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Today I want to start a series of articles about black and white photography, about how to learn how to take monochrome photographs competently, what technologies are available for this, what you need to take into account and what you pay attention to in order to hone your skills, and in general, let’s talk about the philosophy of the image itself, devoid of color information. Now I want to reveal to you the basic postulates, based on which, every professional photographer tries to express himself through black and white photographs.
I already tried to answer the question in a previous article: . But I never cease to be amazed at the stunning effect that classic B&W photographs have on me, and I guess I’m not alone in this.
Black and white photography is one of the most interesting and inspiring trends in the field of photography. Monochrome images laid the foundation for the entire photography industry: with the development of technology, cameras and methods for obtaining photographs were improved. The Frenchman Louis Jacques Daguerre obtained the first stable photographic image back in 1839 and subsequently called such pictures daggerotypes. In the same nineteenth century, James Maxwell introduced the world to a method of obtaining color photography. In the thirties of the last century, Kodak began producing the first color photographic materials. The market developed at a rapid pace, the number of amateur photographers increased, photographic processes became simplified even at the end of the 20th century. people have stepped into the digital age.
How to learn to take black and white photographs: secrets of professionals.
See the world in B&W.
Majority general advice about how to arrange or structure good shot, apply exactly the same to black and white photography. However, the main noticeable difference is that you don't have to pay attention to the color. This means that you must train yourself to look at shapes, tones and textures, to look with eyes that can only see in B&W.
Masters of black and white photography can easily imagine a world without color. Thanks to my experience shooting monochrome images, they have trained their heads to instantly visually assess space in order to imagine it without color saturation. Imagine how the photo will turn out even before the camera shutter clicks. But such a skill cannot be acquired in a short time. I cannot say that I have mastered this skill, and like a robot I switch modes, but I constantly train my brain to perceive the surrounding reality in black and white format. Only practice and constant effort are the correct training mechanism.
Focus on contrast.
The human eye is designed to analyze two things: light intensity and color. If you remove color, your eyes become more sensitive to light intensity. We naturally select areas of contrast, i.e. we perceive reality and objects (their dimensions, outlines) by comparing areas of brightness, when one thing is more or less dark than another. As a photographer who creates pictures in black and white, you simply have to know more about contrast, see it, feel it. And with its help, reveal to the viewer the essence of your photographs, their intention, and reflect important details. Always look for scenes/plots that are full of high contrast characters and then your black and white photographs will be irresistible a priori.
If initially your shots do not make the right impression, then using processing methods in Photoshop such as manipulating levels, curves, etc., will turn your images into contrasting photographs. In other words, don’t give up on unimpressive images at first glance, because modern technologies allow you to qualitatively improve the original footage.
Focus on texture.
Texture is very much a form of contrast. If you think about it, texture is a pattern of shadows and highlights of varying intensities. Color usually makes its own changes to the texture (as perceived by the human eye), so to speak, leaves its mark, like a filter behind which it manifests itself differently. Different shades can mask subtle, unnoticeable textures, or enhance them. In black and white photographs she carries new information. So look for areas with interesting texture that may be hidden behind masks of bright colors. It often acts as guide lines and serves as a good background for indicating the main artistic object. Have you noticed how B/W photographs containing barns, wooden fences or antiques are irresistible(?). This is because the objects are full of texture, traces of experience, of antiquity.
Sitting down at the computer to convert images to monochrome, you can “pull out”/reveal texture from almost smooth, rough-free surfaces. In digital photographs, blue and red usually contain more noise than green color So by using tools like the channel mixer and black and white adjustment levels in Photoshop you will really emphasize/enhance the textures.
Take photographs in color.
