5 Black and White Photography Tips
Continuing the Black and White Photography theme we’ve been on lately in the latest forum assignment (where the photos featured in this post were submitted) I thought I’d share five pretty random Black and White Photography Tips.
Black and White Photography Tips
1. Shoot in RAW
I know many readers of DPS can’t shoot in RAW (because their camera doesn’t offer it) or don’t shoot in RAW (because they either don’t know how or don’t like to) but for the most control in the post production phase of converting your color images into black and white ones – you’ll want to shoot in RAW if your camera does allow it. Of course shooting in JPEG doesn’t stop you shooting in black and white – but if it’s an option, give RAW a go, you might be surprised by what it offers you in post production. More on RAW vs JPEG here.
2. Shoot in Color
If your camera doesn’t allow you to shoot in RAW (or you choose not to) – shoot in color and do your conversion to black and white later on your computer.
While most digital cameras offer you the option to shoot in Black and White (and can produce some reasonable results) you have more control over your end results if you have the color data to work with in your conversion on your computer. (read more on the choice between shooting in black and white or post production conversion).
Update: There is an exception to shooting in Color and it’s when you’re taking note of point 1 above (shooting in RAW). When shooting in RAW and switching to Black and White mode you see your results in the LCD in black and white but the camera actually records all of the information (including color) – the best of both worlds. But if you’re shooting in JPEG – shoot in color and do the conversion later. Thanks to Joost (in comments) for the reminder to include this.
3. Low ISO
Shoot with the lowest possible ISO possible. While this is something that most of us do in color photography it is particularly important when it comes to black and white where noise created by ISO can become even more obvious. If you’re after this ‘noise’ (or grain) you can always add it later in your post production – but it’s harder to go the other way and take noise out.
4. When to Shoot
Many digital photographers actually prefer to shoot images for Black and White in low contrast situations. So an dark or overcast day can be a great time to shoot out door shots.
Ironically these are the days that those who shoot only in color sit at home complaining about the ‘poor light’. So next time you find yourself with a dark and gloomy day – shoot some black and white shots.
5. Composition
Most of the general tips on how to compose or frame a good shot apply just as well to black and white photography as they do when shooting in color – however the main obvious difference is that you’re unable to use color to lead the eye into or around your shot. This means you need to train yourself to look at shapes, tones and textures in your frame as points of interest. Pay particularly attention to shadows and highlights which will become a feature of your shot.
Read more on Black and White Photography at Key Ingredients for Black and White Photography.
115 Responses to “5 Black and White Photography Tips” - Add Yours
February 21st, 2007 at 5:54 am
A tip when shooting raw: Do shoot in black and white. This way you can check the results in black and white on your LCD, and back at your computer you’ve still got all colour information in the raw file. (Check before going out all day though)
February 21st, 2007 at 7:08 am
Great article!
Some good pointers for shooting in RAW. It’s important to experiment and expand your skills with photography.
Thanks.
February 21st, 2007 at 7:23 am
Good points. The “shoot in color” tip is key, but the “low ISO” is also very important. Post processing into black and white can really bring out the noise, especially when you’re pulling out more of the red or blue tones rather than greens.
February 21st, 2007 at 7:59 am
In my experience, noise is more of a problem when shooting in color, especially in low light situations. I often find myself converting high ISO images to B&W and greatly reducing the perceived noise level. Now I don’t know if I’m particularly sensitive to luminance noise, or if my camera (my trusted Canon 10D) is particularly good at producing it, but I’d say noise is generally more pleasant in black and white.
February 21st, 2007 at 8:28 am
Thanks for the article. I’ve always tried to shoot in color and convert to black and white later. However, a while ago I was shooting in low light conditions and the color shots were not coming out very sharp. In my camera, I changed to shooting in black and white and the shots came out much sharper. Is there any advantage to shooting in black and white in terms of the ability to shoot in low light conditions? Is there something else that explains the differences in sharpness that I observed?
February 21st, 2007 at 12:19 pm
I don’t know how many poorly-lit color photos I’ve “saved” by converting to B/W.
February 21st, 2007 at 3:02 pm
Another “amen” for the tip to shoot in color (or at least in RAW so you have the color data available) even when your final intent is b&w. You never know when you may look at a photo later and decide that the color version is actually better for the final piece. I shot a photo in a “chair” situation like the veteran above, and when I looked at it later in post-production the sea of chairs (blue in this case) was so stunning it made the photo fantastic.
