Black and white photography in 5 easy steps
It is known from the past that black and white photography is not so easy to take, to look good, but when you do, it looks so classy, clean and nice. When taking black and white pictures you have to consider shades and lights, because in the end only the shade and light game will make the picture beautiful, attractive, and somehow interesting.
Taking black and white pictures can be done with most usual cameras, but you can always return to the beginning of photography and we shall not forget the film photo-camera which, if you ask me is the best device to take such pictures.
An interesting experience about this film camera was when at the photography course, that I was following, we had a, let’s say homework, on which we should take pictures with a film camera. It was very hard in the beginning to start and think how to take a manual picture, thing that my brain was not doing automatically (at that time I wasn’t used to set my camera manually). But after figuring out how it worked I tooked some great pictures.
There are some rules you have to consider before taking black and white pictures if you want your photos to look real nice.
First rule is that first of all, you need to consider the light around you, the light around the object that you want to shoot, the shade produced by the object. Open your eyes, and just as you do when you take color photography, just like that, in case of taking black and white photography, you should view, study and think before you shoot.
Second rule sais that the best moment for black and white photography is when low light moments appear. Like a rainy day, or an overcast period. Try and shoot some pictures then and see how you do. I prefer taking black and white in hight contrast as well, but those pictures are not so well-defined, shaped and clear as a low contrast one.
Third rule sais to shoot in RAW, and that is because in a RAW picture you have all the information you could possibly use from that frame, at home when processing, and deciding to correct some mistakes, like exposure, back-light, fill-light, etc
Forth rule talks about shooting color, because after all with every camera you see color on the viewfinder (except the cameras with LCD viewfinder). So try and shoot color, and then decide which pictures fit the best to a black and white conversion. This is a technique I use very often.
Fifth rule is an imperative rule, which states that you should be very careful with the ISO when shooting in Black and White, because using a high ISO will make noise present and visible, and even more visible, on black and white pictures, because of the contrast. So be careful with that, more careful than you are with usual color photography.
If you want good photos you should respect these five rules above and even make your own rules, that work best for you, and for the way you shoot, the time you shoot, etc.
Last but not least don’t forget about composition. And because there are cameras that don’t have features to view black and white as you shoot, take care about the light and shade, darkest and lightest part of the object. Try to see and realize the importance of shades in a black and white photography. As I said in the beginning, analyze, open your eyes, think before you shoot, and after doing all this you have the best chance to take some great black and white pictures.
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Try an comment about the rules above, about other techniques that you know, and you want to share with us.
Good luck with your Black and White photo shooting - relaxation session !
Written by: Alexandru Hategan
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