Black and White Photography

With today’s digital technology, transforming colour images into black and white photographic prints is pretty straightforward but don’t throw away your rolls of black and white film.

Black and white photography is still regarded as a favourite with many photographers - dull landscape scenes become more dramatic with black and white photography.

Most subjects that are shot in colour can be taken with black and white film. Portraits are still widely taken by professional photographers all over the world.

One of the most popular uses of black and white photography is with wedding photographs. More couples are now opting for a combined wedding album of black and white images that really capture the mood and emotions of the special moment.

Black and white landscape photography is becoming popular again and is more suitable for taking images when the day is dull or too bright. If a scene does not have an entire spectrum of different colours, consider viewing it as a black and white photograph.

Do we need to learn black and white photography tips in a world of colour? You must choose the answer to this yourself - but here are a few pointers that will help you to make your decision.

1 Black and white photography is becoming more popular with the general public, and for that reason alone new opportunities will open up for you.

2. In some situations, black and white photography has the tendency to make photos look more like works of art - fine art images will sell better in galleries.

3. Landscape images often lack a multitude of colours, using black and white film when shooting daytime photos will add impact to your photography.

4. There is also the value of using your own darkroom - the thrill of developing your own film and processing your images.

The same principles for colour photography apply to black and white photography. If you have mastered the art of photography, taking images with a roll of black and white film should be easy.

Filters are just as important with black and white photography. There are fewer filters available for black and white photography, but one that you should use is the polarizing filter. This filter is very effective for both black and white photography and colour photography. The polarizing filter makes the sky stand out to give your landscape images serious impact. It also helps to reduce glare from the sun’s rays - which is very handy for urban or architectural photography.

Exposure with black and white photography is a small bit easier. Black and white film handles light more easily than colour film can - which gives you greater room for error. Most black and white film allows you to capture detail when you underexpose at two stops. With overexposure the range is greater - between five and seven stops are allowed. This is known as film latitude. With colour film you are limited to a latitude of one stop each way.

This does not mean that you can become lethargic when taking black and white images. It means that if you do make a mistake the results may be acceptable.

TJ Tierney is an award winning Irish Landscape photographer. For more tips you can visit his photography site. To view his images visit his on-line gallery of pictures of Ireland or see his travel site.

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