February 21st, 2007 at 5:57 pm
love the black and white pictures. pity that i can’t shoot in raw. the others, i think i can practise it using my point and shoot cam.
February 22nd, 2007 at 1:02 pm
I agree you can save alot of photos when there converted to B&W, but also your printing equitment is very important. I use http://www.expressphoto.com.au , they produce good prints & there reasonable in there pricing.
February 23rd, 2007 at 10:17 am
With lower-end point & shoot cameras, B&W or sepia mode can often capture a more pleasing range of tones and especially ambient light than color mode does.
March 6th, 2007 at 2:33 am
I am as Raw as they come. No photo skills or experience. However I do have some ideas for b&w cowboy shots. I’m just learning and hope to progress. If you have any basic staring point please share. Thanks
March 10th, 2007 at 5:34 am
I’ve always seem importing raws as way more of a headache, maybe I should re-examine the way I do it with my digital rebel xt.
March 10th, 2007 at 6:02 am
A point should be made that if you shoot in color and then convert to BW (in Photoshop), don’t use Image > Mode > Grayscale, or worse, Hue/Saturation. Use Image > Calculations and play around with the channels and settings. You’ll get a much more dramatic effect.
March 10th, 2007 at 6:55 am
? What was wrong with my tip? It’s certainly much better than changing modes. jeez
March 10th, 2007 at 10:36 am
Great tips, I wish you had mentioned more on aperture because I’m clueless on how to get great shots like that.
March 10th, 2007 at 11:36 am
Yeah I second what Aaron about Photoshop–>Greyscale. Well maybe I just need to be taking photos that are more black and white friendly but it tends to look terrible. Someone told me that in CS3 there are some better B&W tools, but I don’t know if this is true or not. Anyone confirm this?
—
John
http://www.monomachines.com
March 18th, 2007 at 12:44 pm
good article
April 20th, 2007 at 11:18 pm
I shot in Raw for the first time last week.
The files are huge,there’s not a huge difference in the end result,and when you bring them up on the windows picture viewer, they are tiny.
Jpegs are really not bad.
May 18th, 2007 at 1:28 am
I shoot RAW, then convert it BW using Google Picasa.
August 6th, 2007 at 5:27 am
i’m confused.. what is shooting in the raw?
I”m new at digital and have a cannon rebel with
LOTS to learn
August 7th, 2007 at 10:45 am
For most of the photography I do, I prefer to shoot RAW..Not because I need it for the immediate need, but just knowing I have the best file format in the can is comforting. As noted by other posters, the large file sizes do take additional RAM. I have to believe that a new file format is in the works that utilizes the best of both world.
September 4th, 2007 at 6:28 am
great tips.
i always shooting in RAW [EOS 20D].
using EOS DSLR, i have no problem with ISO, sometimes i need to set ISO up to 800 and still get great results, and process the file with C-1-pro RAW converter, it works great for me.
cheers.
September 12th, 2007 at 3:18 am
I’m new to B/W and I’m trying to figure out exactly what makes a great black and white photo. It’s the old ‘I know one when I see one’ but I’m trying to figure out exactly what it is that makes some B/W’s so incredible. Some older photos using the film process and dark room technology seem to ‘glow’ somehow. Is this possible using digital cameras? If anybody has any ideas, I’d love to hear ‘em.
September 26th, 2007 at 12:20 pm
In response to Jodz:
I’ve heard that it is always important to use the rule of thirds, which is where you would divide the photograph into hree sections vertically and three sections horizontally. Where the lines match up in the corners is where at either of the four points the focal point of the picture should be.
November 28th, 2007 at 1:22 pm
I have to say i don’t agree with the above fact that color shots should be shot on sunny days and black and white on overcast days. I believe the quality of light in black and white is highly stylistic and aesthetic. Some people like that ‘glow’ in black in white which is often achieved on bright sunny days. Others like even tones of white, grey and black in their black and white photographs in which overcast days are suitable. Also i find that colors tend to become washed out by the harsh light on sunny days where as on a grey day colors seem to pop. Does anyone agree?
December 13th, 2007 at 3:15 am
It’s worth remembering that these are just tips and not hard and fast rules that must be obeyed. I think they’re designed to help people progress from only going out on sunny days with the camera set to B&W mode, and are good points that anyone starting out in B&W digital photography can benefit from as they’re not obvious to start with.
