

[conscuba]

thanks.will try and hunt one down & give it a go. not sure how he'll take to the lippy tho.

[sunny6teen]

don't forget that a red filter will affect the entire the image. sure, it'll reduce acne and freckles but it'll also bump up the contrast so you'll need to be mindful of your shadows (they'll be very dark).
also...lips/skin/red hair/blonde hair will be very light.
blue eyes will be black.

you fix one problem and create a load of others. traditionally, green filters (light or dark) are used in male portraiture to bring out textures in the skin and not have the guy looking like ziggy stardust ;)
it won't solve tthe acne situation but you'll get better results with make-up. just cover up the acne.

[conscuba]

ok,this filter thing is getting expensive. would putting a coloured gel over the flash do the same thing?

[ameerat42]

Hi conscuba. Cellophane is even cheaper than gel. I did it ages ago for some (long 4-gotten) reason, but I can't remember being disappointed.

Meanwhile, with some editing program, take a look at the red channel of a normal colour photo of your subject for an illustration of what Tony is talking about above.
Am.

[conscuba]

thanks everyone. will post results when roll is finished and developed