rajfotografie

Color or black & white

The first photographs were black and white and date back to 1816 (Joseph Nicéphore Niépce – Camera Obscura). The process for producing multichrome or color photography only became widely available around 1935 with the introduction of Kodachrome. It marked a new era in photography, but certainly not the end of black and white photography.

artistic

Black and white photography continued to exist because it places more emphasis on contrast and the subject itself. Many photographers find black and white photography more creative and therefore more artistic than color photography.

This may explain why black and white photographers such as Henri Cartier-Bresson, Ed van der Elsken, Vivian Maier, Brassaï, and Salgado are so popular. Their most iconic images are in black and white. However, they also worked in color, except Cartier-Bresson. Search online for these photographers to learn more about their work and use it as inspiration for your own creative black and white photography.

digital black & white

With the introduction of digital cameras, color photography became dominant. Digital cameras shoot in color by default. If you want to shoot in black and white, you can set your camera to “monochrome” in the menu. Conversion from color to black and white can also be done later in editing software such as Lightroom or Silver Efex Pro.

The image above was converted to black and white using Silver Efex Pro. The look simulates the use of an ND filter, although none was used during capture. The original color photo serves as the base.

Shoot RAW in monochrome

Even in black and white photography, shooting in RAW is preferred over JPEG. A digital camera records all data in RAW, including color information even in monochrome mode. This allows you to preview in black and white while still retaining full color data for editing later.

setting monochrome

On Nikon cameras, set “Picture Control” to “Monochrome”. On Canon, choose monochrome under “Picture Style”. Other brands offer similar options. Once selected, the camera shoots in black and white.

refining monochrome

In monochrome mode, you can further adjust sharpness, contrast, brightness, and even choose different tonal color filters. Monochrome is not just black and white.

Monochrome settings also include filter effects such as orange, red, green, and yellow filters. Experimentation is key.

viewfinder or live view

Using live view reduces the surprise factor because you see the black and white result directly. Through the optical viewfinder, you still see in color. Some modern cameras even display monochrome directly in the electronic viewfinder.

Part of the magic of black and white photography lies in the surprise of the final result. With digital cameras, you always get a second chance.

High and low key photography

Two distinctive black and white styles are low key and high key photography. Many cameras even include presets for them. If not, you can still create them manually.

low key

Low key images are dominated by dark tones with minimal highlights. They create strong contrast and a dramatic mood.

The contrast is very high, with most midtones removed. The image above is an example of low key photography, created using flash and a snoot.

high key

High key is the opposite of low key. It uses lots of light and very little contrast.

These images feel soft and dreamy, with bright whites and very light greys dominating the scene.