This item is primarily aimed at photographers who use digital cameras (for example, DSLR) in their arsenal. If your device provides the ability to switch in the Menu settings to photo shooting mode in black and white, then try to never use it. In fact, by using this function, the camera, when capturing a frame, actually receives color information and then converts the image to black and white, including the algorithm embedded in the processor. But then you will have a file on your flash card that has irretrievably lost a huge part of the color information, i.e. “lost weight.” No wonder the pictures were taken in black and white. and in the color of the same space, the weight will be different, or rather, a monochrome image, due to the loss of data about the color environment, will become “lighter” by hundreds of kilobytes. Thus, by turning on the mode on the camera “ black and white photography
"You're limiting your post-processing capabilities.
However, my categoricalness in this matter can play a cruel joke on you. And you, having accepted good advice, will strictly follow it. But the camera function for receiving b&w photo very useful. I'll explain why. If you want to use this mode to preview/see what a scene looks like without color, then this is quite justified. This will help you identify how good the black and white photographs you are planning to capture are! But be sure to switch back and shoot in color, and then finalize the story at home.
Shoot in RAW.
I know a lot of blog readers don't have the option simply because their camera doesn't have this preset. Or they don’t take photographs in Raw format due to ignorance of how to do this and lack of understanding of the advantages, for example, of RAW over JPEG. Or maybe they don’t shoot in the Raw format on principle because they don’t like it and the labor costs associated with it. But most photographers see undeniable advantages in subsequent work with RAW files. Therefore, if you strive to receive magnificent black and white images, then shoot and write data to the flash card in Raw format.
To be continued in the second part of the article about tips for creating black and white photos...
Best regards, photographer Evgeniy Shterbets.
One of the most mysterious types of photography is black white photo. In the hands of a skilled photographer, even the most ordinary frame, translated into monochrome format, can become a masterpiece. This technique is used for various purposes - the desire to emphasize the character of the character, creating the necessary atmosphere, plotting, the desire to get rid of an excessive number of colors - each has its own motives. One constant, black and white photo can capture the viewer's attention if created with knowledge of all the subtleties and details. That's why we've chosen 15 important tips that will help every novice photographer learn how to work with monochrome photography.
- Watch Black and White Cinema
- Shoot in RAW format
- See with black and white eyes
- Pay attention to noises
- Watch the contrast
- Look for more grayscale gradients
- Use a polarizing filter
- Don't forget about textures
- Know the terminology
- Use patterns
- Black and white photos and long exposures
- A black and white frame is not a panacea for poor lighting, but it can sometimes help out
- Don't be fooled
- Shoot in HDR
- Work with the HSL panel in post-processing
Before you start shooting in black and white, you need to get used to it a little and get comfortable with the specifics of colors and framing. And no the best way, than to take advantage of the imperishable classics. Cinematic masterpieces such as Casablanca will not only help you have a good time, but also give you a lot of great ideas. Don’t be shy and turn to established photographers for help; you can get inspired by the best black and white shots of famous artists.
When we take a photo, any photo, it doesn't always come out the way we would like. Usually, this only becomes noticeable at home, when viewing the footage on the big screen. Even if nothing can be changed, you can always fix something. The RAW format (or “raw” in translation) allows you to make a lot of adjustments during post-processing. Adjust exposure, contrast, etc. Therefore, despite the fact that Raw photos take up more space on the memory card, this is the most suitable format in which you should always shoot.
As confusing as it may sound, this is exactly what you need to look at before taking a photo. In order for colors not to distract from the plot, it is not at all necessary to rush to invent new glasses. You just need to pay attention to the lines, shadows and shapes. They are the ones who build the composition, and on it, in turn, the entire black and white photograph rests.
Until recently, low light conditions required flashes, additional lighting sources, and generally made life difficult for the photographer in every possible way. Modern cameras have incredible capabilities even with a small amount of light. In addition, we should not forget that we always have a lot of programs at hand that can reduce the amount of noise in a photo. And yet, habit overcomes rationality, and photographers do not pay attention to noise. However, a true master must take into account all the details, including annoying points.
