Tutorial 001: Monochrome Photography (part 2)

(continued from part 1 you can read that by CLICKING HERE)

EXPOSING CORRECTLY»
     While it is always important to expose your images correctly, when you are planning to convert your images to black and white this is particularly vital.  A monochrome image relies heavily on the tonal range in the scene.  If you underexpose the image too much, areas of the image that should be various shades of grey will 'block up' as dense, pure-black shadow.  If you overexpose the image too much, you risk losing highlight detail, something that never looks great but can be particularly unappealing in b/w scenes.  One of the joys of b/w photography is being able to dodge and burn in the digital darkroom so you need to give yourself some room to play with in your editing software, which means capturing images that are neither too dark or too light.
     Scenes with a high degree of contrast (with very bright and very dark areas) always present a challenge in terms of exposure and this is the kind of scene most likely to cause your camera's metering system to get confused.
     You can decide which area of the scene is most important for your final image and expose accordingly.  Aternatively, you can shoot two seperate exposures (one with shadows in mind and one for the highlights) and merge them later.  This is a common practice in HDR photography which ill cover in another tutorial at a later date.
     One thing to be aware of when you are exposing your images is the role of the ISO setting.  If you find that you need to brighten up the image in post-production you'll generally notice a lot more noise in the shadow areas of the image if the shot was captured using a higher ISO (ex. ISO 800 or 1600).  As it's not always possible to shoot at a lower ISO, it's best to adopt a policy of 'exposing to the right'.  Here's what I mean:
    Histogram Top Tip:
Your histogram meter needs to be your best friend, and you should get used to using it for b/w photography.
  A properly exposed histogram will have no clipping (represented by sharp spikes) at either the highlight or shadow ends of the histogram.  The histogram should be biased towards the right slightly, ensuring that noise in the shadow areas is kept to an absolute minimum. 
  An overexposed image will have the information crowded into the far right-hand side of the histogram with a sharp spike.  Some of the highlight detail may be recoverable but most of it will be lost.
  An underexposed image will have the information crowded towards the far left-hand side with a sharp spike.  Some shadow detail will be recoverable but is likely to be noisy with poor detail and colour accuracy.

PORTRAITS»
     Portrait photographers have worked in b/w since the sawn of photographic time.  From Julia Margaret Cameron to David Bailey, photographers have used monochrome to capture portraits with style.
     Black and white portraits can look either modern or classic with equal success.  The clear advantages of shooting without colour include the ability to remove distracting elements and smooth out uneven skin tones and blemishes.
     When there's no colour to worry about, you are free to oush the contrast to its extremes and create a very wide range of effects.  The absence of vibrant hues also means that it's easier to capture impromptu portraits when the subject's clothing doesn't have the required tones or the surroundings aren't ideal.
     However, it's important to remember that shooting in b/w doesn't allow you to take your eye off the ball in terms of planning and preparing a portrait shoot.  Simple, fairly plain clothing with a relatively small range of tones will usually work best for b/w portraits.  It's also important not to expect your portraits to automatically look like the work of one of the greats simply by converting it to black-and-white.  It's even more important to consider your subject's pose and expression, as the best b/w portraits will almost always be very strong in these respects.
     Be sure to pay attention to the lighting as much as you can, because in b/w the contrast between well-lit areas of the frame and areas of shadow is always accentuated.
     Top Tip: great b/w portraits can often be achieved with minimal lighting, such as just one of-camera flash with a softbox.

