Innholdsfortegnelse for Issue 4 i Black & White Photography The Complete Manual

Our aim is simple, we want to introduce you to the world of black and white photography and the creative possibilities that this medium has to offer. Black and white photography, to many, is the essence of what photography is all about. It is considered traditional, yet has a magic that is hard to deny. Many people who have been avid colour photographers, are pleasantly surprised by how magical monochromatic work can be. It suddenly opens up new avenues of creative endeavour that can become quite captivating. Within the pages of this independent user manual, we will cover many aspects of the craft, as well as delving into some of the more technical aspects of post-work, photo editing and conversion techniques. More than that, we hope you enjoy this bookazine,…

Something that is worth pointing out at this stage, and it reinforces the essence of shooting images in black and white, is to be able to ‘see’ in black and white. We don’t mean this literally of course; it is more a method of visualising the scene in front of you, being able to assess the colours, tones and light available, and envisioning how it will translate into a finished black and white image. Wherever possible, don’t go for the ‘shoot it now and worry about it in Photoshop later’ approach. Examining the image, with the best chance for a successful mono conversion in mind, is a great way of producing better results. The following pages detail some of the main elements you should keep in mind as you start…

The power of the black and white portrait cannot be denied. A wise soul once said: ‘If you want fashion, shoot in colour. If you want emotion, shoot in black and white.’ As we’ve mentioned before, there is a power and depth to a black and white shot that is often swamped by colour. The story behind a shot is easier to comprehend when it is in black and white and the distraction of colour has gone. Even if there is no real story being presented in the shot, you can suddenly find yourself paying more attention to a black and white portrait. Texture, form and tone become important to the shot. It draws you in more than a colour shot ever could. “As we’ve mentioned before, there is a…

Over the course of time, as photography and photographic equipment developed, the medium moved from only shooting with available light over the course of extremely long exposure times, to the use of additional light sources such as constant artificial light and flashes. Now that photographers were employing flash in their setups, it became apparent over time, that there were several basic lighting configurations that gave excellent and repeatable results when it cam e to lighting a portrait or any kind of scene. It was common to note down these configurations and create lighting diagrams that the photographer could refer back to if they wanted to use that particular setup again. As time went on, it was clear that were a few setups that were favoured above all others when it…

“…with low-key you often need only one light to get a great dramatic portrait.” Low-key lighting is widely used in all the various visual media such as film, television and photography. It is used to add drama to a scene or image. Its mood is generally the complete opposite of high-key. It is dark, brooding, mysterious, and dramatic. Low-key is also a simpler setup than its counterpart. You are often using three or more lights for high-key work; but with low-key you often need only one light to get a great dramatic portrait. An absence of light is what is needed here, with just your subject illuminated, creating high contrast images. Shooting with one light in a dark setting also means you can shoot in locations that would normally be…

“Like all true art it’s hard to define, and equally hard to master.” Abstract photography is the representation of scenes and objects in a manner that divorces them from their context and creates a pure artistic image. Like all true art it’s hard to define, and equally hard to master. We have already made a lot of reference to shape, form and the absence of colour in this black and white special. When it comes to abstract images it is even more relevant. Remove colour from an abstract image and you take away another visual clue by which you could possibly identify it. You are left only with shape, tone, form, pattern and texture. This is a positive boon to the abstract photographer because that is exactly what you are…

There’s a lot more to the process of converting a colour picture to monochrome than simply removing the colour. Photographers shooting on black and white film will use coloured filters to produce certain effects in the finished photo; a yellow or orange filter will darken a blue sky, while a green filter will brighten trees and grass. When editing digital images, since colour is present in the original image some conversion methods allow you to apply similar filtering effects during the conversion process to change the tone of objects in the image. By changing the filter settings you can make clouds stand out against a dark sky, highlight trees and foliage, or change the relative contrast of objects in the composition. Let’s take a look at some of the most…

Red safelight While black and white film is of course sensitive to light of all wavelengths, black and white photographic paper is not sensitive to red light; so as long as your darkroom is only illuminated by one of these safelights you can at least see what you’re doing while handling paper. This popular Paterson Darkroom Safelight will cost you around £30. Graduated measuring beakers Film and print processing involves a lot of different chemicals, which have to be mixed in the correct volumes and concentrations. To do this you’ll need a selection of graduated measuring beakers, preferably one for each type of chemical to avoid cross-contamination. Make sure you buy ones designed for darkroom use, as these will be chemical resistant. Paterson sells them in a range of volumes,…

