What colour scheme for model aircraft should I use to give a realistic black and white film photo?

Question

I very much doubt I'm the only person here who has wanted to do this, and I'm hoping that some advice can be sought before I start on this project.

I have been a big fan of model building since I was a very small lad sitting in my parents garage under a 40w bulb painting Airfix models in the early hours of the morning.

Now, I plan to revive the hobby, and to get some photos while I'm at it.

I'd like to shoot these on film in black and white, and as I intend that the photos will be the finished article, I'm open to adjusting the way I build the models to make the photography easier or to produce a more realistic shot.

It's likely that I will print directly from the negatives so I'd prefer to work with in camera effects and just scan the negatives for archiving (or scan the prints depending on how they come out).

The shots will be taken on a Fujica ST705 (my film camera of choice for almost everything - it's a sheer workhorse), and will be shot either on Bergger Pancro 400, or Ilford HP5.

I remember reading about how makeup on older black and white films rarely matched up to the colours you would see in a natural setting (blue on lips to look like red on film etc), as on film those colours didn't necessarily look quite right.

The models will likely end up being repainted as display pieces once I'm done with them, so even if they need to be painted neon pink and orange to get a realistic effect, I am happy to do that.

My ideal outcome is to depict stormy scenes, and to use blue lighting and smoke to enhance the effect as well as strategic use of a flashgun to simulate lightning on clouds.

Given that I'm using pan-chromatic film and want to depict models of (mostly) WW2 aircraft, would painting them in normal green/brown/grey camo colours give a suitable reproduction on film, or would I be better changing the colours for something entirely different to produce a better illusion?

I'm open to trying different colours of paint and lighting if recommended, with the key aim that the photos will look as realistic as possible.

Any advice is greatly appreciated.

Answer 1

I would not worry overmuch about the color schemes.

Two reasons:

• the emulsions you mention (Bergger and HP5+) are panchromatic, in both cases with rather decent color rendition
• your scenes will be static, so if and when you decide to alter the color rendition you can do so with classical B&W filters (the classical sequence of light yellow, dark yellow, orange and red) without worrying about shutter speed

The reason movie stars in pre-war era used strange makeup were ortochromatic emulsions of low sensitivity. This made makeup more practical than filters for live action (filters eat up a lot of light) - and does not apply to static shots with current highly sensitive panchro emulsions.

In fact, since you are shooting 135mm film and speed is not an issue you might wish to consider slower film than ISO 400; your negatives will enlarge better. This is purely personal choice though, and HP5+ pushed to 800 in Rodinal will surely look different from the usual overly smooth Canikon digital stuff.

Answer 2

This is more of an extended comment than a deep answer.

1. Particular camouflage are recognizable by their patterns. The human visual system recognizes patterns based on the spatial frequency of contrasts. Those contrasts may be tonal (e.g. light dark) or color (e.g. red green) or both.

2. Depicting a camouflage pattern to be recognizable on black and white film requires that any significant color contrast appear in the image as a tonal contrast with the same spatial frequency.

3. Representing a color contrast as a tonal contrast in a way that the human visual system interprets as intended is why chocolate syrup might be used to represent blood in a black and white gangster film. The tonal contrast of chocolate syrup is higher than the tonal contrast of blood in ordinary scenes. This higher tonal contrast is used to mimic the high color contrast of red blood.

4. This project is far more art than science. Getting tonal contrasts to represent color contrasts in a way that you want will probably require "sketch" photographs. Mocking up paint schemes on paper and shooting digitally might be a useful technique. Or it might not be so I'll stop giving advice.

Answer 3

As you likely know, many popular makeup brands were spinoffs owned by famous black & white cine makeup artist such as Max Factor. These men and women specialize in makeup that dovetailed in with the orthochromatic (red insensitive) film of that era. The introduction of panchromatic film and the changeover from carbon arc to tungsten illumination reduced the need for specialized makeup.

What I am suggesting is, you will not need to apply specialized paint colors if you use panchromatic film. However, you will likely benefit if you study the effects of the color filters used in conjunction will black & white film. We are taking about yellow filters to improve monochromatic rendering, red filters to up the contrast, green filters to lower contrast, etc.

Bottom line, I think color filters will be your answer. Also, have you considered using color negative film? You can scan these negatives, bring them in to a good photo editor, manipulate the colors and hues to your heart’s content and then convert to black & white. Additionally, you can output color images as well. You might think of doing this project using a digital camera!

Answer 4

My ideal outcome is to depict stormy scenes, and to use blue lighting and smoke to enhance the effect as well as strategic use of a flashgun to simulate lightning on clouds.

You seem to have a pretty good idea of how the final image should look. If you're trying to figure out how different colors will map to gray tones, I think your best bet is to do some testing. As a model builder, you probably already own (or already plan to buy) an array of different paint colors. One thing you could do is to use those colors to create your own color chart, and then photograph it with the film you intend to use. You'll spend a few bucks on the film and processing, but for that small investment you'll end up with an accurate record of how your film records the actual paint colors that you're using. If you devote the whole roll to this project, make a number of exposures at different light levels and exposure settings, and keep careful notes about each frame so that you can reproduce each tone in your charts.

You don't have to stop there -- try painting samples onto actual model planes. Companies like Revell make simple, inexpensive models that snap together easily. Painting bands of your candidate colors across the wings and other areas and then photographing them with your intended background, lighting setup, etc., will let you see exactly how each color will look under the conditions you plan to create.

I'm open to trying different colours of paint and lighting if recommended, with the key aim that the photos will look as realistic as possible.

It seems odd that you'd choose black and white to create a look that's as realistic as possible. I get that you're trying to recreate the look of photos from WWII, but IMO the fact that those photos are in black and white doesn't heighten their realism. When I see black and white photos that have been professionally colorized, they have an immediacy that's so different from the historical look of vintage B&W photos. You might want to consider painting your models with historically accurate colors and then shooting both in black and white and in color and see which one works better. We've all seen a zillion black and white WWII photos; you've got an opportunity to create scenes that are in some ways more realistic than what your audience is used to seeing.

(Don't get me wrong -- I like black and white a lot, and I don't mean to detract from your idea.)