Dramatic Black & White
By Rick SammonPublished in Quick Fix
·
FacebookTwitterEmailPrintMore
FINAL
Making beautiful black-and-white images is easier than ever before, thanks
to powerful adjustments in Lightroom and Photoshop, as well as specialized
conversion software like Google's Nik Silver Efex Pro, Perfect B&W from
onOne Software, Tonality Pro from Macphun and B&W Effects from Topaz Labs.
You can play around with the sliders in these programs and in plug-ins, and you may wind up with good results. However, with a deeper understanding of black-and-white imaging, you can create a more powerful, more dramatic and more artistic image. I'll cover the basics in this column, showing just some of the endless possibilities that await you in black-and-white processing.
You can play around with the sliders in these programs and in plug-ins, and you may wind up with good results. However, with a deeper understanding of black-and-white imaging, you can create a more powerful, more dramatic and more artistic image. I'll cover the basics in this column, showing just some of the endless possibilities that await you in black-and-white processing.
ORIGINALHere's the file (cropped from my RAW file) from which I created the iceberg image.
Before we get going, however, here are some important factors to think
about as you're shooting when your goal is to create a great black-and-white
image.
SEE VALUES
You need to see in values rather than seeing colors. You also need to
envision how shadows and highlights will "play" in your
black-and-white images. As you shoot, envision how the scene will look without
color, which can be enamoring, as well as distracting (in a good way). With
practice, you'll start to see in black-and-white.
SEE THE LIGHT
Dramatic lighting leads
to a dramatic black-and-white image. In other words, strong shadows are very
important in black-and-white photography. In fact, the expression "Shadows
are the soul of the photograph" is especially important when it comes to
black-and-white photography.
SEEK OUT TEXTURES
Textures are also very
important in black-and-white photography. Textures are emphasized by shadows,
usually created by side lighting.
FIND SHAPES, FORMS AND PATTERNS
When you combine shapes,
forms, patterns and textures with dramatic lighting, you're on your way to
creating a dramatic black-and-white image.
Technically, here's something else to consider when it comes to black-and-white photography: Color files can have up to 16 million different colors, whereas a grayscale image has only 256 shades of gray. This is why considering and adjusting contrast—the difference between shadows and highlights—becomes more critical in black-and-white photography.
Technically, here's something else to consider when it comes to black-and-white photography: Color files can have up to 16 million different colors, whereas a grayscale image has only 256 shades of gray. This is why considering and adjusting contrast—the difference between shadows and highlights—becomes more critical in black-and-white photography.
LEARN ABOUT COLOR FILTERS
Understanding the effect
of color filters is very, very important in creating the black-and-white effect
you desire. Basically, here are the effects of digital color filters on an
image:
Red: Darkens a blue sky for a more dramatic image.
Orange: Darkens the sky slightly more than a red filter. Like a red filter, it can also reduce atmospheric haze.
Yellow: Darkens the sky less than a red filter, which can be beneficial, depending on the desired effect.
Blue: Honestly, I've never found a use for a blue filter in black-and-white photography. In landscape photography, it often lightens the sky too much.
Green: Lightens foliage and slightly darkens the sky.
Infrared: Simulates, somewhat, the effect of black-and-white infrared photography.
Experiment with the effects of applying filters in your processing software. You may be surprised to see how an image changes as you switch between filters.
Red: Darkens a blue sky for a more dramatic image.
Orange: Darkens the sky slightly more than a red filter. Like a red filter, it can also reduce atmospheric haze.
Yellow: Darkens the sky less than a red filter, which can be beneficial, depending on the desired effect.
Blue: Honestly, I've never found a use for a blue filter in black-and-white photography. In landscape photography, it often lightens the sky too much.
Green: Lightens foliage and slightly darkens the sky.
Infrared: Simulates, somewhat, the effect of black-and-white infrared photography.
Experiment with the effects of applying filters in your processing software. You may be surprised to see how an image changes as you switch between filters.
CONSIDER CONTRAST
My iceberg image has
strong contrast—one of the elements, as I mentioned, that contributes to strong
black-and-white photographs. Strong contrast is often desired, which is one
reason to shoot in the early morning or late afternoon (as I did here) when
strong shadows add contrast to a scene.
Enjoy your exploration of black-and-white photography. In doing so, think about black-and-white photographer Ansel Adams' philosophy: A picture is never really done. Go back again and again, and try different changes—even subtle ones.
Also keep in mind what another great black-and-white photographer, Ruth Bernhard, said, "There is no such thing as taking too much time, because your soul is in that picture."
Rick Sammon is a longtime friend of this magazine. See more of his work at ricksammon.com.
Enjoy your exploration of black-and-white photography. In doing so, think about black-and-white photographer Ansel Adams' philosophy: A picture is never really done. Go back again and again, and try different changes—even subtle ones.
Also keep in mind what another great black-and-white photographer, Ruth Bernhard, said, "There is no such thing as taking too much time, because your soul is in that picture."
Rick Sammon is a longtime friend of this magazine. See more of his work at ricksammon.com.
No comments:
Post a Comment