Black and White Photography

[cunoz]

In my 'photography life', one of my goals is to take a black and white photo worthy of framing. Is there any advice on how to get this done? What should I 'see' before I take the picture? Good things to shoot? Any info would help. Thanks in advance.

[OsmosisStudios]

I've trained myself to "see" in black and white with my film body and even with colour in it now I cant see in anything but.

The first step is to figure out what kind of black and white you want to do, and do it in post. Never shoot in black and white: Always edit it that way.

[cunoz]

By 'what kind of black and white' are you refering to? The subject matter? Also, any tips on how to 'see' in black and white? I read somewhere to squint while looking at things. Look for tones instead of color. Any more suggestions? I appreciate any knowledge you can offer. Thanks.

[Canonball]

Search for the right light for black and white,then hone your eyes and all will be revealed.

[Japaslavian]

Take a look at your color photos you've taken and convert them to black and white with a quick desaturate and see what each color translates to in black and white. Being able to see in black and white is to understand the value each color has. For instance, golden yellow grass and a blue sky contrasts great in color, but in black and white, it looks flat because golden yellow and sky blue have very similar value, so everything looks fairly gray.

[OsmosisStudios]

Originally Posted by cunoz

By 'what kind of black and white' are you refering to? The subject matter? Also, any tips on how to 'see' in black and white? I read somewhere to squint while looking at things. Look for tones instead of color. Any more suggestions? I appreciate any knowledge you can offer. Thanks.

Do you want high contrast? high key? Emphasis on light, texture, value? That will really dictate what you shoot and how.

[EasternSierra]

Originally Posted by OsmosisStudios

I've trained myself to "see" in black and white with my film body and even with colour in it now I cant see in anything but.

The first step is to figure out what kind of black and white you want to do, and do it in post. Never shoot in black and white: Always edit it that way.

(boldface is mine)

I have to ask why? If you properly expose for a B&W final image in monotone, you will end up with as good or better final image.

Here's my advice...the first thing you need to do is forget everything you know or have heard about color. Color is nothing more than a distraction. You need to train your eyes to see in tones and shades of grey. You need to read the light and see it as a range of dynamics that interact to form the image. In order to achieve a quality B&W image, you need black, white, and as many possible shades of grey as you can mustre in between. And you need to forget about color.

The easiest way to learn how to properly expose for any given B&W shot, is to shoot in monotone, and check your dynamic range, tones, and contrast on the scene. You can't check your B&W dynamic range with a color shot. It just doesn't work that way. If you shoot in monotone, you don't need to hope you got the right exposure value...you know you do.

The problem is that color is permanent. Green is always green, blue is always blue, and red is always red. In a neutrally exposed monotone image, blue, red, and green are the same tone. To correct for this, and create contrast and dynamics between various shades and hues of those colors, we use glass and digital filters in red, yellow, orange, blue, and green. These filters brighten their like colors and darken their opposites. This creates drama and greatly increases the dynamic range within the scene.

Not only will shooting in monotone greatly reduce the amount of time you need to spend processing your photos, it will also greatly help you to learn how to "see in B&W", because you can compare, on scene, what the camera is picking up, and what you are looking at.

Take a look through my blog in my signature, and judge for yourself. 99% of my B&W images are shot in monotone. I know that I want to produce a B&W final image long before I ever press the shutter. Composition, angles, elements, lighting conditions...everything changes in B&W, and 9 out 10 times a good color exposure is different than a good B&W exposure, of the same exact scene, taken at the exact same time. This is because each image uses different cues to convey the message to the viewer.

If you really want to shoot high quality, striking B&W shots, your first priority is to learn how to "see" in B&W. The fastest and easiest way to do this in todays wonderful digital age, is to shoot in monotone, and check your exposures on scene. Gone are the days that you need to shoot through your brackets and hope that you got the right exposure when you get to processing your film. With the miracle of the digital camera, why would you want to go back to waiting until you can process to find out if you got the shot again? Why risk blowing it and hoping you can "recover" a bad exposure from a RAW file? Isn't it easier to have a look right there, and walk away fairly certain you got the dynamic and contrast range you want?

Oh, by the way...Leanr about the Zone System, how it applies in the digital age, and how to actually use iot with your camera to get the best exposure you can from a scene. If you want more in depth help with any of that, feel free to shoot me a private message!

[OsmosisStudios]

Originally Posted by EasternSierra

(boldface is mine)

I have to ask why? If you properly expose for a B&W final image in monotone, you will end up with as good or better final image.

In film, sure. In Digital? No so much. Digital "monotone" or "monochromatic" images straight from a camera lack contrast and are not true black and white: theyre GREYSCALE. There's a very big difference between "no saturation" and "black and white".

By shooting in colour and editing the black and white, you can get the best of both worlds: A colour picure if you want it, and a proper black and white.

