Way back in the mists of yesteryear as a young student in
the world of photography, when we used film and processed our images in a wet
darkroom, my first year was spent looking at the world devoid of color. My
lessons revolved around black and white film, black and white paper, and black
and white processes. The concept behind this learning process to look at the
world through a colorless lens taught me to see a scene reduced to its base
elements of light and shadow, shape and form, texture and emotion. The
ever-present Zone System created by the king of Black & White photography
Ansel Adams taught an awareness of light on the land and its effects on film
and print. The monochromatic world became so ingrained in my psyche that when I
excitedly processed my first color images, they appeared garish and unnatural.
And the lessons I learned during those initial courses were forgotten for a
short time as I explored a new color-filled world. I lost my black and white
base as I transitioned into color – thinking the two ways of recording light
had very little to do with each other.
I was wrong. Oh, how I was wrong.
The lessons I learned in those first classes had everything to do with color photography. Was there any wonder why my first images in color lacked the compositional qualities and emotion that I had been trained to search out? There shouldn’t have been. I was like a beginning crafter left unsupervised in Hobby Lobby. I ran through film creating colorful junk. The colors were pretty, but there was nothing I wanted to show others and far too many boring sunsets. It took me a while before I included first year lessons with second year projects. I had to go back to thinking in black and white to create images that would help me pass my classes.
They are lessons I will not forget and find useful from time to time when photographing for black and white and looking at scenes to photograph in color.
SIMPLIFIES THE SCENE
Strip the color from your image and you are left with only tones of grey. There are no distracting colors that direct your viewer’s eye from the subject. You end up relying primarily on the shape, texture and contrast to captivate your viewer. You strip your image down to its barest elements. Composition skills are brought to bear in black and white photography – you need to create compelling compositions in your images to help bring them to life or they become a mass of grey no matter how much contrast you add.
SHAPES YOUR SUBJECT
Photography is about recording light onto media – film, paper, or digital sensor. When you remove the color, all you really have left is light and shadow to shape the subject in your compositions. Our brains understand how light falls into shadow on curved objects and blocked objects and can discern between balls and bricks just by how light falls across them. You can use light and shadow to emphasize the shape and the shape then becomes as important to the subject as the subject itself. Also, you can simplify the scene to highlight only the shapes within the image.
ADDS DRAMA
Finally, you can highlight the mood, emotion, or texture of your subject. With no other distractions, your viewer can gain a greater sense of the ideas behind the image. Think of some of the most powerful portraits from the past. I always think if the images captured by Dorothea Lange during the depression. She was able to capture raw emotion in the simplest of images. “Migrant Mother” just is not the same image if I imagine it in color. Try it. Think of an image then imagine it in color. Does it feel the same? When you strip an image of color, you simplify the image to its basic shapes and its basic emotions.
TIMELESSNESS
There is also a timeless quality to black and white images. A quality that stretches back to the earliest days of photography and far into the future. Fads happen in color photography. We may not notice it much, but take a look at an image from the 70’s or 80’s. Not only do we know what decade it comes from because of the color palette of the day (avocado green and harvest gold anyone?) but there is a tonality to the image – a faded low contrast haze. But look at a black and white image from the 70’s and you may not recognize that it is from the 70’s – unless dad’s horn-rimmed glasses give it away. Because of this timeless quality, many photographers find that black and white photography lends itself well to fine art prints.
However, not every image translates well to B&W. Look for scenes that have a subject that conversion to black and white will help emphasize the subject. These are often subject that have a different color palette, texture, or lighting. Where the subject won’t get lost in grey. We are lucky in the digital age that we can convert an image to black and white to test it out and if we don’t like it – we can delete those layers. Converting to black and white will not save an image that is not exposed correctly or composed well. In fact, those flaws can be highlighted in black and white imagery
How to create your black and white image:
In camera: A lucky few of us have the ability to record only the reflected intensity with our digital cameras. Some cameras will record both a color version and a monochrome version. This helps when you are having difficulty determining if an image would look good in black and white. I personally like to make my conversions in Photoshop (or Lightroom).
In Computer: You can convert your images to black and white with any photo editing software. In the Adobe world (Photoshop and Lightroom) several companies also have plug-ins that will convert the image for you in different monochrome styles. Simple on-line tutorials will show you how to convert and adjust your image for any software you use.
