Black and White Photography; the Lost Art

Shooting in monochrome seems to be a lost art among photographers and photo editors. In my own opinion black and white (monochrome) photography has the possibility of making any photograph better. Most photographers shoot in colour and don’t normally expand their ‘horizons’ by shooting in monochrome. Taking monochrome photographs can stretch your creativity and allows you to see the photo from a different perspective than that of colour. Obviously not all photographs work in black and white, but when picking the correct photo to be converted into monochrome it can allow the photo to have much more meaning, or even tell a story.

I will be focusing this article on images that have the 6 main aspects of monochrome photography known as texture, tonality, composition, contrast, lines and form, hopefully to assist new photographer’s in future monochrome photography.
All photographs are mine and consist of mainly nature and landscape photographs, all taken or edited in black and white.

Flinders University, South Australia

This photo was taken using the monochrome option on my camera, rather than post-editing a coloured photo. This particular photo has strong texture which allows the image to have depth and interest. The texture of this photograph has been formed by the contrast changes between trees. 

Camera settings used: 21mm, F/10.0, 1/40s, ISO250

Home garden, South Australia

The original photo was taken in colour where the flower was pink. The photo was then post edited to get the monochrome effect. As you can see there are black, white and grey colours coming through this image, which is known as tonality. This photograph holds a lot of different tones due to the sunlight that was shining around the subject.

Camera settings used: 24mm, f/4.0, 1/40s, ISO100

Grange Beach, South Australia

Composing photographs is an important aspect of both monochrome photography and colour. The different between monochrome and colour composition, is that with monochrome photography you don’t need to rely on colours to help with composing your image. Due to this particular imagine being minimalist, the eye is drawn to the centre of the image, being the entry to the beach. This is also known as negative space. The negative space in this image allows for perfect composition either side.

Camera settings used: 24mm, f/13.0, 1/400s, ISO100

Bridge, Flinders University, South Australia

Understanding contrast and how it can help yourself and the viewer interpret a photo is an important step in developing your photographic skills.

You can have two different types of contrast when shooting in black and white. They include high-contrasted photos and low-contrasted photos, giving the image either a sharper or mellower look. This image is of a higher contrast. I thought the higher contrast gave it a better look due to the bridge being wet from the rain. This allowed it to give a shiny effect post editing. High contrast brings out the bridge and gives it a different feel than it would in low contrast. The only down side to using high contrasted images is that it is not as easy on the eye in comparison to low contrasted images.

Camera settings used: 29mm, f/10.0, 1/40s, ISO100

 

Californian Redwoods, Beech Forest

The term “lines” is an important aspect to remember when you are taking photographs. Lines usually let our eyes move about the composition instead of getting stuck in one spot. This photo allows the viewer to look at the whole image without just one aspect standing out. This is difficult to do when shooting in monochrome as once it’s been taken or edited in black and white there is usually one aspect of the image that stands out.

Camera settings used: 15mm, f/3.5, 1/30s, ISO800

Lighthouse, Beachport, South Australia

Form or shape is a type of photo where the viewer is able to pick out and recognize the main subject. Therefore your photo will work well if you have a predominant aspect to your photograph, mine being the lighthouse. Form photographs work well in monochrome, as the monochrome effect is able to bring out that main subject.

Camera settings used: 15mm, f/6.3, 1/80s, ISO100

 

Conclusion:

Not everyone likes shooting in monochrome, but I believe it’s a wonderful way to enhance your skills as a photographer. You can learn and see new things when shooting in monochrome. Monochrome allows you to see light differently, it’s able to emphasise emotion through photographs, amplifies how you use negative space and also highlights shapes, forms and patterns in an image just to name a few. I hope this article will be able to assist new photographers in monochrome shooting, and also entice experienced photographers to shoot in monochrome more often.