what makes good black and white photos stand out

Brendan Mulachy

Brendan Mulachy

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dave
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i like a black and white photo and i convert a few that i take , especially now im doing more long exposure shots as it seems to suit it, but ive converted some and felt a bit meh with the finished thing, so it got me thinking about it more, what to you makes a good black and white photo stand out from the average , i feel i should be looking to shoot specifically with B&W in mind when im looking for a shot and composing it, myself i think i should be looking for more shots of high contrast and shadows
 
Black and white can be adjusted by their color channels. Red, Yellow, Green, Blue. Convert some color images and then mess around with the different color channels.
That helps a lot. I mean if you still don't get it. It means that what you take in color determines what colors will effect your black and white images the most. If I'm still not making myself clear enough. Then if you take a picture of a women wearing a red shirt but everyone else is wearing a dark color. Then you can adjust the red channel to make her red shirt brighter or darker in a black and white image.

You can easily add more contrast to an image after in a program if you wish.
 
I like B&W pictures which look like they could have been taken in the days of film or I suppose even today with more modern film kit. The very high contrast and just too dark and nowhere near reality B&W pictures I see today don't look anything like what I see in old photo albums but I suppose it's a case of personal taste and each to their own.
 
With b&w it's all about the tones. Use colour as Mr. Socks suggested to control the tone of different colours. Also look at ways to reduce the complexity of images through composition, shadow, reduced clarity, depth of field etc so the subject is distinct from the rest. Look for strong graphic content, rather than noise.
 
IMO, unless it is a very high contrast type image (e.g. chiaroscuro, silhouette, etc) then it is about texture and tonality.
The problem with mid-range tones is that they become muddy/flat if there is no definition/texture. Textures create definition because they create shadows and highlights; it's basically increased contrast within the mid-range tones (like "clarity" adjustments are). But, for textures to create that definition you need the right lighting; it needs to be angular and not frontal/flat.

If you don't have good lighting, texture, and range of tones; then the only thing left is high contrast... you actually need quite a lot to make up for the inherent lack of color contrast/interest.
 
I think you often will get indifferent results when you convert colour to black and white. That's because you've taken the photo for its colour content, and not for what makes black and white work. You answered your own question really. You have to shoot in black and white.
 
Plain Nev said:
I think you often will get indifferent results when you convert colour to black and white. That's because you've taken the photo for its colour content, and not for what makes black and white work. You answered your own question really. You have to shoot in black and white.
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All the photos ever shot on b&w film were seen through the viewfinder in colour. ;)
 
ancient_mariner said:
I had, possibly incorrectly, assumed the comment meant taking pictures with the mono image in mind, rather than a nice colour picture that is converted as an afterthought.
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Maybe, but it wasn't clear. In any case, there is a line of thought that suggests a good picture that works in colour will work in black and white too. Not all, but some do. Some work better in mono - especially if the highlights are blown. :LOL:

To answer the original question, however, what makes a black and white picture stand out are strong graphical elements.
 
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Ed Sutton said:
To answer the original question, however, what makes a black and white picture stand out are strong graphical elements.
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As above for me with a good deep shadow, I try to get away from the current detail all the way from shadow to high light way of editing colour digital images.
Adding structure to the mid tones can help as does introducing virtual colour filters to the conversion.
 
Although if you are being technical a good range of contrasting tones, not too much cropping and NO digital manipulation
 
Ed Sutton said:
All the photos ever shot on b&w film were seen through the viewfinder in colour. ;)
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Yes but you can learn to see in black and white.
It is a question of interpretation of colour into grey scale tones. But even more important are the tones produced by the modeling and texture/angle of the light.
Light becomes all important.

the first twenty years of my photography was all black and white. For the first few years films were mainly orthochromatic and gave a wonderful interpretation of skin tones lips and landscapes. They had very little red sensitivity.
Soon panchromatic films became the norm and suddenly the tonal range changed, but filter became far more useful.
A 1.5 yellow green filter took up residence on my Rolleiflex. It improved skys and foliage as well as skin tones.
Deep yellow, and orange gave even greater contrasts while a red filter turned blue sky's a dramatic black.

Today these effect can be delivered in PP, however it is difficult to get an exact match to a film and filter. Some how they always. Look suitably different. This is probably down to differences in the colour sensitivity of sensors compared to black and white film.

One of the best black and white student photographers in college was totally colour blind, but he had real trouble with filters. He had no colour perception at all.
His dress sense was quite weird.
 
Billy_wiz said:
Although if you are being technical a good range of contrasting tones, not too much cropping and NO digital manipulation
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Quite wrong about manipulation.
Black and white photography has always benefited from a high degree of manipulation.
This mainly consisted of burning and dodging. But also manipulation of local contrasts in the printing stage.
I was also taught retouching with the use of dye, knifing, pencil retouching. And airbrushing. Though these were more used in industrial commercial advertising and portrait work
Lighting for tonality modeling texture and depth were keys to image quality..
 
Terrywoodenpic said:
Quite wrong about manipulation.
Black and white photography has always benefited from a high degree of manipulation.
This mainly consisted of burning and dodging. But also manipulation of local contrasts in the printing stage.
I was also taught retouching with the use of dye, knifing, pencil retouching. And airbrushing. Though these were more used in industrial commercial advertising and portrait work
Lighting for tonality modeling texture and depth were keys to image quality..
Click to expand...
Absolutely right about the high degree of manipulation going on in a serious traditional dark room.
I love seeing proofs with notes re dodging and burning which give some insight to the work of a really good printer that make a good negative into a stunning print.
 
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