The rule of thirds is also a guidline and is based on the ‘golden mean’ which is a ratio humans seem to find naturally pleasing, but i’ve seen fantastic photos where the focal point is bang in the middle of the photo.
As for the ‘glow’, that’s something we all strive to acheive and only comes when all elements of photography, from the photographer to the paper used to print, are working well and in harmony with one another. There’s no easy route to acheiving this, just keep improving and progressing and one day you may well get there. I haven’t yet, but i’m trying!
January 5th, 2008 at 7:50 am
Good article!
shoot images for Black and White in low contrast situations… good point.
January 11th, 2008 at 10:37 am
Great tips! Thanks for taking the time to point these out.
February 20th, 2008 at 1:56 pm
Agree RAW is better, but as mentioned takes more time on the computer. Interesting comments. Grayscale is not suitable for making great B&W prints. I use Paint Shop Pro 9 and use Layers/New Adustment/Channel Mixer.
May 7th, 2008 at 9:47 am
I think that shooting in low ISO is not that important when photographing in black and white because I normally add grain to my pictures anyway to give it that “feel.” As an Orange County Wedding Photographer, I use that style frequently in a lot of my pictures!
However, I agree with your other suggestions.
May 14th, 2008 at 12:19 am
Photography is the best when it has a storytelling.
May 17th, 2008 at 11:30 am
I own a 30d for quick stuff, but shoot almost everything with my 35mm, 6X7, 4X5, or 8X10, in that order, depending on how much time I have.
I especially love the medium format, and have fallen hard for the FP4 and PanF films.
I’ve tried to duplicate the tonality, etc with the 30d, and have had some success, but overall, I still prefer film.
I’m very good with Photoshop, for manipulating others images, and assume that at some point I will have to make the investment of time to become proficient in getting exactly what I was shooting for.
June 1st, 2008 at 2:37 pm
Dear everyone
I have to say quite simply that the subject matter overides the technical jargon anyday.
You always have the most boring photos that are “technically correct”–in your limited opinion, and then you have the photographs that people want to return to and enjoy again and again–the ones that aren’t quite so technical in your not quite, yet self imposed expertise opinion.
The public laugh at you, and realise now that in these days you shall not pull the wool over the more intelligent and brighter eyes among us.
Keith Steadman from England–print this damn thing if you have the gutzo to do so.
June 1st, 2008 at 2:42 pm
No doubt my previous comment will be ommited, only because you pompous fools with your asses up you own backsides are afraid.
Which one of you mutts has got the guts to admit to what a stinking lowlife racket you are in.
I like photography, but I hate bullxxxxxxrs who tell the public what is good/right and not/wrong.
Get a sense of reality, and remember that every penny you spend is probably stolen in some way or another–think about it big shots.
Keith Steadman
this comment was edited for language
June 1st, 2008 at 7:55 pm
Keith – we welcome diversity of opinion here at DPS however I would ask you two things:
1. please keep your language at a level that is appropriate. This site is read by people young and old and from a variety of backgrounds and I’d appreciate you keeping things civil and respectful. Yes – do express your opinion but please do it in a way that isn’t aggressive – you’ll have a lot better chance of convincing others if you do.
2. I’d ask you to say something constructive. Again – do feel free to express your opinion but I look at your comments and wonder what you’re trying to say? ie – how would you improve this post? what advice would you add?
June 3rd, 2008 at 9:44 am
Dear everyone
I apologise for my ridiculous and rude comments. They were totally out of order and unfair, and now I wish they could be deleted.
It seems I’m the one with the problem.
Once again, please accept my sincere apologies, and good luck with all of your forthcoming photographic endevours.
Keith Steadman
June 4th, 2008 at 7:28 am
Hi – i enjoy reading your stuff. I’m confused tho. I thought greyscale was different than b/w. Also, does taking the original photo in colour allow more room for channel mixing? Are there any simple guides to channel mixing for the newbie?
Also, what is the difference between filters and channels? Are there filters on cameras? or do you have to use filters in photoshop?
thanks..kayindenver
July 1st, 2008 at 2:08 pm
Definately shoot in color! Then there are so many ways you can re-work it in b/w.
