Black and white photography by Michael Gray 1
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Small compilation of my photography. Please visit my website to see more. www.michaelgrayphotographic.com
Digital Photography Secrets For Black And White Shots
One of the biggest benefits of digital photography over regular film picture taking is the fact these little devices actually give a photographer instant access to many different special effects. One of the most spectacular of these effects is the ability digital photography gives to switch instantly from color to black and white exposures. Rather than having to change out film types or drain color from a shot on a computer screen, digital photography does this on the spot.
The truth is black and white photography tends to be under-rated. When it`s used to create an impact with a shot, the resulting image can be amazing. Landscapes, portraits and even still life type shots can all benefit from an occasional switch over to black and white. Learning how to take full advantage of this digital photography technique, however, will take a little time.
This type of digital photography can be a little tricky to master, but since the cameras generally come equipped with monitors to instantly see results, the risk factor of walking away with a bad shot is minimized. Since pictures can be reviewed on the spot, anyone trying this digital photography technique will find they can see their pictures and make adjustments instantly if the shot isn`t quite what they`d hoped for.
To make the most of black and white pictures taken on a digital camera, there are several tips beginners can try. These tips do translate to regular film photography, as well.
See the shot
This is a very important technique for black and white digital photography and even color. It`s important to really pay attention to what the camera sees and shows before snapping the shot. In black and white digital photography, the monitor will likely switch over to black and white mode, which makes this even easier. Practice paying attention to the images as they are presented and make sure the image presented is the one you want before you shoot. If you learn to rely on the monitor or the view finder, you`ll know when more light is needed, when subjects need to be moved or even when it`s best if you move yourself.
Contrast is everything
Since black and white digital photography doesn`t rely on color to tell the story, the contrast of shades will need to be relied upon. This is one of the most important black and white shooting tips to learn. It is important to make sure subjects stand out even more so in black and white than in color. While a dark blue shirt might look awesome against a dark green setting in color, it will likely get lost in the shuffle in black and white.
Play with lighting
While that dark shirt and dark background can present problems in contrast, lighting can help fix the issue. The best way to master lighting for this type of digital photography is to play around and be willing to experiment to see what works and what doesn`t. Try using the black and white settings in all kinds of situations to really master what needs to be done under different circumstances to effectively light up a shot.
Learning to master the black and white setting on a digital camera can be a fun pursuit. Offering drama and impact, black and white imaging is a different way to record the world around you. For more tips on digital photography, Digital Camera Wiz.com is the site to visit.
black and white photography 4 by richard armstrong
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black and white photos of various scenes with a few colour photographs for a change.hope you enjoy them.
Photography Tips and Guide – How to Take Black and White Photographs
Originally, just as with movies, all film for still photography was black-and-white or sepia. It wasn’t until the mid-20th century that color photography became feasible for the masses. Obviously color photography is now open to anyone, and given that we see the world in color, why would we want to deliberately remove color from our photographs?
This is not an idle question, because in answering it we identify when to try taking a photograph in black-and-white – or more likely, to try taking the color out of a photograph after the fact using an image-editing program such as Photoshop.
The answer to the above question is that we would want to remove color from a photograph in order to simplify it; to get rid of distracting information so that we can concentrate better on something else. In this it’s no different from blurring the background of a portrait or from framing a photo in such a way that distracting elements are out of the frame.
So now we know the why, which has led us to the when, of black-and-white photography, let’s look at the three main situations where we might desaturate (i.e. remove color from) a photo:
In portraiture
In color, a close-up picture of a person reveals all kinds of distracting details of their face – blemishes, a red nose, uneven skin tones, and so on. Black-and-white photography strips out these details, and this makes it easier for the viewer to concentrate on what the photo reveals about the person’s life or personality, which is what portraiture is all about.
In abstract fine art photography
Color is very noticeable in a photo, and it generally trumps things like patterns or shapes. So another use for black-and-white is when a photographer wants to take a photo that is ‘about’ a pattern or shapes. This type of photograph comes up most often in what we might call ‘abstract fine art photography’, where there really isn’t a clear or recognizable subject for the photo.
