Black and white style of photography is a wonderful medium to tell powerful, reminiscent visual stories. In our highly colour saturated world, under certain circumstances, opting to capture moments in black and white can bring out new perspectives and a timeless aesthetic that conveys far more than what the same scene can express with colour. In absence of colour, a picture is filtered right down to its soul and emotions. Consider the following two images, The King in B&W and other in Color.
In black and white photography, one must focus on other artistic elements such as:
- Contrast
- Shape & Form
- Textures & Patterns
- Exposure – High key & Low key Images
Contrast
A key aspect of black and white photography is to emphasize the contrast between the blacks/ shadows and whites/ highlights in your image. One should visualize the scene devoid of colors and look for areas that would create strong contrasts, such as deep shadows and bright lights. Initially, its a bit difficult to visualize, how a scene might look without colors, one can click a few images in B&W mode and search for areas that provide a striking contrast. For example as in the image Puma at Dusk , a brightly lit background will create a dark silhouette of a person or object standing in the foreground (Puma in this image), in turn, offering a notable contrast that adds greater depth and dimension to the image. On the other hand as in the image The Dusky Glow, a dark background will help in making the subject stand out prominently, creating a strong contrast and directing the viewer’s focus solely on the subject.
Shape & Form
Understanding, as to how light interacts with subject in a scene to create fascinating and engrossing forms is a great tool. For example, a typical front lighting will cast shadows that are hidden from the camera’s point of view, whereas side lighting as in the image The Final Crawl casts shadows that make the objects appear more three-dimensional. Since we don’t have colors to draw interest in black and white photography, hence, focus more on the shapes, forms, and lines. Use light to accentuate the shapes and lines in different interesting ways to guide your viewer’s eye through the image.
Textures & Patterns
Another way to emphasize contrast is through textures. Textured objects create different shades of gray in black and white as in the image The Hills Have Eyes which offers a layer of complexity and visually more appealing images.
When ceratin shapes, forms or textures, repeat itself as in the image Artful Maze the stripes of Zebras forms a pattern which help to create visually stunning black and white images.
Often, when shooting in colour, patterns might not be as noticeable as colours are competing for the viewer’s attention. Therefore, shooting in black and white, will give more opportunity to focus on unique and subtle patterns, helping them to take shape and stand out.
Exposure – High key & Low key Images
In black & white photography, one can play with exposure. Deliberately choosing to over or underexpose can help create highly dramatic and compelling images. While composing a scene, explore various levels of exposure to see how it changes the mood of the image. When shooting in dark conditions, avoid immediately trying to expose a subject properly by increasing exposure. Instead, consider whether to deliberately underexpose the scene as in the image The End of Slumber (Low key image) to create a more moody and dramatic look using the deep blacks produced by the shadows.
Alternatively, one can overexpose the scene as in the image Serval Cat (High key image) to reduce or eliminate shadows.