July 13th, 2008 at 2:30 pm
I love Black and white for very soft images, add some grain in photoshop and it can save a blurry images.
September 25th, 2008 at 9:04 pm
Maybe I should start shooting b/w pics in raw. I didn’t realize it made that much of a difference.
November 2nd, 2008 at 9:14 am
Great article and excellent advice to always capture images in the best possible quality possible.
December 14th, 2008 at 8:22 pm
The difference between RAW (or TIFF or jpg2000) and jpg is that RAW saves all of the data. jpg compresses and discards some data. There are a number of ways to obtain grey scale images from color. Any good software will have an RGB and an HSI choice for adjusting your color image. Play around with the monochrome red, green, blue and intensity images. They will all be different. It’s cheap – just a few electrons. For example, a blue object in a monochrome red image will be very dark. Usually, the green or intensity image give the best results. After all, half of the pixels in your digital camera are green (as is most of the world). Now when I want really great B&W images I reach for my totally manual 1946 TLR Rolleiflex and some nice slow film.
December 20th, 2008 at 1:12 am
Great photos. I do like black and white photos. Perhaps when I go back to OH for the holiday, I’ll take a few photos with my niece’s camera and see how they turn out.
December 25th, 2008 at 12:24 am
What rubbish, firstly shooting in RAW is only of use if you want to fiddle around alot in Photoshop or you dont have the skills to capture the image you want at the time.
Taking Photos in colour and conversting, pointless, just choose the shots you want in black and white have a reason and a purpose…
Using a low ISO, this is not a tip, simply use the ISO that is relevant for the situation whether you want a grainy image for effect or if you are in a low light situation adjust the ISO to suit.
December 25th, 2008 at 2:40 am
Ian,thanks for your comments. I must admit, I am from a scientific imaging background. We used 12=bit and 16-bit monochrome camera usually cooled to -30 to -80 degrees C. Try grey scale readings were acqurate to usually +/- 2. Such a pixel might read 54,927 +/- 2 grey scale levels. These images were always saved in uncompressed TIFF Formate, so no brightness data was lost. When you have 4096 or 65,536 grey levels, you have a lot of wiggle room to make an asthetically pleasing or illustritive image in Photoshop. Is is easy to rescale these images in Photoshop rescale command.
Second point: It is really easy to segment purple and pink (H&E stained slide) images by looking at the red or blue image. The monochrome images was just a mush of grey. It really helped to increase comtrast.
The low ISO tip was a litle in jest. If the F-64 club still existed (Adams, Westen, et. al., I would be a member. I almost got a devorce over taking very high res pictures of dead trees with my Rolleiflex with ISO 100 film.
Thanks for your comments,
Rolleiflex_David
December 30th, 2008 at 4:51 am
Another set of great tips by DPS. We do wedding photography and I find the black and white can really distinguish photos in a way no other effects can.
January 15th, 2009 at 9:19 pm
use yellow filter for outdoor b&w pictures and see the differances of cloud, sky and shadows.
January 17th, 2009 at 3:43 pm
I can’t remember when the last time I photographed by BAW photos, I have afew of my friends BAW photos and will make it a collection.
Thanks for your great article and excellent advice.
Bye
January 30th, 2009 at 11:30 am
Ian sounds angry. Just a thought.
January 30th, 2009 at 12:04 pm
Great tips! I don’t often shoot in B&W but do like the effects. RAW is a different world compared to JPG but not much more complicated if you use the camera software to start. The quality is worth the small learning curve to shoot in RAW. DSLRs make it so much easier to play with and learn the different effects filters can create and other available in camera setting too. Thanks for the great refresher on B&W, I know what I’m doing this weekend.
January 30th, 2009 at 12:36 pm
Very informative as an instructional post. Would like to receive more of such articles regularly
February 3rd, 2009 at 6:38 pm
Nice to know there are still many people who love shooting black and white. Learned also a new thing today because of Joost van der Borg’s comment/tip to shoot in raw and black and white. Didn’t know one could do that. I always shoot in raw and color and process the images in Photoshop. Would definitely try it. Thanks!
March 25th, 2009 at 9:52 am
Haha ^^ nice, is there a section to follow the RSS feed
April 6th, 2009 at 3:17 am
thanks for the b&w tips! i’m a beginner at all this stuff, so what does RAW and ISO stand for?