Note that black-and-white photographs are generally more ‘tolerant’ of contrast, so fine art photographers will often strip out color from their photographs and then ramp up the contrast (again, using an image editing program).
Whenever the photo is more or less monochromatic anyway
This final category is something of a catchall. While the main use of black-and-white is to remove something distracting from a photo, it’s also a good idea to try converting a photo to black-and-white when the photo really has few bright colors anyway. Another way of looking this is to say that just as color is distracting, a washed-out lack of color is also somewhat distracting.
Tobias Sterling is a featured writer on Clivir.com – The Free Learning Community Site. He provides more information on Beginners Photography Basics, Taking Photographs of Moving subjects and Portrait and People Photography on Clivir.
Life in Romania 1976 Black and White Photography Collection
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A rare collection of black and white photography by Tom Moratta made in Romania 1976 “A KING WEAVING FOR THE WORLD A CENTURY OF PLANS WHILE THE POOR MAN THINKS ONLY OF TOMORROW”
Use Photoshop for the Perfect Black and White Photo
Colour photography is now the norm, and is perfect for most situations; however, there are some times when you want the power and simplicity of a black and white photo.
Black and white photography requires a different set of skills to colour, as the picture is formed purely from areas of light and shade. These days, black and white film is increasingly hard to come by, and unless you’re lucky enough to have a specialist lab near you, you’ll find the sort of machine processing they do at “one hour” photo places leaves a lot to be desired when it comes to processing black and white film.
Many modern digital cameras have a dedicated black and white mode, but mostly they just desaturate the picture and make it look washed out. It often works out better to shoot in colour and convert the picture in Photoshop.
Of course, the easiest way of making a colour photo black and white in Photoshop is to convert the mode to grayscale (Image > Mode > Grayscale), but this does limit your options if you want to enhance the picture later on.
In traditional black and white photography, coloured filters are sometimes placed over the lens to create a dramatic contrast. This is done because hues that seem quite different in real life (in colour) can merge into one shade of grey when seen in monochrome. The intensity of the colours are the same, even though the actual colours are different.
For example, a blue sky with white clouds can appear weak and washed out in a black and white photograph. If you place a red filter over the lens, it will darken the blue sky and make the white clouds stand out more. This is because the red filter blocks the blue colour waves more effectively than it does colours that are nearer to red.
The great thing about Photoshop is it enables you to experiment and get the effect just right. The method I find works best involves keeping the picture in RGB mode, and adjusting one of the colour channels.
If you go to the Layers palette, click the Channels tab, then click on (say) the Red channel, you’ll see an image that resembles a red filter over the lens of a camera with black and white film. The darkening of the blue tinted areas will make a moody, sophisticated image. For comparison, click on the Green channel and then the Blue. The results will be surprising — and very different!
I like to then fine tune the result by adjusting the Levels. Keep your chosen channel selected, and then go to Image > Adjustments > Levels, and adjust the sliders until you get the desired result. Then be sure to save the picture as a new file to preserve your original.
Incidentally, if you apply this process to two channels at the same time, you can get some pretty stunning colour effects too!
Shaun Pearce is a writer and video maker.
His latest production, “Photoshop Master”, is an interactive video tutorial. It shows you how to get the most from Photoshop, and can be downloaded from http://www.learnphotoshopfast.com?=article7
Save The Silver – Black And White Photography
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Some of my pictures www.savethesilver.com
Redbubble – Black and White
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A collection of amazing black and white photography and artwork. … photo art artist painting redbubble blue muscularteeth advert sculpture learn black white
Should I Have My Wedding Shot in Black and White?
The first thing I hear when I mention Black and White to non-photographers is why shoot black and white now, when you can capture beautiful color with film or your digital cameras. Often, I do not even get into the discussion, because I know that it is a loosing battle. This makes me wonder whether Black and White photography is slowly winding down, shriveling and dying? Most people seem to have changed their way of thinking about Black and White, and I think digital technology is partly at fault. So, if you think that Black and White Photography has no place in today’s world, please read on, and let me convince you otherwise. If you are planning a wedding, or another formal event, Black and White photography is something you are no doubt considering. As such it is important to understand why Black and White has been first choice for portraiture and event photographers for generations.
