![]() Interiors or exteriors, modern or classical, overall view or detail – whatever your taste, black & white is a good option. In Adobe Lightroom, a single click takes you from colour to mono so you get an idea of the potential, and if you like what you see, work on the conversion for the best result. You can explore black & white right now on existing files in software. Shoot raw + JPEG so you get a mono preview but still have the colour option. Next time you’re out shooting, select the mono picture mode and give it a go. Six subjects that work well in black and white photographyīlack and white is a powerful creative medium and is incredibly versatile. Then work on developing a style that suits your evolving pictorial approach. ![]() If the medium works for you and it suits the pictures you’re taking and your style, don’t worry about convention. Choosing to use monochrome is a creative decision. ![]() Just remember there is no right or wrong. That said, I have not totally bucked convention, and suggest six subjects that work exceptionally well in monochrome, and six that are less successful. With most of us now capturing digitally, shoot raw and the world is your oyster because you can take any route you want. With mono, there are plenty of creative avenues to explore. A mono conversion and a little work on the computer resulted in a character-packed portrait Canon EOS-1Ds Mark II, 500mm, 1/160sec at f/4, ISO 1600. The dull morning light meant the original image looked dull. Naturally, some subjects and scenes are better suited to colour, but here we consider some with great scope and potential for shooters to explore in black and white. Monochrome images can evoke moods or impressions that colour photography simply cannot. It may seem paradoxical to say that the absence of colour can an extra dimension to your creative output. Our message is rather that black & white is a much more versatile medium than you may think, and can be indulged to great effect in almost any medium. This is not to say you should turn every image in your archive into shades of grey, or that these will be more successful than full-colour shots. My view is that black & white can be applied very successfully in almost any genre. Which subjects work best in black and white? Whether you’re fired up by the work of old masters or more contemporary visionaries, there’s a lot of wonderful imagery out there. If you’re finding your way in the medium, however, and need inspiration, now’s the time to get on the internet or to a bookshop. If you are already a keen mono shooter, you will have your favourite workers. If their names are unfamiliar to you, they’re well worth a look. Their work continues to inspire me and no doubt many others. ![]() I grew up loving and being inspired by the work of many legends of photography including Ansel Adams, Bill Brandt, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Duane Michals, Arnold Newman, Irving Penn and Sebastião Salgado, to name my magnificent seven. ![]() Not only that, but the pictures I saw in magazines and books that fired my imagination were in black & white. Going monochrome was the obvious route because as a schoolkid, it was the only affordable one. When I embarked on my photography journey, there was only film with the choice of colour print, colour slide or black & white. In very contrasty light an exposure bracket of several frames can be merged in software to produce a fully toned image. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |