Black And White Photography Tips

Black And White Photography is a number of monochrome (one color)  forms in visual arts. Shades of black and white can do wonders in this photography and creative art. With the invention of the digital camera the scope of the black and white photography business has opened up new horizons for the users and photographers. Black and white photography is great for those who seek to explore new lands and walk the ground of innovative creation.  With the boom of digital photography and digital camera black and white photography is becoming much more creative. This site is aimed at giving tips on black and white photography so that the novice as well as the expert photographers can become richer in knowledge and increase the quality of their photos.

Tips:

Practice

Practice makes perfect. An experienced black and white photographer can see the world without the use of color. They have trained their mind to pick up different contrasts and tones while blocking the distractions of colors. This isn’t something that you can just pick up one day, it is something that comes naturally in time with practice and patience.

Shoot In Raw

For the most control in the production phase of converting your color images into black and white, you will want to shoot in RAW if your camera has that option. Of course shooting in JPEG does not stop you from shooting in black and white, but if it’s an option you need to give RAW a go.  You might be surprised by what it offers you in post production process of developing your black and white photos.

Shoot In Color

If you are a digital photography and want to shoot in black and white, it is best to shoot your originals in color then convert them to black and white digitally.  While most digital cameras offer you the option to shoot in black and white, you have more control over your end results if you have the color data to work with in your conversion on your computer.  Taking the color information and making a conversion on your computer will make for more detailed black and white shots.

If your camera gives you the option of shooting in color or black and white, then never shoot in black and white. What the camera really does is capture color, and when you capture the color it works best for then converting to black & white. Photo editing software can do a much better job at the conversion process, and you will have much more flexibility on the look of the final image. It’s really amazing how different a photo can look based solely on the processing. It is best not to limit yourself before the photo even makes it out of the camera, so take your picture in color.

Low ISO

Shoot your black and white photos with the lowest possible ISO. While this is something that most of us do in color photography it is particularly important even when it comes to black and white photography. Noise created by ISO can become even more obvious with black and white photography.

When to Shoot

Many digital photographers actually prefer to shoot images for Black and White in low contrast situations. A dark or overcast day can be a great time to shoot outdoor shots.

Ironically these are the days when people who shoot in color sit at home complaining about the poor lighting. The next time you find yourself with a dark and gloomy day, go out and shoot some black and white photos.

Composition

Most of the general tips on how to frame a good shot apply very well to black and white photography as they do when shooting in color. The main difference is that you are unable to use color to help lead the eye into or around your shot. Because of this you need to train yourself to look at shapes, tones and textures in your frame as points of interest. Pay  attention to shadows and highlights which can become a feature of your shot.

Use Color Filters

Black & white film photographers make use of color filters to change the captured tones in their photos. Have you ever seen those monochrome images with dark skies and puffy white clouds? This is not natural because it requires the use of color filtering to produce this desired effect.

Using an actual color filter with a digital camera is perfectly acceptable, but it is not completely necessary. Software such as Photoshop has the ability to apply non destructive color filters, and it also has the ability to produce the same results as a color filter during the black and white conversion. For those people using Photoshop CS3, you will see that the black and white adjustment dialog has several  filters present that can be applied and modified to suit the photo.

Focus on Texture

Texture is really just a form of contrast, but it is perceived quite differently. If you think about it, texture is the regular or irregular pattern of shadows and highlights at various intensities. Black and white photos lend themselves to the texture because color generally adds another layer of complexity masking most subtle textures. Look for areas of interesting texture that can be photographed by zeroing in on specific surfaces and by examining them for signs of pattern contrasts.

Focus on Contrast

Black & white photography is about the black, the white, and all the tones in between. The human eye is built to pick up two things: light intensity and color. When you remove the color your eyes become more sensitive to light intensity. Our eyes naturally pick out areas of contrast and it shows how we distinguish one thing from another. As a black and white photographer your main objective is to make your point with different shades of gray. Use contrast to show your what is important and what’s not in your photos. Seek out scenes that naturally show signs of high contrast, and this will make your pictures be more compelling right from the start.