Many, many years ago, Black and White Photography was the only option, and photographers became masters of the craft of using Black and White films. They learned their properties, found their favorites, and shot some stunning scenery on Black and White film. Development techniques were being perfected, and masters spent hours in the darkroom to produce tinted prints, sepia prints, platinum, selenium and other types of Black and White photographs. As color was introduced many things changed. Black and White only allowed you to use the many shades of gray to paint a scene, set a mood, and invoke an emotion. This required a tremendous amount of skill, patience, and a lot of time. Unfortunately, as we are moving further into the 21st century, those of us who understand the legacy, and hidden beautify and desirable properties of Black and White are becoming more and more rare.
Advantages of B&W when shooting portraits
Now, if you are wondering whether or not you should have your wedding, reception, or just a family photo shot in B&W, consider these advantages which B&W offer over color. Color Photographs typically do very well at reproducing imperfections in facial complexions. Small blotches, red spots, irritated skin, all very fine details find themselves in color photography. On the other hand, Black and White masks these small imperfections, in essence smoothing out skin tones, softening facial features, and hiding paleness, which some people possess. Because skin tones are rendered through shades of gray, there is less contrast between someone with light skin and someone with dark skin. The real magic of Black and White though is not revealing true age. Because wrinkles and other skin and hair imperfections are subdued, people’s true age is typically disguised. For years, this made B&W prime choice for Weddings, Receptions, and other formal events. Portraits are more flattering, and feel more natural when captured in B&W. When diffusion filters are used, portraits appear even softer and smoother in B&W.
To summarize, B&W offers the following:
* Hides skin tone imperfections
* Smooths skin tones, softens features
* Reduces contrast in skin tones
* Disguises true age
B&W is more forgiving of poor light
It is one thing to photograph a model in a studio, unfortunately wedding and most event photography is shot on location, with often little to no flexibility of controlling light. We all have seen stunning shots of brides and parties in wedding magazines, unfortunately these shots took hours to produce in the studio, where light is controlled precisely, and every aspect of the scene is monitored, and adjusted. This is simply not possible in real life, and most photographers will not spend enough time to make sure that every aspect of every shot is ideal. We cannot control whether, or light, and at times the sun, or indoor lighting simply does not want to play its part. B&W whether film or shot and converted digitally, is much more forgiving of this than color. You are more likely to get a good B&W image of a scene with less than ideal lighting than you would color.
If you are still unsure about having Black and White photographs in your wedding or other event album, or you think that Black and White belongs in the past, please consider just how flexible B&W photography really is, and try to discover the beautify of Black and White for yourself. It would be wrong to say that in Black and White photos there is absence of color. Colors are simply expressed through levels of Gray. Pure Blacks and Whites contribute to the beauty of the image. Blacks create strong shadows, and whites highlights. For dramatic scenes, Black and White is hard to beat. Contrast and Detail in Black and White photographs can often be much higher than in color, yet it is not distracting to the eye. Lastly, B&W photography has that timeless property. It reminds us of the days past, the simpler times, when minimalist living was most common. Remember, you do not need to have your photographs captured in B&W to get them printed in B&W. Good color photographs will convert to excellent B&W. Conversion process is unique to every photographer. Just be sure it is customized to your needs, and each photograph is handled individually.
Written by Sam Zaydel, Professional Photographer, and part owner of a Black and White All-Digital Photography Lab. Our Lab specializes in custom conversions of digital color to Black and White images. We are a custom service, and approach all image conversions individually to offer best possible results. No automated process comes close to the quality of Black and White conversions we produce. To learn more about how you may benefit from our service, please consider visiting our Digital Black and White Photography Lab.
black and white photography 6 by richard armstrong
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black and white photos with a handful of colour photography.let me know what you think.