If youre shooting film, that's an entirely different matter. Black and White film is beautiful. I'd recommend that over any editing. Much of your comment reports strictly to film, and is thus difficult to apply to digital.

[EasternSierra]

Originally Posted by OsmosisStudios

In film, sure. In Digital? No so much. Digital "monotone" or "monochromatic" images straight from a camera lack contrast and are not true black and white: theyre GREYSCALE. There's a very big difference between "no saturation" and "black and white".

By shooting in colour and editing the black and white, you can get the best of both worlds: A colour picure if you want it, and a proper black and white.

If youre shooting film, that's an entirely different matter. Black and White film is beautiful. I'd recommend that over any editing. Much of your comment reports strictly to film, and is thus difficult to apply to digital.

You can get a LOT closer to a true film "look" by using the same filters you would use for film, and shooting in monotone. Trust me on this one. You will only recieve a dull, flat, neutral image if you don't apply digital filtration during the conversion as well. Heck, you can only schieve a flat, neutral image without glass filters when you're shooting film.

So...give me a real good reason why color conversions are "better" than shooting monotone. The "greyscale" you get in camera is the same "geryscale" you get when you directly desaturate a RAW image. You're right in that much. However, it only remains flat and neutral if you don't use the glass and digital filters that are deigned to increase contrast and dynamics.

The reality is...if you take a proper exposure in monotone, using all of the monotone techniques that have been available since the late 1800's, you will get as good or better results in the final image. This much is not a debateable issue. It is a fact.

Yes...it is easier to fool around in photoshop with presets and digital filters until it looks right. Certainly, it appear to be the popular way to do it these days. But it isn't the "best" way. The "best" way, in my humble opinion, is to get it as close to right in the camera as possible. This means shooting in monotone, using digital and glass filtration for contrast, and utilizing the Zone System and EV Compensation to control your dynamic range and tonality.

Ultimately, the less processing you go through from shutter release to published image, the higher quality your image will be. So why dilly around with so much extemporaneous processing to correct bad exposures when taking a proper exposure in monotone not only saves a TON of computer work, but ultimately provides at least as good, and typically a better final image?

And before we get into it much further, let me point out to you that the current "trend" is very rarely the best option. Easiest does not equate to best, and most popular does not equate to most accurate. Just because it is easier for "the masses" to produce acceptable B&W images through color conversions, does NOT mean it is the best dedicated method to producing the highest quality B&W images.

It is a fallacy that converting is "always better", because frankly, I defy you to look through my B&W portfolio and tell me with 100% accuracy which are conversions adn which are monotone captures. And you can choose to look through digitally or come see it in print. I guarantee you cannot tell me which is which without looking at the EXIF files. And truth be told, if converting from color was "always better", you should be able to se the difference. You can't. I can't. No one can.

So again...how is it better? Sure...if you mess up your exposures it is easier to correct a RAW file than a monotone jpg. Sure, if you don't have access or an understanding of using contrast filters for B&W exposures, I can understand. Absolutely, 8if you don't know what to look for in shooting a monotone scene, and you are trying to make a poor color picture into an acceptable B&W...you can get away with converting.

But if B&W is your goal, and you know how properly expose the scene, and you understand the concept of tonality, dynamics, zones, and how to apply them digitally...you don't need ANY of the benefits of converting. You don't need to push or pull a RAW file, because you exposed properly. You don';t need to apply digital contrast filters in a never-ending variety of combinations, because you have exposed for a specific contrast and dynamic range. NONE of the benefits of converting from color are even remotely necessary if you start with a proper B&W exposure.

So...why is it better? I'll grant you it is easier, but...better? Nah...

Ansd before it starts an argument, I am not saying that color conversion shouldn't be used, nor am I saying that shooting in monotone is "always better". You made the statement in your first reply to "never shoot in monotone", and I call that bunk. There is no legitimate reason to NOT shoot in monotone, unless you don't know how to properly expose IN monotone. Both methods, monotone capture and color conversion, can and will prdocue outstanding results in the hands of a competant and knowledgeable B&W afficianado. Both will produce equally pleasing contrast, dynamics, tonality, zones, and quality of print. If done properly, there is little, if any difference.

So...why make the claim that you should "never shoot in monotone"? This is an absolute fallacy, and a blatantly wrong statement. Don't take my word for it. Read the February 2010 article on B&W photography by Adam Baker in Outdoor Photography. He spends more time discussing the benefits of a proper monotone capture than he does color conversion. And he states that both produce high quality images.

Use whatever method you deem fit for your own work. But to say that capturing in monotone is somehow a lesser quality capture is just bad information. Period.

[EasternSierra]

Let's do a little comparison... All of the three below are shot in monotone, and are among my most popular images.






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After looking at some examples of B&W images capured in digital monotone...make your own choices as to whether or not you should heed the advice to "never shoot in monotone"...