There was a time, not that long ago, when image editing meant producing a black and white print in a darkroom under an enlarger; and when the image was processed and fixed, breaking out the brush and ink and physically painting on the print to ‘retouch’ it to enhance or remove blemishes. Things have changed quite a lot since then. One of the great things about digital images is that it’s very easy to improve or alter them using the right computer software. There are dozens of image editing packages available, ranging from simple, easy-to-use programs costing under £20, all the way up to the professional-standard Adobe Photoshop, which costs over £600. On the following pages you’ll find a selection of tips and techniques for improving and altering your images.…

Dodging and burning have their roots in the days of analogue photography, long before digital cameras and computers were in use. Dodging refers to the technique of lightening an image at the darkroom stage by reducing the exposure of a photographic print in specific areas. Burning is the opposite, where parts of the image are exposed for longer onto the print, making those areas darker. With the advent of digital technology the process is done on a computer, but the basic principle and its terminology remain the same. In our example we take a basic black and white image that is lacking in contrast and, using the dodge and burn techniques, we can selectively add brightness and contrast to produce a much stronger image. 01 Open the image you want…

The term vignette comes from the French for ‘little vine’. It is a reference to the decorative designs in books used to separate chapters or adorn the borders of pages. These days, the term is associated with the graphic process that creates a loss of clarity, or change in brightness of the corners and sides of an image. In photographic terms, vignetting is an unwanted change in edge brightness created by certain lenses; but to create drama in a finished image, or to focus our attention to a specific part of an image, it is a positive boon. In black and white images particularly, the vignette is a useful graphic device to add focus and drama. There are quite a few ways to add a vignette to an image in…

Sometimes a digital photograph can be the wrong size. Maybe you’ve got too much of the surroundings in the picture, when you wanted to concentrate on just the main subject; or maybe the whole image is too big, and you need to make it smaller to send via email or publish on a website. Doing both of these things is very quick and simple in Photoshop. As a starting image we’ll use this harbour picture. What we want to do first is crop it down so we just have the dog and the slipway centred in the frame. 01 The best tool for the job is, not surprisingly, the Crop tool. You’ll find it in the tool palette, fourth down from the top. It looks a bit like two set-squares.…

Even with the sophisticated technology in the light metering systems of modern digital cameras, they are not infallible. Some lighting conditions can confuse them, resulting in pictures that are over- or under-exposed. Severe over-exposure where large areas are burned-out white, or under-exposure resulting in areas of featureless black, are generally impossible to correct; but between those two extremes is it often possible to rescue a badly exposed photo. Over-exposure tends to be more of a problem, since burned-out highlights contain no detail, but digital cameras are surprisingly good at capturing detail in areas that might initially look like featureless black. As a result it’s usually possible to rescue shots that are quite badly under-exposed. 01 The quickest and easiest way to brighten the photo is to simply turn up the…

It has become an accepted fact that for mainstream advertising, marketing and fashion, any photographs used for those purposes will have been retouched to some degree. Oil paintings of historical figures never show zits and coffee-stained teeth, and professional portrait photographs have always been retouched. All of the most famous portrait photographers have employed the talents of retouch artists to work on prints and negatives with a brush or airbrush to correct minor blemishes. Here, we cover some of the more basic retouch areas. 01 Select the Zoom tool from the tool palette, or by using the keyboard shortcut ‘Z’, and click on the subject’s face until it is zoomed as required. Alternatively you can use the zoom slider in the tool option bar bottom-left of your screen. 02 Select…

There will come a time when your widest lens just won’t be wide enough to capture the scale and grandeur of a particular landscape. This is where the ability to capture a panoramic sequence of shots and combine them into a much wider or higher resolution image comes in very handy. The process is pretty straightforward and just requires a little bit of thought regarding the approach to the sequence you are about to capture. Essentially you are going to take a number of stills, rotating the camera a few degrees left to right with each shot taken, while allowing enough overlap from image to image so that they can be stitched together. This can be achieved with programs like Photoshop, PT GUI or Hugin, that rely on features in…

