The eternal question: The purity of Black and White or the charm of the Toned ?
Every time is very difficult fro me to take a decision and you ? What are the parameters to apply the best solution ?
The purity of Black and White or the charm of the Toned ? I can't decide
Hi,
You really need contrasty images for black and white, unless you want to give an "old" look to a photo, like in a village, or to a portrait. For landscape though it's got to be right. I find it works well for mountains in the midday sun, with that really deep blue skies against a snowy capped mountain. So far I haven't had an image that really works both ways (colors or b&w). Every time I've used black and white, it's been a rather obvious choice after careful examination, and the image simply didn't work without it. But I'm sure there are images of a misty forest that can work as monochrome or color.
Apologies in advance for the novel.
I agree with Nick, when it comes to the contrast. The processing for a black and white photo vs a colour photo are not the same.
The key is to know you'll be converting it to black and white BEFORE you even take the image, so you can adjust the exposure, composition, and anything else you need to. Of course this isn't always necessary, but in my experience, it has helped me decide how I'm going to shoot the scene when I know beforehand. It's important to remember that converting to black and white isn't a crutch, it's a stylistic choice. It should be used to enhance the photo, not hide problems or just make it look "artistic". So odds are if you just shoot a photo, get home, decide the color isn't doing it for you and just convert it for the sake of converting it, the black and white won't add anything... sorry, that wasn't really your question...
Regarding simple black and white vs tones, it will of course decide on the image. The tone you're choosing should fit the image. Furthermore, the tones should be subtle, at least in my opinion. I'll explain using some images I've shot. (sorry I hate doing this because it makes feel arrogant, but it's just easier to use examples)
In the first shot you may notice a subtle blue tone. This was because when shooting the image, I was trying to get the water to look so smooth that it looked more like clouds or fog (like on a chilly morning) than water and I wanted it to have a cold feeling to it. This allowed me to choose a longer exposure than most people would when photographing a waterfall, and in the editing process, I added a subtle blue tone to add a cold atmosphere to the photo.
As for the second photo, it has a more traditional black/grey and white tone as the focus was more on the contrast of the white water against the jet black rock, so I didn't want tones to take away from that contrast.
The third photo is an example of knowing you're going black and white before even pulling out the camera. I found this location on google maps and before I even arrived I knew I wanted a high-key heavenly look. Knowing this helped me set up the composition and setting easily. I blew out the sky intentionally so I didn't have to do too much work in post.
Now keep in mind, this is just my way of doing it, and the three photos I posted are far from the best photos ever taken, but I felt they were a good way to show how going black and white, toned or not, should be considered well before the conversion itself.
Apologies again for the long message, but I try to be as thorough as possible.
WOW ! Thank you so much for this important information. I'll try to keep them in mind for the next time.You have answer to my question and to a lot of others doubts that I had in my mind. Thank you again
is your novel available as an e-book on amazon? haha all great info thanks a bunch for sharing these are definitely the types of things newbies need to put in their brain when shooting and processing
I should probably consider it at some point. Half of my posts could be sold as E-books, based on length, haha.
lol so with this conversation i decided to play around with B&w setting for a few min needs work but could be nice ..maybe
For me, the conversion to black and white doesn't enhance this photo. It looks like a random picture that was chosen, and converted to black and white without a true purpose. It's still worth playing around with, though.
I'm a little confused?
"The key is to know you'll be converting it to black and white BEFORE you even take the image, so you can adjust the exposure, composition, and anything else you need to."
Convert what? JUST shoot with B&W film and you're all set. This was shot with TMax400, No processing in PS.
I always have a film camera loaded with B&W film with me.
Not everybody shoots film. My comment was targeted towards people who shoot and process digital images.
I was suggesting that snapping a picture and winging it in the editing process isn’t the most optimal idea. It’s important to visualize the finished photo before you press the shutter. This applies to every photo, colour or black and white.
I hope that clears up your confusion.
I agree, the key is to know you'll be converting it to black and white BEFORE you even take the image, but the question is, what are the keys tht you use to pre-visualize the image in black and white? Exposure ? Composition too ?
What is your mental process to transform what you see on what you want to see ?
Well that will vary from photo to photo and style to style. Using one of my images from above (the high key rocks), as I already mentioned, knowing I was going for a black and white high key style image helped me take the photo in camera as I knew I needed to blow out the sky in a way that I would never do in a colour image. In this case, the keys I used were exposure and contrast. I wanted the sky blown out and the rock to be jet black. I also knew I wanted the water to be super smooth, so I knew I needed a ridiculously long exposure, in this case about 8 and a half minutes, so I knew I needed to go with a strong ND filter. Of course I touched it up in post, but all the ingredients were there.
As for the mental process, I’m afraid I don’t really have much of a mental process. I see a finished image in my head the same way I see an omelette before I even crack an egg. Sometimes it works out just as planned, other times it doesn’t. I know that doesn’t sound like much of “an answer” but when I asked my friend, who is an abstract painter, how she comes up with her work she just said “my feelings”. Sometimes there is really no clear way to explain a process, sometime it just kind of happens through experience and exposure to the work of others.
Did that clear things up or make it more convoluted? Haha.
Very clear, thank you for your response
"...this case about 8 and a half minutes..."
I have read somewhere that a long exposure with a time more than 4 / 5 minutes, has a negative impact on the sensor because the temperature can be too elevate on it after this delay. What's your experience on it ?
I’ve noticed some of my longer exposures seem to have small colored spots. I believe these are called “hot pixels”, but they don’t really matter for black and white photos. Also, in coloured images, they only really stand out if you really blow the picture up. This could vary from camera to camera. It’s possible a full frame sensor will handle the exposures a little better, but I’ve never used one, so I can’t say for sure.
As for any long term damage on my camera, I haven’t noticed anything, but it is entirely possible. The way I think of it, my camera is a tool, so I’m ok with it if it’s required to get the image I have in my head. Can’t keep everything in mint condition forever, haha.
Black and white for most landscapes. I think using tones like sepia r best for the kind of photsgraphs we remember from the best involving people animals etc