Photography Article Black and White Photography: Do You Shoot or Do You Post-Process?|Photography Artist Statement

Black and white photography has changed enormously for the reason that days of black and white film. Now, digital shooters face a wide variety of alternatives for capturing and developing black and white or monochrome pix. But which method is pleasant for you?

Monochrome images is the topic for subsequent week in the Boost Your Photography: 52 Weeks Challenge. (Join theGoogle Community to percentage your weekly photographs and acquire remarks.)

Black and White Photography: in camera

The more traditional way to shoot black and white photographs is to do so in camera. Nearly all cameras, from point-and-shoots to DSLRs to phone cameras have an option for shooting and recording in black and white. This hearkens back to the days of film, where if you put black and white film in your camera, then you were shooting black and white images. (If you shoot JPEG, all color information will be lost, and you will retain only the black and white image. If you shoot RAW+JPEG, the color information will be retained in the RAW file, and you will retain a black and white JPEG version of the image.)

One of the most important benefits to capturing black and white in camera is the on the spot remarks. You can see the image on your LCD display screen, which may additionally guide you to attempt distinctive angles, compositions, or exposures in your subsequent shots. Because we do now not clearly "see" the arena in black and white, this feedback permit you to train your eye to understand what works well in black and white.

There are many distinctive methods to govern and refine your black and white snap shots in digicam. Within the monochrome setting on my DSLR, there is the capacity to adjust the sharpness, the comparison, or add a clear out or firming effect. (Sepia is a commonplace choice for monochrome toning.)

The series of six pictures above had been all shot by way of manipulating the settings in digital camera without a put up-processing concerned (other than making the university). The top row pictures were left: monochrome default settings and right: monochrome with most evaluation. The center row pictures were left: monochrome with minimal comparison and proper: monochrome with default evaluation, most sharpness, and pink filter. The backside row shots were left: monochrome with default assessment, maximum sharpness, and blue tone and proper: colour with general settings. This is only a short look at some of the many special monochrome effects you may create inside your digicam.

The largest drawback to capturing black and white in digicam is that your black and white settings and conversion turn out to be baked into the final photograph while you are shooting JPEG. You can not get lower back the shade records and any publish-processing modifications will probably degrade the first-class of your picture.

Black and White Photography: publish-processing

The second option for shooting black and white is to shoot in color (or RAW) and to convert your photograph to black and white through a post-processing program, app, or web site. The benefit to this method is that you have significantly more flexibility in the final look of your photograph, but the downside is that you lose the instant feedback of "seeing" in black and white through your camera's display.

Comparison of the three specific color channels for black and white conversion

One way to post-process a color picture into black and white is to study the three distinctive shade channels that make up the colour photo. (A coloration photograph is recorded by way of your digicam's sensor by three one-of-a-kind colorations of sensors: blue, red, and green.) The evaluation of all 3 channels and the coloration photograph, above, highlights a number of the variant that can be discovered in black and white conversions of the identical picture. (If you are having trouble seeing a number of the variations, have a look at the colors in the sky and the pink sign throughout the 3 unique channels.)

Another way to publish-technique a colour image is to apply a default conversion. Most images software programs and apps offer specific default techniques for changing a color picture into black and white. After you've got chosen your default conversion you can additionally regulate other post-processing alternatives consisting of assessment, exposure, vignettes, or dodging and burning to get exactly the appearance you desired.

If you do not want to pay for a software program or app, you can also achieve great black and white looks with the free photography program PicMonkey available at picmonkey.com.The article pinned above walks you through the steps to Make Your Black and White Photographs POP for Free with PicMonkey. This post includes a lot of screen shots to help you visualize  the whole process and follow along with your own photograph(s).

So, How Do You Black and White?

What about you? Do you have a favorite way for achieving black and white shots or a great conversion tip? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

(Looking to grow more in your photography? Consider joining the BYP 52 Weeks Google+ Community to share your weekly photograph and see what others are capturing.)

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