“Shape defines how an object looks in its simplest form, as an outline or silhouette only.” You would imagine that the starting point would be to grab your camera, set its functions to black and white mode and start shooting. Many photographers always shoot in colour, in order to maintain as much tonal variation in the Raw image as possible; it just gives you more data to play with when it comes to the conversion process. A key word in the last sentence was ‘Raw’. Always shoot in Raw format. You want to record as much scene data as you can without your camera trying to process the image for you. Although it might sound odd, you need to develop the ability to ‘see’ in black and white. A great…

“…it is possible to create photographs that stand on their own as works of art without the burden of context.” The techniques of black and white photography are well suited to abstract art. The world seen without colour is already one step removed from the everyday perceived reality. Adding techniques such as selective focus, narrow depth of field, extreme contrast; and by paying attention to composition, contrast and lighting; it is possible to create photographs that stand on their own as works of art without the burden of context. An everyday object or scene, when photographed in a particular way, can take on an unreal appearance, elevating them above the mundane. Something as simple as a supermarket trolley, the branch of a tree or the smoke from a cigarette, shot…

All the previous mono conversion methods we have shown you have their place, and many of them work extremely well. However, there have been a number of Photoshop plug-ins developed recently that are designed for black and white conversion alone. They eke out every last pixel of data from your image to turn it into a beautiful monochrome photo. One of the most highly regarded plug-ins is Nik Software’s Silver Efex Pro. It is one of a suite of plug-ins they make that are designed to convert and enhance your images at the touch of a button and the tweaking of a slider. Recently bought by Google, it is still the premier set of plug-ins for image enhancement. Silver Efex Pro has become the go-to plug-in of choice for the…

It is quite popular to convert your images to black and white, but then to return part of the image to its original colour. This is done to create a small splash of colour that is instantly picked out of its surroundings to draw the eye to that point. It is a simple and fun way to enhance your black and white images. We show you how it’s done in this simple tutorial. 01 First of all, you will need a colour original. We have used a shot of some coloured pencils from Shutterstock. We have a great range of colours that should convert to black and white with no issue. 02 Create a duplicate image by pressing Cmd + J. Select that duplicate and convert it to mono using…

It is often the case when out on a shoot that you will encounter a situation where the lighting conditions and dynamic range of the scene you are trying to capture are beyond the capability of your camera. If you expose the shot for the sky, your foreground can become too dark; but if you expose the scene so the shadow areas are correct, then the sky overexposes to the point where detail is lost. As long as you have a tripod you can get around this issue by taking multiple exposures that encompass the full dynamic range of the scene. Typically this is achieved by taking 3, 5, 7 or more incremental exposures that can range from -3 EV (3 stops underexposure) up to +3 EV (3 stops overexposure).…

Abstract photography A means of depicting a visual image that does not have an immediate association with the real world. AMOLED Active-matrix organic light-emitting diode. A new type of display technology used in mobile devices and televisions, and in the monitors of some digital cameras. Has several advantages over LCD, including using less power. Aperture Behind the lens of your camera is a movable circular iris which opens and closes to control the amount of light falling on the sensor. This is usually controlled by the light meter, although some cameras have a manual aperture control. Altering the aperture also changes the depth of field. Aperture priority This is one of the semi-manual exposure options found on some cameras. The user sets the aperture according to the depth of field…

If you want to take better photographs, the single most useful accessory you can buy is a good quality tripod. By using a tripod you can completely eliminate camera shake, the number one cause of unsatisfactory photos. A tripod is also essential when using long exposures, powerful telephoto lenses or when shooting in low light conditions. There are many different makes and types of tripod, from cheap budget models costing under £15 up to professional-grade tripods made of carbon fibre and magnesium alloy which cost hundreds of pounds. They come in all sizes too, from pocket-sized mini-tripods suitable for small compact cameras, to heavy studio tripods mounted on castors. The type that you should buy depends on how much you want to spend and what sort of photography you’re going…

1 Shoot in colour and in Raw A lot of modern cameras have so-called creative functions that give you the option to capture your images in black and white at the outset. Doing this may actually result in a loss of tonal range. If you shoot in colour and especially in Raw format, you will be capturing the full gamut of tonality that your camera’s sensor can see. This is a much better starting point with more control than an in-camera mono image. It won’t stop you if your camera can’t shoot Raw, and you have to use jpegs instead; just keep them in colour. 2 Keep your ISO low The lower your ISO, the less grainy the images will be. If it means you need a tripod to handle…