May 9th, 2009 at 2:10 am
I use JPG+RAW mode. I think that is a great option.
May 19th, 2009 at 7:03 pm
While I agree with most of these tips, I have to disagree with shooting with low ISO. High ISO may add some grain, but it makes the image feel more like film. Also, low ISO is impractical, especially for street photography and event photography (such as weddings).
June 25th, 2009 at 3:38 am
USA 2009 B&W http://www.flickr.com/photos/marcusrevertegat/sets/72157619390872360/show/
June 29th, 2009 at 11:34 pm
I HAVE A LONG EXPERIENCE IN BLACK AND WHITE PHOTOGRAPHY EVEN IN MAKING HIGH CONTRAST DEVELOPERS MYSELF.SINCE DIGITAL, I COULD NOT REACH A PHOTOGRAPH WITH HIGH BLACK DENSITY.ONCE I HAVE BEEN TOLD TO TAKE PHOYO IN COLOR THEN ON PHOTOSOP MAKE IT BLACK&WHITE. STILL I HAVE SAME PROBLEM.
COULD YOU HELP?
RAGARDS
FARHAD
August 21st, 2009 at 12:34 pm
Great article and tips, thanks!
September 19th, 2009 at 11:52 pm
As a working professional I tend to shoot each image in both RAW and fine Jpeg, Pro Cameras give the option to shoot each image in both. I run 16GB cards which allow me to fit around 400-500 images this usaually is fine during a wedding shoot. I mostly use the Jpeg images in post processing if they are correctly exposed these will usually be fine and much easier to work with rather than the larger Nikon nef or RAW image files, but as a fallback I have the RAW file if in case of difficult lighting – over or under exposure.
I find this works best for me most of the images on my website if not all are taken in JPEG.
Prophoto home page
September 23rd, 2009 at 2:03 am
hey! these are really great i enjoyed reading bout them and as well looking at them . hope to see some more in the future ! =-) Rori .
October 15th, 2009 at 5:46 am
Great black and white photography tips! Thanks for the article.
November 13th, 2009 at 3:28 am
What I tend to use when I want b&w pictures is to shot in colour and use gimp to split the RGB channels. I don’t know why but I mostly keep the red one. That as a first try, before trying grayscale conversion.
On some b&w shots I’ve found interesting the effect of adding some brightness and to put the “constrast” a few steps (bigger value) after the brightness.
Give it a try.
January 6th, 2010 at 5:54 pm
Excellent Black and white photography tips. thanks for this nice article..
January 19th, 2010 at 8:11 am
Shooting in a color is one step that should not be neglected. Shooting in color will give you an opportunity to convert the image or parts of an image to black and white. Leaving a piece in color can be a nice effect.
February 13th, 2010 at 8:46 am
great info! I have been focusing on the technical aspect so long, I forgot the basics are the most important!
February 15th, 2010 at 7:27 pm
I always use the raw + jpg option,
Its belt and braces – as we used to say in the movie world, film is the cheapest thing on the set so use as much as you like because coming back later and doing it all again for something missed is not an option
Memory cards are reasonably cheap and resusable, and hard drive space is getting cheaper all the time. If you have the RAW then you have all the options, so when you get that once in a lifetime image you can make the most of it
February 16th, 2010 at 8:12 am
How are the really black skies in BW photos produced?
February 16th, 2010 at 7:07 pm
Infra red filter on Tri X and hi contrast printing paper!
In digital I expect its done in photoshop like everything else.
February 17th, 2010 at 2:55 am
Thanks, Nick.
I was referring to digital and I have Photoshop Elements, but I am struggling to get the balck skies I have seen in many B&W shots. Is there a requirement to use a red filter for instance whilst taking the shot?
February 19th, 2010 at 9:21 pm
Hmmmm
It seems that you are trying to replicate the effect of black and white roll film, but in digital.
Digital and roll film are different. Neither is superior to the other. They are different. Simple as that.
Instead of making endless adjustments on a computer, why not purchase a simple 25 year old SLR (very cheap second hand) and bang a few rolls of FP4 through. There are still plenty of mail order labs who process black and white and you will find the whole experience liberating. Granted, it is a little more expensive, but this will serve to make you think about what you are doing and, ultimately you will become a much better photographer.
