AK-The-Big-B&W-Issue

Fine Art Photography Magazine 

DECEMBER 2016 #27 

B&W The 

BIG 

Issue

ALLAN KLIGER 

What black & white does

Copyrights To Allan Kliger© All Rights Reserved


ALLAN KLIGER 

What black & white does 

I love color. Our world is in 

color. I love the sensuality 

of the explosion and 

depth of color. But, there’s 

something special about 

black & white that moves 

me, that speaks to me. And that’s why I 

shoot in black & white. 

It’s not any one thing; it’s more how 

it all seems to fit together. Whenever 

I shoot, I always take two images, one 

in Raw and the other, the one on the 

back of my digital display, in black & 

white. It helps me to see in black & 

white, without the distraction of color. 

It especially allows me to focus on the 

light, the quality and nature of the light, 

its direction and how it plays to the 

image I wish to take, the image that 

I feel without even knowing what it 

actually be at the time. 

Most who know me would say that 

I’m a people person. That probably 

explains why I love to shoot people, 

portraits. Everywhere. More often than 

not in some far away place where I 

don’t speak the language. I don’t need 

to speak the language. We all connect 

at some level, we know what the fight 

or flight means. It’s primeval. And so is 

knowing when it’s ok. When it’s safe. 

We see it someone’s eyes, in their 

gesture. I hope people see it in my eyes 

as I approach them. I prefer shooting 

outside, natural, environmental. I 

explore, wonder, that’s part of the 

adventure. Looking for the light, for 

something elusive, something perhaps 

around the corner, an open doorway, 

some motion that catches my eye, 

beauty, frailty, something real.

Copyrights To Allan Kliger© All Rights Reserved 

A moment, something that compels me to 

stop, to want to make time stop. Perhaps it’s 

something I can identify with, even if I don’t 

know it. A feeling. 

At first I’m tentative, approaching the subject 

like quarry, hunting them, wondering if 

they’ll spook or allow me to observe without 

objection. I don’t shoot with a long telephoto 

– I shoot up close and personal. I want that 

connection, need that connection. I’m the guy 

right up there in someone’s face. No boundary. 

Crossing the boundary. Testing the limits of 

comfort and permission. Respectful, tactful, but 

leaving no uncertainty. It’s personal and the 

subject knows it. I dance around, like a boxer 

or a Judoka in the judo ring. I’m observing the 

light, the face, the comfort and nature of the 

subject’s demeanor and pose, waiting for the 

moment when it all comes together. Specular 

light, Rembrandt light, light & shadow, 

depth and dimension. I need the shadow, 

the blackness, the hint of light. And then, in 

between the shots, I find it. The connection. 

When the subject finally feels 

relaxed, to connect, to allow me 

to immortalize their soul in the 

light that I’ve found. That’s what 

black & white does.


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ALLAN KLIGER 

What black & white does 

Web: allan kliger photography 

Instagram: allankligerphotography 

FB: Allan Kliger Fine Art Photography 

Contact: photography@allankliger.com 

Tel: (416) - 669-0647 Toronto, Canada

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