Black and white photography is known for producing dramatic and artistic images. When you take color away from pictures, you need to focus on other aspects of photography like composition and contrast.
This guide is designed to get you ready to take great black and white photography quickly. We’ll also provide links throughout so you can do a deep dive on different aspects of black and white photography.
Focus On Composition
The best black and white photographs would not be as good if they were color photos. Black and white highlights contrast and can add a sense of emotion and drama that would be lost in a color photograph. As you’re framing your shot, consider how it will look in monochrome before you take the shot.
Rule of Thirds
The rule of thirds is an easy way to compose your photographs. You might be able to get away with breaking the rule in color, but you’re unlikely to get away with it in black and white where structure is much more important. Make sure you line up your points of interest at points of intersection.
Patterns
Black and white photography can be a good choice to show off interesting patterns. The light and contrast tend to show better in a black and white photo than they do in color. If the interesting part of your subject is the pattern you’re seeing, it’s probably a good candidate for a black and white photo.
This could be an interesting picture in color, but using black and white highlights the pattern of the stairs as the subject of the photo.
Find High Contrast Subjects
High contrast subjects are the perfect candidates for a black and white photograph since it highlights contrast better than a color image. Capturing high contrast means you’ll need your images to be as sharp as possible. Set your camera to the lowest ISO you can while still getting the photograph you want. A lot of black and white photography is shot at ISO 100.
You should also consider using color filters when taking black and white images. These filters can add drama by darkening certain areas or lighten up the mood by making the same images brighter. Filters will brighten whatever color they are. A red filter, for example, will brighten the reds and darken the greens. Here are a few filters that can help you take better black and white photography:
Playing with filters can add another layer of complexity to the photos you take. Make sure you have a few on you so you can experiment with how it changes your shots.
Fix It In Post
Most digital cameras will have a setting that allows you to take a black and white photograph but these will rarely give you the picture you want. Even worse, the image will be in JPEG so can’t do a lot with it in post-production. For a serious photographer, there are two options for taking great black and white photography. One is to spend a small fortune on a dedicated black and white camera like this one:
Leica Monochrom
Or take your images in color to get RAW files that you can adjust in your favorite post-production software. These programs will let you adjust the contrast of your images to create the mood you want to convey by either darkening or lightening different areas. Fixing images in post is our preferred method since it doesn’t require a dedicated camera. Even if you decide to use a monochrome camera, your images will still benefit from a post-production touch up.
Conclusion
You can take better black and white photography just by keeping it in mind when taking pictures. Consider what shots would look like with no color and higher contrast before you take them and use RAW files so you have the option of changing the photo to black and white in post production.
Like all photography, practice is the best way to get better. Grab your favorite camera, a few filters, set your ISO low, and get out there and take some pictures!