How to Master Black & White Photography
- 1). View your photography subjects in black and white to judge which subjects will look good in monochrome and which are best suited for color. Familiarize yourself with settings for which black and while photos turn out best, such as portrait, street or landscape.
- 2). Set your digital camera to shoot in RAW format. Some cameras, like SLR cameras, allow you to shoot in RAW format. This will let you view photos in black and white on your camera's LCD screen, but all of the color information will be stored in the RAW file. This allows you to convert black and white photos to color later if necessary.
- 3). Take photos with textures. Textures really stand out in black and white photography and they make the subjects more prominent. Consider shooting photos of ancient artifacts that feature many shapes, contours, and contrasts of dark and light. Other areas, such as landscapes, look pleasing in black and white photography when weather changes create a significant amount of contrast. During post-processing, you can add textureby increasing the contrast.
- 4). Photograph objects that have considerable shape and three-dimensional formation. These characteristics are often present under side lighting that brings out form, particularly in black and white. Consider shooting objects such as trees lit by sun from one side, or a portrait of a person using side lightning.
- 5). Take photos at the right time of the day. Black and white photography largely depends on contrast, which means that both cloudy skies and full light during the middle of the day are optimal times for shooting.
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