The Beauty of Black and White



Much of the creativity of photography lies in the infinite range of choices open to the photographer between attempting a nearly literal representation of the subject and freely interpreting.

In photography, we are recording a three-dimensional subject in two dimensions and values of grey. We have considerable freedom to alter values through controls of exposure, RAW conversion and many other adjustments and changes we can perform with computer software.

Ansel Adams created some of the most stunning black and white photographs available. Great photographers of the present, (black and white or colour) have followed and developed his model - the concept of visualization, or mental picture.

“Visualization, is a conscious process of projecting the final photographic image in the mind before taking the first steps in actually photographing the subject. I am convinced that the best photographers of all aesthetic persuasions “see” their final photograph in some way before it is completed.” Ansel Adams

The purpose of visualization is to consider and anticipate the steps starting from the first approach to the subject, to affect the final result.

He taught that the first step toward visualization - is to become aware of the world around us in terms of the photographic image. We must examine and explore what lies before our eyes for its significance, substance, shape, texture, and the relationship of tonal values. We can teach our eyes to become more receptive.

It takes some effort to learn to view a subject rich in colours and see it in black and white, just as it takes effort to learn to view the three dimensional world as a two dimensional image created by a lens.

If your main interest is black and white photography, there are some excellent exercises to help you get a good feel and get the very best from this medium. An excellent start is to read Ansel Adams two books - the ‘Print’ and ’the Negative’.

You can buy a filter that will remove all colours and help you see a scene in black and white.

For you to see as the lens see, (with one eye) - try to close one of your eyes when looking at a scene - now you are seeing in two dimensions, note how difficult it is to judge distances of unfamiliar subjects.

The purpose of this eBook is to concentrate in colour photography and encourage the photographer to keep testing if the same image would work better in black and white.

Almost every photograph I take, I try to visualize how it would look in black and white. Some images are so full of detail that as a general rule, they will not represent well in black and white.

Visualization as explained by Ansel Adams, is a wonderful tool in creativity, this is something we want to cultivate and develop every time we approach a subject to photograph.


Black and White or Colour?

Not all images show best in black and white. So, when should you convert a colour photograph to black and white?

The decision to use black and white or colour should be postponed until the images have been loaded into the computer. A far better result will be achieved that way instead of letting the camera do it.

A well-crafted black and white photograph must have the tones well defined throughout. It means also that the blacks must be black and the whites white, unless the photographer intended otherwise. To accomplish this, the photographer must be careful not to destroy detail during the post-processing stage.It is true to say that a good black and white image is harder to craft than a colour one because it relies heavily on tonality - there's no colour to contribute to the image.

Images made up of simple elements do best in black and white - in general terms, a busy photograph does not show so well in black and white.

It is not just a question of pressing the greyscale button to get rich blacks, bright whites and maintain good tonality, more is required - great care needs to be exercised to preserve important image detail.

An example illustrates the process of selection and development of a colour image into a black and white one.

The image I selected is an ideal candidate for conversion to black and white because the elements therein are uncomplicated. The mountain is one of the best known in Scotland and one of the most respected amongst mountain walkers and climbers - it’s a difficult mountain to climb. However, the colour image doesn’t convey how grand this mountain is, nor does it reveal anything about the wilderness surrounding it.

The theme of the picture, that is, the main point is in the middle of the frame, starting from the stream and following it upwards toward the crest.


The stages:

Fig. A - Is the RAW image saved as a TIFF file. No adjustments were made. The image from the camera is bland, the eye is directed to the stream but there’s no other point of interest.

Fig. B - Using Adobe Lightroom, refinements were carried out to make the image as close to the original as possible. Burning the sky and some shadow areas of the mountain. Dodging the sandy part, (middle part of the picture). Adjusting the colour and adding a strong vignette - this helps to guide the viewer’s attention on the theme of the photo.

Fig. C - Using Fig. B as the foundation, I converted it to black and white. Further adjustment to local contrast was done to emphasise the theme. The theme is now the brightest part - our eyes are always drawn to the brightest parts of a photograph.


Toning

Creating a black and white photograph doesn’t mean that it must be without colour. In the old days, if I may call them that, the black and white Lab had a number of chemicals for toning photographs. Very popular was split toning; the shadows could be toned in one colour while the highlights in another.

Today, you can do that digitally with greater control and without the smell and the hazards of chemicals.