First B&W

[TyCarp]

First go at black and white. Anything I should lighten/darken? Anything you would have done differently(composition, etc)?

Thanks!



Camera: Nikon D5000
Exposure: 0.167 sec (1/6)
Aperture: f/25.0
Focal Length: 55 mm
ISO Speed: 200
Exposure Bias: 0 EV
Flash: No Flash

[cphoniball]

It needs more contrast. Everything is pretty gray.. the water falling should be just about white. Give me a pm if you need help on getting that.

Also, compositionally, the foreground doesn't add much to the picture. It's just kind of there... maybe moving up and bringing in that interesting-looking house in the background would have provided a better composition?

[EasternSierra]

Overall, it's a very neutral image. There is no white, there is no black, and there are only a handful of zones of grey being covered. This basically means you have exposure issues.

Exposures for a B&W image are almost always different than exposing for color. Without being able to rely on the permanence of color, the viewer needs to rely on tones and shades of grey. This means contrast between zones, and as many different shades as possible between black and white.

On the surface, this sounds easy. But remember that blue, red, and green are nearly identical tones in a B&W image. Showing the difference between the tones is where contrast comes in. If you capture in monotone, you can use filters to increase contrast during the capture. Red, green, blue, orange, and yellow filters all effect natural colors differently in monotone capture, and they give varying degrees of contrast between different colors. This increases the dynamic range of the tones, and offers a more clear image with greater tonality. Glass filters limit you to one color choice, but offer a wider variety of colors for fine tuning contrast.

If you shoot in color and convert, using the channel mixer will allow you to apply a digital equivalent to these filters for contrast. The Channel Mixer allos you limitless ability to mix and match a variety of color filters, but limits your choices to red, green, and blue outputs only.

Both ways provide an equally appealing final image if done properly, so the choice is a personal matter.

Whichever way you choose to process the image(capture in color or monotnoe), you need an exposure that gives you the widest possible dynamic range in tones, not color. This can be difficult to see if you're shooting in color. If you choose to shoot in monotone, you can check your exposure and histogram, and ensure you are getting a good exposure on the scene...

As for composition and such...this will be an easier aspect to tackle, once you get the hang of exposing and processing for maximum impact and drama in a B&W shot. B&W is a whole different ballgame, in my opinion. Forget everything you know about color and taking color pictures. You need to start thinking in terms of tones, shape, contrast, and form long before you ever press the shutter release if you really wanna create stunning B&W images...

Good luck and keep shooting!

[denja]

[QUOTE=EasternSierra;814478]Overall, it's a very neutral image. There is no white, there is no black, and there are only a handful of zones of grey being covered. This basically means you have exposure issues.

Exposures for a B&W image are almost always different than exposing for color. Without being able to rely on the permanence of color, the viewer needs to rely on tones and shades of grey. This means contrast between zones, and as many different shades as possible between black and white.

On the surface, this sounds easy. But remember that blue, red, and green...............more
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This critique is one of the most insightful, helpful posts that I have had the pleasure to read. Thank you!

[TyCarp]

Thanks cphoniball and EasternSierra! A lot of good information there. I went back and tried to take into account the things yall mentioned and here is the new attempt.

cphoniball - the reason I included the foreground is because it was a big rock and you could tell in the color picture but not once it was changed to B&W.

[EasternSierra]

Originally Posted by TyCarp

Thanks cphoniball and EasternSierra! A lot of good information there. I went back and tried to take into account the things yall mentioned and here is the new attempt.

cphoniball - the reason I included the foreground is because it was a big rock and you could tell in the color picture but not once it was changed to B&W.

That's much better. You have a much wider range of tones and deeper contrast. You could still dodge the brighter sections of the water, and hit the darker shadows with a burn brush to get just a bit more out of it, or you could leave it as is.

Compositionally, I appreciate that you are trying to get some foreground interest, but the position of the rock in front belies it's inetnt. It looks like the edge of a cliff or trail, and seeing so little of it makes it feel accidental. Remember the rule of thirds as a starting point. Moving your camera position down would have brought more of the rock into the frame, and it looks like it might have created a very nice diagonal from left to lower right.

There isn't much you can do to drastically improve the composition of the image as shown, but you can work on your framing and composing more next time out...

[TyCarp]

Thanks a bunch Eastern! At least now I'm going in the right direction.

[EasternSierra]

Originally Posted by TyCarp

Thanks a bunch Eastern! At least now I'm going in the right direction.

It will get MUCH easier as you learn to get better exposures. If you want to capture RAW, try setting your camera to capture RAW + jpg, and make the jpg monotone. This will give you the full, RAW image file to process if you'd like, but what's more is it will give you the chance to see your exposure and dynamics on the scene and make adjustments as necessary. This, more than anything else, will help you to learn to see in terms of B&W, by giving you the chance to see the B&W, unprocessed exposure at the same time as the real-world scene, and you can learn how to translate the scene before you take the shot.

I would also recommend reading up on the Ansel Adams Zone System, and how to apply it digitally. This will improve both your color and your B&W images. It is easily one of the most handy skills to have a complete understanding of in application. I would be happy to give you a rundown, and basic idea as to how to use it in digital, but I don't want to take up too much space here. PM me if you want more information...