There is something especially dramatic and compelling about a photo that has to rely on tone, shape, texture, contrast, and shadow rather than vibrant color design. You may have poured over prints by Ansel Adams and Alfred Stieglitz and wondered how they managed to capture such amazing, and deceptively simple, images. Minimalist black and white photography is something anyone can try, but only a few manage to master the techniques necessary to make it great.
If this is something you are serious about trying, the first thing you have to do is learn how to ignore color. There are two easy ways to help yourself do this. You can go out and purchase a monochrome viewing filter for your camera, or you can go to the dollar store and pick up a pair of cheap sunglasses with dark grey lenses. Almost any subject lends itself to this technique. You can photograph landscapes, cityscapes, people, or still lifes.
Composition is one of the first subject instructors teach art students. Good composition is very important, whether you are working in black and white or color. You should be aware though, that composition in monochrome and in color are not interchangeable.
Tone is an important part of the foundation of good monochrome photo taking. It is similar to contrast, but not exactly the same thing. If you are photographing a street scene full of vibrant colors for instance, those colors may just end up being uninteresting shades of gray in a monochrome photograph. You can adjust the tone using colored filters or change the lighting. By changing the lighting, you will create instant highlights and shadows.
You must learn the power of shadow. You need to think of shadows as tools you can use to manipulate minimalist art. The more intense the shadows the better the photograph. Shadows draw people in. They don't have to be black voids. You want observers to feel the shapes inside the shadows, sometimes without being able to actually identify them.
Shapes are parts of shadows, but they also create contrast. They may be the elements that define your photograph. If you consider it, shape is how the human brain processes what it sees around it. The way objects are shaped helps us determine what we're looking at. When you're shooting monochrome photos, it's important to identify shape and work with it in its relation to contrast and tone.
Texture is part of light and shadow. It can be tricky. If you eliminate it in an effort to get a stark effect, you will have something more abstract than if you had included it. You can emphasis texture by lowering the level of the light source. Light creates shadows and highlights that will reveal the texture in your subject.
The decision to strip your work of color can be scary. Color can hide a lot of technical mistakes. Monochrome doesn't give the artist that cover.
If this is something you are serious about trying, the first thing you have to do is learn how to ignore color. There are two easy ways to help yourself do this. You can go out and purchase a monochrome viewing filter for your camera, or you can go to the dollar store and pick up a pair of cheap sunglasses with dark grey lenses. Almost any subject lends itself to this technique. You can photograph landscapes, cityscapes, people, or still lifes.
Composition is one of the first subject instructors teach art students. Good composition is very important, whether you are working in black and white or color. You should be aware though, that composition in monochrome and in color are not interchangeable.
Tone is an important part of the foundation of good monochrome photo taking. It is similar to contrast, but not exactly the same thing. If you are photographing a street scene full of vibrant colors for instance, those colors may just end up being uninteresting shades of gray in a monochrome photograph. You can adjust the tone using colored filters or change the lighting. By changing the lighting, you will create instant highlights and shadows.
You must learn the power of shadow. You need to think of shadows as tools you can use to manipulate minimalist art. The more intense the shadows the better the photograph. Shadows draw people in. They don't have to be black voids. You want observers to feel the shapes inside the shadows, sometimes without being able to actually identify them.
Shapes are parts of shadows, but they also create contrast. They may be the elements that define your photograph. If you consider it, shape is how the human brain processes what it sees around it. The way objects are shaped helps us determine what we're looking at. When you're shooting monochrome photos, it's important to identify shape and work with it in its relation to contrast and tone.
Texture is part of light and shadow. It can be tricky. If you eliminate it in an effort to get a stark effect, you will have something more abstract than if you had included it. You can emphasis texture by lowering the level of the light source. Light creates shadows and highlights that will reveal the texture in your subject.
The decision to strip your work of color can be scary. Color can hide a lot of technical mistakes. Monochrome doesn't give the artist that cover.
About the Author:
See the exhibitions of the very talented minimalist black and white photography expert online. To get instant access to the website, here is the link http://www.kieranwalshgallery.com/about.
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