LANDSCAPES»
Although the iconic landscape photographer Ansel Adams worked almost exclusively in black and white, landscape photography is often associated with colour.
     One of the main inspirations for capturing landscapes is the appeal of the warm, golden colours produced by late afternoon and early morning light, or the glow of a gorgeous sunrise or sunset.
     However, landscapes also offer a wealth of textures, shapes and patterns that lend themselves perfectly to black and white.  Without the distraction of colour, the landscape is both simplified and endowed with an appealing timelessness.  Black-and-white landscapes taken today can look little different to the photographs taken in the 1940's by Ansel Adams himself.
     However, in some respects, b/w landscape photography cam present greater challenges than shooting in colour.  Without a beautiful blue sky or orange sunset to rely in, the composition of the shot itself becomes more important.  With this in mind, it's vital that you take extra time to carefully assess each and every element of the scene before taking the photograph.  Althought, all the elements of the scene need to be in harmony in all landscape images, the final photo really wont work at all if this isn't achieved with a b/w scene.
     Top Tip: for the best black and white landscape shots, seek out scenes that include distinctive patterns, shapes amd textures«
     It's also worth remembering that the time of the day still counts with b/w landscapes.  Images taken at the beginning and end of the day will have much softer shadows than photos taken around midday with the sun at its peak.

STREET PHOTOGRAPHY»
     Street photography became popular with the rise of 35mm and other portable-camera systems.  Henri Cartier-Bresson's classic b/w reportage images still influence street photographers like myself and this is a field of photography where monochrome images far outnumber colour shots.  Black and white offers street shooters instant artistic and practical advantage, and this element of the medium harks back to the tradition of photojournalistic images that for many years were exclusively black and white.
     The very nature of street photography dictates that the photographer cannot control the range of colours within the scene and in many situations this could result in a much less appealing image.  B/w's ability to simplify the image provides a way of creating graphic, captivating images.
     Top Street Tip: shooting from the hip is a popular technique among street photographers as it allows them to take candid shots without people paying close attention to the fact that they are being photographed. Results can be hit or mias unless you are used to this method.  Use a fairly narrow aperature of at least f18 in order to get a decent amount of depth of field in the shot.  Also ensure that the shutter speed you use is reasonably fast to ensure a sharp image. If needed boost the ISO to compensate.
     In terms of subjects for this type of project, you should aim to keep your compositions as simple as possible.  This isn't necessarily easy on busy amd crowded streets, but is vital for successful shots.  Very often, the best images have a degree of anonymity, without any faces, so keep a look out for hurried feet or hands held pensively behind the back.  A bustling shopping centre or high street can be a daunting place at times but keep watch for moments of human interaction and affection, as these can look even more striking and emotive in a public setting.

EDITING B&W
     Converting an image to b/w cam be as simple as changing from RGB to Grayscale mode.  However, if you are serious about getting strong monochrome images it's worth taking a little bit more time and trouble.  Fortunately, there are lots of other ways of changing a colour shot to a b/w image in Photoshop and they are powerful too.  When converting to mono, you need to pay close attention to how individual colours are responding as this can make or break the final image.  Another important point to be aware of is contrast, which often needs to be more dramatic in mono.

Landscape tip: using a tripod low and close to the ground means that you can make the most of lead-in lines such as a boardwalk along a pier or a brick road.  Opt for a long exposure to make the most of any movement in the clouds.  This helps to keep your exposure as simple and umcluttered as possible.  Use a narrow aperature like f16 to get the maximum depth of field in your image.

Editing tip: use the black and white adjustment layer, if you're new to b/w there are a number of presets to get you started, but you'll achieve the best results by tweaking the six colour sliders to suit the image.  Next, duplicate the layer and change the duplicated layers blending mode to Soft Light.  That will improve the contrast...if it is too much, simply lower the opacity slider in the layers palatte for a more subtle look.  Next you can add a bit of noise for a film look, or leave it crisp and.clean for a more modern look.

Filter tip: filters can enhance your black and white photography but you need to know how to use them to get the full benefit.  The SRB-Griturn filter kit is used in b/w photography to enhance colours within the shot, with each filter enhancing different aspects.  Red filters help to exaggerate clouds and darken greens, whilst lightening reds and yellows.  An orange filter will enhance detail such as stone work as well as subduing blemishes in portraits.  Yellow filters darken blue skies, improve contrast, and lighten yellows.  A green filter will lighten foliage, as well as helping cloud effects. Visit www.srb-griturn.com for more details.

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Posted in: black and white, monochrome, tutorials