For Tech of the Month: Black and White, hosted by PerelinColors and Lucile’s PhotoRehab Clinic.
This month, they ask us what we thinks make a great black and white image, and what we look for when shooting in black and white. I’ve posted a lot of black and white recently – it really is my preferred type of photography.
I have presented the above photos today to show the simplicity of black and white photography. This building is the Eye Film Institute in Amsterdam. It was a cold afternoon and beginning to rain lightly. The photo with a predominantly white background was taken from one side of the building and the other two photos were taken from the other side. I think this illustrates how a stormy sky can affect your photographs. The clouds add some drama to the shot.
The first image with the white background makes for a striking shot in a different way – the building stand outs on its own, allowing you to really focus on the intricate pattern displayed in the tiled surface. Adding some extra contrast in editing has also brought out the discolourations in those tiles.
There are so many ways that black and white can work for you. Here, it is angles and shapes and lines on a pale background that give you the drama in the shot.
Another way to show drama is to have a very dark background and this is something that I have been experimenting with recently. I have shown these photos before, but I think they illustrate this example very well:
These images, to me, really are monochromatic dramatic. The dark background serves to really highlight the intricate details of these beautiful plants, removing all other distractions from the shot.
What are your thoughts? Do you have a favourite among these images? Do you have any special techniques or any thoughts in general on black and white photography. Be sure to check out PerelinColors post and the other contributions at Lucile’s Photo Rehab Clinic.
I’m really loving this expression, maybe I’ll make Monochromatic Dramatic a new feature…hmmnnnnnnnn…..
x desleyjane
Musings of a Frequent Flying Scientist 
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