I will never forget the thrill of printing my first photographs at the age of 12. Seeing the image appear before your eyes is truly magical. The whole process of roll film photography is tactile and reassuring. The smell of a newly opened roll of film. The slight resistance as you manually wind the film to the next frame. Manually rotating first the aperture ring, then the focus. Then the mechanical clunk of the mirror flipping up, shutter opening and closing – all at the instant you press the shutter and not a few milliseconds after. I could go on, but conclude that by saying that you are left with something tangible, negatives and prints. These will last 100 years plus if correctly stored. Far better than a few electrons on a memory stick which is all that digital will ever be.
Go on. Join me and give it a try.
February 20th, 2010 at 12:09 am
Andy – I think I will! *goes hunting for a Nikon FM on eBay*
Sime
February 23rd, 2010 at 1:31 pm
If you have a Canon point-and-shoot style camera, you really should consider trying this custom firmware upgrade called CHDK, as one of the many awesome features it adds to your camera is the ability to save in raw format. http://chdk.wikia.com/wiki/CHDK Check the right hand side of the page to see if your camera is listed as compatible, most Powershot’s are.
February 23rd, 2010 at 2:06 pm
A lot of people seem to have trouble with producing “true black” areas in digital B&W’s, and end up with images that appear somewhat washed out and dull. Rather than fumbling around clumsily with “contrast” adjustments, I prefer to instead make precise adjustments to the white and black points, watching the histogram closely, to make sure I only clip the sections I am actually willing to lose.
Most RAW processing programs offer some kind of “highlight / shadow” alert option which visually indicates the areas that will be true black or true white in the final processed image, given the current settings. Turning this feature on makes it very easy to see at a glance where the extremes are, as you are dragging the black point up (making the image darker by setting a new “darkest” value) or dragging the white point down (making the image brighter by setting a new “brightest” value)
Finally, I always recommend at least viewing what the image looks like using a LINEAR interpretation of the raw data. Normally there is a curve that is applied to the raw data to give a more perceptually natural look to the image, but when you are working with B&W many times you prefer contrast to perceptual accuracy. So applying a LINEAR “curve” will initially make the image much darker, you’ll likely have to pull down the white point significantly, but you might be surprised by the vibrancy you get with this technique. When used with non B&W images, this tends to dramatically increase not just the contrast but also the specific saturation.
I hope this helps someone.
February 23rd, 2010 at 4:23 pm
For color to B/w conversion, try adding a Channel Mixer layer in Photoshop, and then click the “monochrome” tick .. then you will be able to adjust the r g b levels in the image, and achieve much better results..
And yes, watching the histogram closely is the key to full black, simply clip the unused parts
February 24th, 2010 at 12:29 am
I would just like to add one view going in the other direction. I have directly tested the methods of getting B&W using digital, and my tests showed that a better quality image was achieved if taken in B&W on the camera, rather than shooting in colour and converting it afterwards. It’s true that this does restrict your later choices, but if you have a “prevision” of what you want to achieve before pressing the shutter (as so many great photographers advise), then this isn’t an issue. Nothing is stopping you from taking both.
I recommend taking both: one B&W “in camera” and one in colour and converted. Compare the 2 and you might be surprised at the difference.
Cheers, Tom.
February 24th, 2010 at 2:42 am
I can’t see, not being technical, what could be gained by making the camera only record in B&W against converting later
Its an interesting point about previewing in B&W though . Of course the old analogue photographers had only their minds eye to see B&W as they were looking at a colour scene every time
What is even harder for us today is to re-imagine the classic B&W shots in the colour the photographer was looking at them in
I find seeing the rare colour footage of the world wars rather unreal! It’s as if we can’t imagine anything other than lives in B&W!
n
March 15th, 2010 at 3:27 am
This is not good in changing any thing from its original form. If you want a B&W photo so take it in B&W form rather converting it later. Potraits in B&W says Something which Colour Doesn”t.
March 15th, 2010 at 3:37 am
No Hard & Fast rule can be set for B&w photography. Just enjoy to shoot any thing in B&W.
March 16th, 2010 at 2:31 am
Setting the camera to B&W or converting later is the same thing.
