Black and White Photography
If you read my last post, you'll understand the next sentence. "B" is for Black and White.
When I started in the wonderful world of photography, I shot with black and white film. I started out by taking a class at a community college and it wasn't long before I converted my spare room to a darkroom. I would purchase film in bulk and load my own 36 exposure rolls to save money, then processed the film and made prints without ever going to a lab. Ohhh - those were the days!
I believe that when you start shooting in black and white, it becomes easier to see which images will translate best to black and white. Having said that, anyone can do it with practice. One of the benefits of shooting digital is the ability to create the exact same photograph in color and black and white, giving you the ability to quickly determine if a photo might be a good candidate for black and white.
Here are a few different things to consider when you are trying to determine if your image will work well in black and white.
| Hover over any image for additional information, or click on any image to open in the gallery. |
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Composition Photographs that have a strong graphic composition make for successful black and white conversions. |
 Crescent City PierIt was super gray and a touch foggy this day. Typically bad conditions for landscape photos, but all is fixed when you consider that you can convert it to black and white. 
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 Snail shell (macro)A simple repeating pattern is a solid choice for black and white.
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 Alabama HillsThis image is okay in color buy the cloud stands out a bit more in black and white, making it a more interesting composition.
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Expression The removal of color can often allow the message - or expression - to be conveyed more directly. |
 Elephant seals This photo can represent many things, but the first two that come to my mind are peace and belonging.
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 LionIts surprising that I chose a photograph of a lion at a zoo to represent power but there was just something about his eyes and mane that begged to be converted to black and white. That boy could mess you up!
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 Pigeon kiss It doesn't get any easier than this: Love Birds!
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Eliminating distracting colors If you have a well composed, well exposed image, but you find the colors a bit distracting, there is a good chance your viewers will too. Removing that color can turn transform a good photo to a great one. |
 Clover I couldn't resist including a picture of my Clover. He was such a handsome and willing model. While I love his green eyes in this photo, I thought the surrounding elements were distracting so I converted to black and white.
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 Clover in black and whiteMuch better - That cat was the light of my life
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 Harbor, Winchester OregonThe color in this image was present but subdued with the foggy atmosphere. Converting to black and white created a more classic image.
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Accentuating texture Contrast is key when looking to create or enhance textures in a photograph, and these are accentuated further by converting to black and white. |
 Mesquite Dunes, Death Valley National ParkI don't think it would be legal to post a blog on black and white photography and not include a sand dune image. Removing the color helps to accentuate the texture of the sand and ripples.
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 Cracked earth, Anza Borrego State ParkThis is another photo that was fine in color but converting it really made the cracked earth stand out, which is what I was hoping for.
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 African Elephant, Tanzania Elephants have the best texture. This was shot late in the day so the color image is actually pretty nice but the texture is more pronounced in this image.
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Shadows Shadows help to create strong graphic elements in black and white images. These are almost always good candidates for conversion. |
 Mesquite Dunes, Death Valley National Park Yes, I included another dunes photo. This is a perfect example of where light and shadow lend themselves to a strong black and white image.
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 Bandon Beach, Oregon I have a love hate relationship with this beach. I'm pretty sure it tried to kill me the first time I was there. I went back a week later and got skunked by the weather. But all is not lost! The shadows made this a great choice for conversion to black and white. Take that Bandon!
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I hope you enjoyed this post! It's time to start thinking about what "C" stands for. . .
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