1 Unmodified flash This is our default with which to compare the other types of light modifiers. Shadows falling on the subject are quite sharp and dark. The flash also creates a fairly well-defined and deep shadow behind the subject. Flash coverage can be altered to a certain degree by being able to ‘zoom’ the flash tube back and forth inside the flash head housing to match zoom settings on your lens. 2 Flash with wide panel The wide panel is a small built-in diffuser that can spread the flash output wider. Particularly useful if you are shooting a large group of people with a wide angle lens and need wider lighting coverage. Note that the shadows are largely the same as the unmodified flash with perhaps a slight softening…

“What constitutes a high-key image appears to be a matter of some creative debate.” What constitutes a high-key image appears to be a matter of some creative debate. It is held by artists in some areas, who declare that a high-key image should not contain deep shadows and have limited areas of dark tones: essentially, a low contrast image. Some will say that a generally well exposed mid-tone subject, with a pure white background, constitutes a high-key photo. Still more will take the image to extreme levels of overexposure, with much detail being lost in the process, to leave the barest amount of detail and tonal range. A general rule is that a high-key image when viewed as a histogram, either on your camera’s LCD display or within your favourite…

For many people new to the world of photography, one of the easiest and most accessible areas first explored with a new camera is the great outdoors. And why not? You don’t need a studio or masses of expensive equipment; there is plenty of available light, unless you’re feeling adventurous and want to try night photography; and beautiful seaside or countryside scenes are usually not too far away by car or a brisk walk. Landscape photography is an amazing and rewarding experience for both novice and seasoned professional. Whether it’s just a record of a day trip you’ve made to a new location or a more serious professional endeavour, landscapes, when taken well, are able to instill all sorts of emotions in the person looking at the shot. Even if…

There are plenty of tutorials out there showing you how to restore old photos, but what if you want to do the exact opposite? How can you take a modern full-colour digital photograph and make it look like it was shot 80 years ago? The classic look for old photographs is something called “sepia toning”. Sepia toned photographs have a distinctive yellow-brown colour. It was popular up until at least the 1930s, so you’ve probably seen examples of it in old photo albums. Any photos of your grandparents or great-grandparents in their youth will probably be sepia toned. Here’s a photo of my uncle and his friend as children, probably taken in Nottingham around 1935, so it’s 80 years old. 1 The Hue/Saturation method This sepia effect is quite easy…

There are a few ways you can achieve the look of an HDR image from one Raw file. This is particularly useful in scenes where there is a lot of movement that would show as ghost images in a multi-file HDR image. 01 We will show you the Photoshop method first. Firstly you will need to open your Raw file from Photoshop. Go to File > Open and navigate to where your target Raw is kept. 02 Choose the Raw file and double-click it to open it. Our example is a sunrise image that is underexposed. It can be useful to choose images that are underexposed, rather than overexposed, as you can usually recover more detail. 03 Because it is a Raw file, it will open in Adobe Camera Raw…

As with most photographic techniques, it’s possible to duplicate the effect of graduated filters using Adobe Photoshop, and as usual there are several ways to accomplish this. For this example we’ll use an image of the harbour town of Brixham in Devon, taken on an overcast but bright day with a washed out sky. You could convert the image to black and white as it stands, but you may not be able to recover detail from the sky, it makes sense to add all your filter effects whilst it is still in colour to increase your chances of a more successful mono conversion later on. 01 Since this photo was taken using Raw mode, we can use the Graduated Filter tool in Adobe Camera Raw to add the effect during…

When you’re shooting landscapes or architecture, or even when just taking snapshots of your family on holiday, if you don’t keep your camera level you’re going to end up with a sloping horizon or buildings that look like they’re leaning over. Unless you’re holidaying in Pisa this is something you want to avoid, but accidents will happen. Fortunately it’s possible to correct tilted shots using Photoshop Elements by rotating and cropping the image. It’s very easy to rotate an image in Photoshop Elements, to bring the horizon back to the straight and level, and to stop buildings looking like they’re about to topple over. In fact it’s such a common operation that the program provides several different ways to perform it. Which method you choose depends on the particular photo…