First Try at Black & White

[dvtldav]

This is my first try at black & white so I need some help.
1) how is the composition
2) how is exposure
3) is focus a little soft
4) how is the conversion



EXIF:
Camera: Canon XSi
Lens: 18-55mm @ 29mm
Shutter: 1/80
Aperture: f/5.6
ISO: 200

Thanks in advance for your criticism.

Dave

[MovingStill]

Hi Dave,

Overall, I think you've done a great job with this. It's a nicely toned b&w conversion. I like the light and shadows from the bridge sides on the roadway.

I'm not sure about the angle - it's not unpleasant in this image yet it isn't enough of an angle to look intentional. Overall it's a nice composition - could be improved by a lower point-of-view (kneel or lie down and bring some of the texture from the wooden roadway into the frame) and maybe swing the camera a touch to the right.

If it were my image, I would make it a bit darker overall. It may be just my preference, but it does seem a bit light. A car or truck, preferably old and in the background on the far approach, would really lift this image, give the eye somewhere to stop.

Looking at your exif, you could afford to have a higher aperture and correspondingly lower shutter speed which would increase the sharpness range throughout the image. From the size posted it is hard to tell just how sharp it is though.

This is a great start - well done! It you live close by, it would be worth revisiting the scene, take lots of photos from different angles and just experiment at bit.

[kim-i]

Originally Posted by dvtldav

This is my first try at black & white so I need some help.
1) how is the composition
2) how is exposure
3) is focus a little soft
4) how is the conversion



EXIF:
Camera: Canon XSi
Lens: 18-55mm @ 29mm
Shutter: 1/80
Aperture: f/5.6
ISO: 200

Thanks in advance for your criticism.

Dave

Hi Dave

1. the composition - to improve it your your could rather try shooting from the middle of the bridge from very low point, like nearly lying down on the ground. This would make it seem more iteresting and would create nice symmetry
2. the exposure looks fine, i would shoot on highter F number than 5.6, find out what is the sharpest point of lens and always try to stick to it.
3. I cant see really how sharp the shot is as its quite small pic on the screen. Tripod helps heaps for any camera shake.
4. convertion - the black and white is little too weak and unexciting. You have got some nice shadows and highlights coming thru the holes, i would tweek the contrast quite a bit and try to add little more mood to it. If you have got topaz labs or Nik software - silver efex pro they both do outstanding job to bring out the best of your shots

Hope this helps
Happy clicking
Sonia

[SwissJon]

I really like this shot.. Just to take a different stance from everyone else, by shooting so wide open, you've managed to put the end of the bridge out of focus, I like that, personally I would be tempted to suggest you open the lens even more and pull the focus so that the close wood in the foreground is hard in focus and the rest goes slowly into blur.. But that's not to say the opposite isn't true, just a different take on life..

Like everyone else, I think your stance is too high.. It would have been nice to see one of the leading lines from the rail at the side either closer to eye level or even coming down from above, although I like the off-centred position.

Like everyone else, I think you could probably afford to make the shadows darker and the highlights lighter.

But over all, I think the subject lends itself perfectly to b&w conversion and you've done a nice job.

[dvtldav]

Thanks for your replies. I do live close to this bridge so I can go go back and take more photos.
Perspective is something that I know I need to work on and your replies reflected that. I will shoot from different angles and with different aperture settings and shoot in B&W instead of converting to see how that works.
I like the idea of a car at the end of the bridge also so I might try that.
Again, thanks for the input it has helped me a lot.

Dave

[Krusty79]

I would second the comment from MovingStill about adding a focal point to this shot. I don't find the bridge itself that fascinating of a subject, so if you had a car, person or cyclist about to exit the far side of the bridge, it would give the viewer a point to focus on.

I also would boost the contrast.

[SwissJon]

I suggest you shoot in colour, or more preferably RAW.. If you shoot in black and white, you are really limiting your options.. Your camera has a colour sensor.. If you shoot in b&w, all that happens is that the camera shoots a colour image and then converts it to b&w and then only saves the b&w data. You lose the ability to tweak the colour levels afterwards. Your computer can make a much better job of the conversion.

The only reason for switching to b&w on your camera as far as I can see is if you shoot RAW+JPEG.. In which case, the RAW file retains the colour detail, and the JPEG image is saved b&w, which you can then review on your camera to see how your photos will look.

[mwanafunzi]

I second SwissJon's comments

[dvtldav]

@ Swissjon & mwanafunzi I will forget about shooting in B&W I just assumed you would lose something in the conversion but obviously not so I have learned something.

Thanks for your suggestions.
Dave

[SwissJon]

No worries.. Quite seriously though, like I said before, if you've got a big enough memory card, shoot in RAW+JPEG.. I know your camera can do that.. And then shoot in b&w mode. That way you can see what the photo looks like in b+w while you're on site without losing the ability to make alterations in PP. Don't throw the baby out with the bath water.. It does have it's uses, and more than anything, you can learn that way to visualise in b&w without risking losing anything!