While clicking black and white photos, one needs to focus on artistic factors like shadow, dynamic range, tonal contrast, line, framing and depth of field. A lot of experienced industry professionals, including Bruce Weber Photographer, opt to take black and white photos rather than colored ones. With the right technique and knowledge, along with a dash of creativity, one can always improve the outcomes of their black and white photos. While clicking pictures in black and white, it is better to take images that provide high contrast, such as dark hills against a bright sky or a portrait set against a shaded background. Such contrasts look quite eye-catching in black and white photographs.
While shooting in color is definitely great, gaining a good understanding of how to shoot black and white photos impeccably can add a brand new perspective and aesthetic to photos, which cannot essentially be expressed through color. Here are a few tips that can help people to take amazing black and white photos:
- Use texture as another way to express contrast: A craggy bark of a tree trunk can provide visual patterns and textural complexity of shadow and light. Reflections and shadows can be particularly striking in the case of black and white photography, and hence juxtaposing rough textures and angular shapes with reflective windows or water may aid in creating an eye-catching contrast.
- Monitor light sources in street photography: The key to great street black and white photography is to be mindful about various sources of lights, like street lamps, neon signs, headlights and the sun, which may bleed into the final image. All these sources of light have to be smartly used to capture a spectrum of different shades of gray.
- Use a small aperture and as low an ISO as possible: Black and white photography must feature consistent focus and reduced digital noise. Low ISO and small aperture can be helpful in achieving those goals. One may also have to mix and match their settings with distinguished lenses. A wide-angle lens may not respond to the same camera settings as a telephone lens having a shallow depth of field.
- Use the rule of thirds: Using the rule of thirds is important for steering the eye of the viewer to the important elements of the photo. Under this rule, a grid of three horizontal lines and three vertical lines are created, which tends to be visible on the viewfinder or LCD screen of the camera. The points where the lines meet are the points of interest. The subject should be placed at any of these points.
An obvious trick to clicking stunning black and white photos is to go through old black and white photos and movies for inspiration. It will be great to check out the work of Bruce Weber Photographer and similar artists who have the capability of getting any viewer hooked to their black and white shots. Going through vintage films can also help photographers to get ideas and inspiration.
