20 Beautiful High Contrast Photos
Rob and I have always landed on the side of photography enthusiasts, and if we had a better camera we might have actually graduated to the amateur shutterbug status by now, but alas, that has yet to be. But being an enthusiast is good, too. Don’t get me wrong, we are more than happy to don the devotee moniker, and do it proudly. As photography fans, our role is more of a passive one, which suits us fine from time to time. Though having a chance to create and capture some amazing images like those that are constant sources of inspiration to us, would be an awesome opportunity.
Take for instance, the following showcase that we have prepared for our readers. This collection of stunning high contrast photographs have been gathered for their awe-inspiring beauty, and vibrant, expressive tones. By enhancing the highlights and shadows in drastic differences of density, the photographers below have taken their work to a whole new colorful level. These artistic alterations act to re-stylize the images into more stirring captures that always leave us inspired. Here’s hoping their effect is contagious!
Creative Contrasts on Parade
Wrap up
That will about do it for the showcase, we hope you enjoyed the images, and found a little inspiration along the way. Let us know what you think in the comments below.






















A nice collection. I particularly like the 2nd image
(http://www.flickr.com/photos/5cheherazad3/3734631556/)
with the reflection for that extra little bit of wow.
I agree, the reflection in that one is amazing!
These are great! If I had to pick a fav, it would be the Munich Sunset. That is a great angle and the colors are wonderful.
I thought that one was amazing as well. The contrast between the orange and green is just awesome!
merry go round +1
Most of those are just overdone HDR and really don’t look great in my humble opinion.
Hey James. By overdone do you mean heightened contrast ;P. Just kidding. I knew when I put this together that not everyone would be a fan. It shows the wide variance of taste, high-contrast HDR is one of my favorite techniques and I love the way they look. Thanks for commenting :)
I love these images! An image like this could really make a website page zing out – are they available on any stock photo websites, do you know?
Ali x
Hi Alison. None of these are available on stock photo sites but if you find a good clear stock photo the technique can be faked in photoshop by altering the contrast. Good luck!
amazing how colours and light can enhance the subject matter and bring out details.. beautiful stuff!!
Surreal! The railroad photo conjures so many associations and memories for me. Thanks for sharing these fantastic images.
wow! awesome! love those colors (^_^)
Beautiful photos!!! My favourite the 3rd from the end.
I love good HDR but I do find a lot of these images a bit too extreme on the colouring for my tastes. That said I do like 8,9,12,18 for the mystery imparted by the use of the high contrast.
That popping color is what really draws me to them. But, like you said, the mysterious quality given to those less colorful images is really intriguing.
I love this post. These images are amazing.
My favorite is the 3rd I think
http://www.fuelyourcreativity.com/files/photo3.jpg
Thanks for sharing!
Wow, I just happened to look at my Flickr stats today and saw that they had spiked a bit on one photo. Thank you very much for including my “Seattle in Motion at Sunset” shot (3rd from top), I really appreciate the recognition, especially around the other artists! Nice website you’ve got here Angie, cheers!
the one with the tobacco sign on it is it for me! Terrific!
that fisheye shot of a church is beautiful.
and other landscape shots are just amazing.
kudos.
I like the bird image the most, the brown patches on its spread feathers dissolves agreaably with the environment giving it a beauty so natural, so pleasing.
All photos are beautiful I like first and third one.
Wow, very interesting, almost like I am looking into a new world, that is all too beautiful, unlike the plain to sight one!
Absolutely Stunning!