Winning Black and White Photography

By James Harden


Why is Black and White Worthwhile?

There are times when capturing images that you'll find that the stunning vibrancy of color actually detracts from the other components of your photograph. In this case, you might find that texture and even lighting highlights are lost to your audience in this case because they are so taken with color. Still, with the use of black and white, you'll be able to express the desired photographic effect without the distraction of color.

The absence of color often enhances other elements and moods of an image. Black and white photography lends itself easily to timeless, serious, and rugged images. Thus, since these other elements will be highlighted, it will be even more important that the photographer meticulously improve areas such as lighting, composition, and especially texture.

Specific Needs in a Camera

Often, digital cameras possess black and white settings, but these cannot always be depended upon to give you the best results. Truly, the quality of the black and white photograph depends on the quality of the camera and the skill of the photographer. Thus, even with black and white settings, you still might choose to go with color options until you edit the photo with your software.

Since quality of the camera is important to the final black and white rendering, you should select your best camera for this type of shot. You could, of course, even use camera phone photography for black and white, but it is going to be extremely challenging. By eliminating as many random variables as possible, though, you'll be able to hone your post production skills, and still end up with some satisfactory photos. But, in generally, you'll want to go with your highest quality camera and lens unless you're up for a challenge!

What Other Ideas Can Be Considered?

For those taking photos in color and then rendering them as black and white later, you should remind yourself that you need better than mediocre photos. As you abide by the rule of thirds and other rules for composition, you'll find yourself developing and improving your skills in this area. Without the aspect of color in your photo, you'll notice that your audience is painfully more critical and will want to improve your skills so that you can easily exceed expectations.

Then, for lighting, select only the most stunning photos to use for black and white. Although natural lighting is more difficult to capture at this level, it will nonetheless give you more favorable results. Artificial lighting, while still able to attain this standard, will require several runs of improvement in order to reach that level. But, as you continue to improve your skills with lighting, you'll find that honing these fine skills make you a better photographer all around.

From the above considerations, you'll have found black and white photography both to be fun and challenging! Yet, this type of photography is such that it will stretch and develop your skills as you continue on in the process. Improved skills are not a bad added benefit to taking black and white photography!




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