Ideas for black and white images:
While not every image translates well to black and white, you can photograph everything in black and white. Keep your eyes open for strong contrasts that highlight shapes. Making everyday objects into abstract images of light and shadow is a fun way to experiment and practice your techniques. Try long exposures or Intentional Camera Movement (where you purposefully move the camera during the exposure) for interesting abstract images. Photograph subjects with a lot of texture and highlight that texture with strong contrast. Find scenes that you want to simplify or highlight a particular subject.
I was wrong. Oh, how I was wrong.
The lessons I learned in those first classes had everything to do with color photography. Was there any wonder why my first images in color lacked the compositional qualities and emotion that I had been trained to search out? There shouldn’t have been. I was like a beginning crafter left unsupervised in Hobby Lobby. I ran through film creating colorful junk. The colors were pretty, but there was nothing I wanted to show others and far too many boring sunsets. It took me a while before I included first year lessons with second year projects. I had to go back to thinking in black and white to create images that would help me pass my classes.
They are lessons I will not forget and find useful from time to time when photographing for black and white and looking at scenes to photograph in color.
SIMPLIFIES THE SCENE
Strip the color from your image and you are left with only tones of grey. There are no distracting colors that direct your viewer’s eye from the subject. You end up relying primarily on the shape, texture and contrast to captivate your viewer. You strip your image down to its barest elements. Composition skills are brought to bear in black and white photography – you need to create compelling compositions in your images to help bring them to life or they become a mass of grey no matter how much contrast you add.
Photography is about recording light onto media – film, paper, or digital sensor. When you remove the color, all you really have left is light and shadow to shape the subject in your compositions. Our brains understand how light falls into shadow on curved objects and blocked objects and can discern between balls and bricks just by how light falls across them. You can use light and shadow to emphasize the shape and the shape then becomes as important to the subject as the subject itself. Also, you can simplify the scene to highlight only the shapes within the image.
ADDS DRAMA
Finally, you can highlight the mood, emotion, or texture of your subject. With no other distractions, your viewer can gain a greater sense of the ideas behind the image. Think of some of the most powerful portraits from the past. I always think if the images captured by Dorothea Lange during the depression. She was able to capture raw emotion in the simplest of images. “Migrant Mother” just is not the same image if I imagine it in color. Try it. Think of an image then imagine it in color. Does it feel the same? When you strip an image of color, you simplify the image to its basic shapes and its basic emotions.
TIMELESSNESS
There is also a timeless quality to black and white images. A quality that stretches back to the earliest days of photography and far into the future. Fads happen in color photography. We may not notice it much, but take a look at an image from the 70’s or 80’s. Not only do we know what decade it comes from because of the color palette of the day (avocado green and harvest gold anyone?) but there is a tonality to the image – a faded low contrast haze. But look at a black and white image from the 70’s and you may not recognize that it is from the 70’s – unless dad’s horn-rimmed glasses give it away. Because of this timeless quality, many photographers find that black and white photography lends itself well to fine art prints.
However, not every image translates well to B&W. Look for scenes that have a subject that conversion to black and white will help emphasize the subject. These are often subject that have a different color palette, texture, or lighting. Where the subject won’t get lost in grey. We are lucky in the digital age that we can convert an image to black and white to test it out and if we don’t like it – we can delete those layers. Converting to black and white will not save an image that is not exposed correctly or composed well. In fact, those flaws can be highlighted in black and white imagery
How to create your black and white image:
In camera: A lucky few of us have the ability to record only the reflected intensity with our digital cameras. Some cameras will record both a color version and a monochrome version. This helps when you are having difficulty determining if an image would look good in black and white. I personally like to make my conversions in Photoshop (or Lightroom).
In Computer: You can convert your images to black and white with any photo editing software. In the Adobe world (Photoshop and Lightroom) several companies also have plug-ins that will convert the image for you in different monochrome styles. Simple on-line tutorials will show you how to convert and adjust your image for any software you use.
Ideas for black and white images:
While not every image translates well to black and white, you can photograph everything in black and white. Keep your eyes open for strong contrasts that highlight shapes. Making everyday objects into abstract images of light and shadow is a fun way to experiment and practice your techniques. Try long exposures or Intentional Camera Movement (where you purposefully move the camera during the exposure) for interesting abstract images. Photograph subjects with a lot of texture and highlight that texture with strong contrast. Find scenes that you want to simplify or highlight a particular subject.
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