BLOG #08 | Featured Image

5 things I’ve learned shooting black & white photographs

Over the past few years, I’ve started to expand my black and white landscape image portfolio. There is just something so powerful about stripping color away from a scene, only leaving and focusing on how the light is playing on the landscape. The thing about black and white landscape photography is, I’ve found It to be quite difficult to execute well. It's more than just flicking the switch in Lightroom from color to black and white. By no means do I claim to be an expert in this genre or any for that matter. But after years of experimenting and failing, I’ve learned a few things along the way.

In this blog, I’ll explain 5 things I have learned over time photographing black and white photographs.

5 things i’ve learned

1.

Finding simple compositions

Elements in a scene can always benefit from a little breathing room, but it becomes especially important when photographing black and white images. I have found compositions that have a lot going on don’t work quite as well, just because things in the frame more often than not will blend together and distract the viewer. Even in color, compositions that are overwhelming cluttered can be a challenge for the viewer to know where to look. With that said you could imagine why a busy image with everything at similar grayscale values could cause discrepancies. I find myself looking for simple compositions where elements in the frame have distinct separation from one another.

2.

ShootING scenes with good light contrast

This inherently ties into #1 above, but I wanted to emphasize it on its own. When I’m considering a potential black and white image I take into account how the lights and darks in the scene play on each other, and or their placement in the composition. It may seem obvious, but elements that are darker in value next to each other will blend together and distract the viewer from the overall photograph as stated above. So I generally follow the suggestion of darker values layered on lighter values, or vice versa. In some cases, this is never an issue, but in others, it can make or break the image. I often struggle in particular with woodland scenes, but let’s face it shooting forests in color is challenging enough. Using the example of photographing woodlands; This potential problem could be avoided by shooting in foggy mist-like conditions, which in theory would allow the trees to have some separation from it’s surroundings elements.

3.

Patterns, shapes, and textures

Our eyes notice patterns, shapes, and textures 1000% percent when they appear in black and white. That’s not an actual fact, it’s more of my observation; take it or leave it. Yeah, I wouldn’t trust me either… No really though, my eyes can pinpoint patterns, and shapes very well when the image is black and white. I have started using this extensively when composing my scenes, as you can tell in this blog's Featured Image. Sharp details and textures pop out at you vigorously, grabbing your attention and pulling your eyes into the scene.

4.

The Light doesn’t have to be spectacular

The wonderful thing I’ve learned about shooting black and white photographs is you don’t need brilliant or epic light at all. I’ve shot my favorite black and white images in dull conditions. This is great because it opens the door for more potential photographs out on a shoot. If the light ends up being a bust, I find myself experimenting with black and white to see what I can come away with.

5.

Composing with it in mind

A few years back when I started to get my feet wet in shooting black and whites, it would always be an afterthought. The colored version wasn’t doing it for me, so I’d convert it to black and white. There is absolutely nothing wrong with this particular process, but I've personally found to have more success when I shoot with black and white in mind on location, in the field. By using creative profiles in the camera, you can mimic essentially what is a black & white filter applied to the JPEG preview on the back of the camera. When I toggle this creative profile on my Sony A7RIII it allows me to frame and compose the photograph with black & white in mind, which is extremely beneficial. What’s brilliant about this setting is, since I shoot RAW, this filter is not applied to the actual image itself. Which means it’s non-destructive and allows for the freedom to use the colored version of the photograph if wanted.

We all love bright, vibrant, and colorful landscape images, including me. I also really enjoy the simplicity and emotion a black and white photograph brings. Bottom line, there is a time and a place for both, it’s just a matter of when to utilize them, and how you wish to portray that particular image. I still shoot the majority of my landscapes in color, but I have found more recently that I look for potential black and white images during almost every shoot.

Feedback is always welcome, the comment section is open!

Happy photographing!

Thanks for reading,

Alec

Gear used to photograph THIS image:

#08 | Black & White Landscape Photography - 5 things I’ve Learned