True B&W is film
Nothing else has the tonal range or ‘look’
N
April 9th, 2010 at 2:25 am
I love photography. I’m now trying it in black and white. Wish me luck…’(:
April 16th, 2010 at 4:41 pm
IMPO QUESTION PLZ ANSWER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
! whats the problem ? i want to see it on my laptop alsp blackandwhite
yestrday i started shooting in raw and turned to black and white and i loved it ! bs when i moved my pictures to the laptop it showes colored
pleaaaaaaaaaaase answer
April 16th, 2010 at 11:37 pm
thanks for the tips in shooting in raw format rather than jpg. i love the tip in ISO, thanks this will help me a lot!
April 17th, 2010 at 6:11 pm
Impo,
When you take a picture in RAW format and ask the camera to convet it to black and white it will do so just for display purposes on the camera’s screen. However, the picture is still in RAW format which is “as seen” and therefore will always be in colour until you change the sttings of the picture using your computer.
Hope this helps……
April 17th, 2010 at 6:13 pm
Sorry, my last was addressed to Sara………..
April 19th, 2010 at 4:24 pm
Just tonight bought a Rolliflex 2.8E. Can’t wait to get it and start shooting with black and white medium format film. Point #5 is a key point to focus on to train my eye to see differently. -Dave Z
May 16th, 2010 at 3:02 am
Hey, numerous for taking the effort to do this. I love your web pages, when it took a slow reader like me some time to look over over full page and all the comments.
May 20th, 2010 at 11:14 am
I like to shoot the opposite of this article, I shoot black and white in full sun and color in early morning/late afternoon overcast. I prefer full sun for black and white for the hard shadows and contrasts.
July 20th, 2010 at 1:36 am
July 30th, 2010 at 7:48 am
Hi, I enjoyed reading the articles and wanted to know if I can reference a sentence or two in my book on your exertise in photographing in black and white, in my upcoming book about clouds? You are a pro and I’d like to use youas a reference if I may. I would greatly appreciate it.
Sincerely,
Rai Petersen
August 31st, 2010 at 7:47 pm
Hello,
I enjoy black and white a great deal.
I have RAW ability on my camera. But to be honest, I am not all that good with it. The software that came with the camera is “OK”, but I prefer Picasa or the Microsoft program. I understand that the Google program will work with RAW. I really enjoy being able to use filters when processing the image. Picasa has that, and Microsoft has that as well, just more limited.
I have heard some people say that they have found that images in the camera done in BW are a little sharper, or better with noise. I can not address that, as I have not tested.
I do have pretty sharp pix though. I have a Leica lens, and I wanted to make sure that I got that for the BW. I wanted to be as sharp as I could get. And at least back in the film days, THAT was the glass to have.
I am open an any insight that you all can offer to me.
Take care!
September 21st, 2010 at 6:49 am
Hard to believe that people are still using the true black&white expression, in an era where the Photoshop has the monopole. Good tips, hope a lot of people get to see and use them!
December 14th, 2010 at 6:12 pm
Thanks for all the tips, I can not wait for the Christmas break so i get some time to focus on RAW.
December 19th, 2010 at 5:52 pm
great tips thanks, I love BW light and contrast are my favourite things, thanks for sharing
January 27th, 2011 at 3:16 pm
Great tips! I got a new camera about 6 months ago and have yet to try shooting in raw. I love black & white photography and haven’t done much of it lately. Makes me want to get back at it!
February 9th, 2011 at 12:32 am
What lab does you black&white photos on baratya base paper,classic way?
In Croatia we produce them from digital files in a classic b&w lab.
February 9th, 2011 at 6:05 am
I really liked the article of it was very specific. I also learned that it is better to get a black and white. It is also mostly preferred by photographers. Mostly cameras offer J PEG and not raw. My camera does offer it raw and I’m happy for it. I also think that J Peg is better than raw. Black and white is more clear for me. To be great photographer you have to study the science of photography. but raw J PEG gives me curiosity of what colors they are.
April 22nd, 2011 at 12:56 am
(Seem) to be having problems posting.) Glad I ran into this…I’ve read (elsewhere) that shooting raw was a “waste of time” and to shoot color, then convert to B&W to achieve greater tonal range. I’m looking to get that (very) old-school look, and was planning to shoot higher ISO to get the “grain”. I get set in my ways at times; looks like I need to open up to other methods instead of being so hard-headed.
Thanks for the tips!
