Black and White

I call this one ‘Fly Away With Me’. Of all my photos, this is one of the most unique and symbolic.

Whilst it may seem that rich, vibrantly coloured photos are the ones that capture a scene the best, nothing can capture a mood or feeling as well as a simple black and white photo. Of course, this isn’t always the case. Sometimes black and white can be completely wrong for a photo. If you choose correctly though, black and white can show abstraction, interest, and express love, hate, mystery, beauty, fun, motion, age and so much more.

Pretty much every camera has a monochrome (mono) mode. This is a feature that uses a vast range of tones so that your image is shown in a shade of just one colour. Black and white is the most common mono mode. A slightly less common (but still quite popular) is Sepia, where your camera uses a brown/yellow tone to give an antique feel to your photo.

Changing to black and white is very easy, and usually just involves pushing a button or changing a single setting. However taking the right photo is much more difficult. If you learn to think in black and white though it can be instinctive and easy. Some of the best scenes are ones with interesting textures, shapes, forms, and ones with interest to them (even if it’s completely simple like a stick, or the rocks in the image below). You don’t need to be in an epic location either. Even your back yard could contain objects that show a great deal of interest in black and white, like the rust of a worn out garden tool, the texture of some scattered rocks, or the shape of a flower. Experiment with close ups and peculiar angles in these situations, as they can exaggerate the lines or shape you wish to show.

Also be on the look out for moods and feelings. If taken correctly, these can be some of the most interesting and powerful photos you’ll ever take. In a cold scene for instance, black and white can be perfect to portray a sad or depressing mood. Due to the lack of colour and detail, mystery can also be shown nicely in black and white. And of course, love and romance can be show with great passion thanks to its simple nature. The first image, titled ‘fly away with me’ combines both mystery and romance. Not only is the scene unique and timelessly romantic, but also the silhouetted nature suggests an untold story, and also has the potential to be anyone.

The key to a successful black and white photo is the overall feel. It can be difficult at first but soon enough you’ll see potential black and white shots all over the place. If you do see a great mono shot, get into the habit of shooting both a colour and black and white photo of it, so if it doesn’t look as good on the screen as it did through your eyes you also have a colour one as fallback. Also remember that just about every photo editing program has the ability to change your photo to black and white. It’s always great to experiment with any colour photos that you think have black and white potential.