I was this close to using a black-and-white photo of my daughter as our Christmas card picture. The photo’s muted tones complemented the card’s red border perfectly. But, at the last minute I decided to go with a double image card and stuck with colored shots.
I don’t know about you, but I have a weakness for black-and-white photography. In my opinion it is timeless, simple and lends a touch of class to the décor. If you don’t shoot in black-and-white I urge you to break out of your color rut and give it a shot.
As I continue my ongoing series on black-and-white photography I’m turning my attention to texture, contrast, and lighting.
TEXTURE
Lack of color helps emphasize texture. Which means if you want to spotlight an interesting weave on a sweater you just knitted or you want to capture the intricate pattern on a leaf then you might consider shooting in black-and-white. You might be surprised how much it changes the visual impact of your photo. Don’t believe me? Experiment yourself. Head outside and shoot a fence, rows of corn, or zoom into the multiple layers featured on a cliff wall. The strong lines will pop, especially when the color is removed from the scene.
CONTRAST
If you are using picture-editing software to make your black-and-white photos (either at home or at a photo shop), you’ll find contrast is one of the key aspects you can emphasize or minimize in ways that are impossible with color pictures. For example, high-contrast (the range between bright and dark) scenes may cause a viewer to focus on one element of your picture. Meanwhile, a low-contrast (featuring a narrow brightness range) scene allows a viewer to focus his or her eye on the image as a whole. When you are manipulating the contrast in black-and-white photos you want to consider how the high and lows will enhance your shots.
LIGHTING
I’ve discussed lighting on multiple occasions so you might be wondering why I would make it an issue with back-and-white photography. If you consider you are voiding your picture of color light does become a much more important part of the overall image. For example, think about how that weathered picket fence would look if it were standing out against a muted background. Take out the blue sky and your picture has a softer almost romantic look to it. Black-and-white photography can severely alter the mood of a landscape especially when shadows are involved. Consider that fence shot I mentioned earlier. If you were to shoot the fence on a sunny afternoon when the sun is low on the horizon the shadows from the fence will be longer and darker. Now imagine capturing the same shot with the same lighting in black-and-white. You’ll find that the texture of the fence will be are greatly accentuated and the mood of the picture will be totally different.
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