May 23rd, 2011 at 6:19 am
Thank you for the article, some good advices here. I shoot in Raw, sometimes in B&W to see the “rendering” on the back of my camera. When i import in LighRoom, my picture (in Raw) comes in in Colour, so i have the freedom to do my B&W conversion the way i want it. I try to import the cleanest digital(raw file) as possible, even if i add some noise, vignetting later in the process. If you start playi,ng with “grainy” pictures by increasing the ISO, you may end-up loosing precious information on your negative. Raw (pure) is allowing you to do whatever you want, in a reversible way, so why would you damage your negative at the source?
June 17th, 2011 at 10:51 pm
My favourite photographs are black and white; they are beautiful and look more professional that colour ones; there are many options with monochromatic photographs and they usually achieve powerful results if you know how to exploit it.
July 13th, 2011 at 12:35 pm
Very advanced tips…and people think black and white is so easy!
August 20th, 2011 at 12:06 pm
I can say that by looking over your website’s posts, remarks that there are many different ideas on the similar topic. To be honest it is refreshing to find fellow opinionated people, it is a good website, i like the simplicity of your content and i appreciate your words, which gave me very useful information.
August 22nd, 2011 at 1:41 pm
Lovely article. I tried it to process this bright yellow sunflower in black and white using the tips given…. I used the 100 iso setting, and also chose a cloudy day…
Wonderful article. I tried this image … a yellow sunflower in black and white…. it seemed to have lovely shades of grey…
September 3rd, 2011 at 10:40 pm
Interesting article, I like the black and white dea lto shoot in RAW b/w to see the shoot in the LCD screen and still have all color information in the RAW file to edit the images at computer, Clever idea
This is my first view at your website but definitely will come back as i also recently started Photographing again and made my own website about it, fotograf.gr is anyone is interested
September 17th, 2011 at 9:37 pm
I have recently purchased my first SLR. Previously used advanced point and shoot. I have
been afraid of RAW but after reading these comments I am going to give it a try. Thanks for
the great information !!
October 12th, 2011 at 4:03 pm
hey all i was wondering if anyone could possibly help me with a little issue im having with up loading my b&w photos to come out in b&w. i apologize if this is the wrong area to post about this so redirection is welcomed. i am fairly new to using my own slr so i need all the help i can get. I went to a concert lately and here is how i shot :
canon rebel xt 50 mm1.8
TV and AV
RAW format
B&W Parameter
now i have a macbook pro and when i put in the sd card into the slot and directly upload them onto iphoto, the b&w photos do not come out b&w but a funky color but where the photos show up to upload they are b&w. same goes to for finder. in the sd folder for finder the you can see the picture in b&w but when you click on it the photo opens in preview with some funky colors.
I did look at one of the pictures under editing on iphoto and it said a saturation of 49 could this be the problem? i have not compared it to another photo not taken in b&w
i will try and post a photo to further explain if need be
thank you.
October 12th, 2011 at 4:33 pm
sorry i did not see the previous post on the same issue
@ gordon buckley (or whoever can help) how can i change the setting on my comp the clicking the grayscale just doesn’t do it
October 13th, 2011 at 1:17 am
Shoot on analogue. Digital B&W is a poor imitation at best.
analogue B&w has grain and emotion, digital B&W is just a colour photo with the colour turned off.
analogue will make u think about each shot properly too
Kodak Tri -x at 800asa is the best film to use for band photography, always has been
November 13th, 2011 at 11:11 pm
@nick +1
March 24th, 2012 at 2:24 pm
Many Professional Photographers will tell you that they find it impossible to tell the difference between a Photo shot in Raw mode and one shot in High Quality Jpg
May 14th, 2012 at 6:26 am
I would spend more time learning how to ‘think’ in black and white. All this technical information
is fine, but it is best try to develop your eye first. I see so many boring, technically good images
on Flickr. I think my Flickr stream gets so many views because I have learnt to see first.
August 5th, 2012 at 3:57 am
Before telling people to shoot in Raw Format for Black and White….talk to someone who is colour blind. Raw just plain flat stinks for those of us who do not see Colours. All the computer processing in the world will not help. Being Colour blind I have found that the lowly Jpg is the best format for capturing what I see.
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October 24th, 2012 at 7:26 am
Thanks a lot for these tips, I’m starting to like B&W photography, the kind of expression you can get with B&W processing is quite interesting.
January 28th, 2013 at 8:28 am
Take a look at http://minimal-photography. So awesome black and white photography!
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