The tastes and colors of your comrades may not be the same, but the most outstanding photographs taken in black and white tend to include both almost solid white areas and almost solid black areas. By increasing the contrast, you can add depth to the frame, hide unnecessary, distracting details and emphasize the most important elements. Therefore, it is always worth fiddling with the settings (or sliders in post-processing) to compare a more contrasty and less contrasty frame. The result may surprise you.
In addition to black and white, there are millions of intermediate colors in the frame, and all of them undoubtedly affect the perception of the final picture. To ensure that the photo does not seem monotonous and boring, you should choose for black and white shooting those objects that have enough intermediate shades. If the object is already selected, you can add them using shadows, reflectors and additional light. As a result, you will be able to enrich the image and make it more interesting for the viewer.
As we already know from numerous previous materials, a polarizing filter removes unnecessary glare and reflections when photographing water or treetops. They can be distracting in a color photo, but when it comes to black and white, they can completely defeat the idea and meaning of the frame. Therefore, a polarizing filter is especially important for a monochrome style. With its help, you will be able to maintain the composition and not oversaturate the frame with unnecessary details.
There are pros and cons to textures in black and white photography. One of the advantages is that if they are not primitively directly lit, their contrast and detail will add to the attractiveness of the image. In addition, they can be used to highlight the main object or model.
The downside of textures, again, is that they distract attention - if used incorrectly, they can distract the viewer's attention. For example, they should not try to fill negative space. So while filming, always be aware of where textures will help enhance the shot and where they risk ruining it.
TO black and white filming, as a rule, there are three big terms - b/w (black and white), monochrome and grayscale. So, “monochrome” means color placed on a neutral background, so black and white photos (usually the subject is on a white or black background) are the type (most common) of monochrome photography. But grayscale (grayscale) is just a way to display black and white images on a computer, the capabilities of which, compared to the eye, are limited.
If you look closely, in nature we are often surrounded by natural patterns that we rarely pay attention to. However, it's time to open our eyes: if we look away from the abundance of colors, we can notice these very patterns, and they are often the ones that can give meaning to a photo or even create an image. Once you train yourself to pay attention to them, you will begin to notice them everywhere - in the arrangement of cars in parking lots, in the shoes of people standing in line, in clothes hanging in a store, and so on. We are surrounded by a lot of interesting ideas.
Long exposures are used in various types of photography, usually nature or cityscapes. However, sometimes it is the colors that violate the integrity of the picture. In this case, before abandoning the photo, you can try your luck in black and white format. Experience shows that many functions and effects typical for long-exposure photography can be combined very well with black and white, so we recommend experimenting.
It happens that the conditions turn against you and natural lighting, which you cannot cope with, does not give the best result. You can (and should) use filters, flashes, reflectors and everything you have in your arsenal, but sometimes it’s enough to just remove the colors, thus hiding imperfections. This does not always work, but for example, if we are talking about a frame that is not so easy to catch (for example, a wild animal), it is worth trying black and white.
Sometimes we shoot footage that simply doesn't have enough color. This happens especially often in winter - an abandoned blackened house, against a backdrop of pure snow, with dry trees behind - is this a familiar picture? As a rule, at the post-processing stage, when seeing such frames, the hand arbitrarily reaches for B/W, but if you give free rein to the impulse and convert the photo to black and white format, the result is most often disappointing. So, if the photo is already practically colorless, it will look better in color mode than in black and white.
It's sometimes surprising how little attention the photography community pays to black-and-white HDR photos. We're all used to how impressive HDR photos look, how they're a little exaggerated, dramatic, and even three-dimensional. And all this is without a doubt ideal for black and white photography. Therefore, we definitely shouldn’t miss this opportunity - everything that we want to achieve from b/w will become even brighter when using HDR.
Most likely, this advice is the most important and it concerns not the shooting process itself or preparation for it, but post-processing. Once you have a finished photo in your hands, it is absolutely necessary to correct the colors using the HSL panel in your image editor. You need to focus on many details and moments, but what is definitely clear is that sometimes you can achieve much more best result, if you use this little secret.
It may come as a surprise to the youngest among us that photography was not always in color. Black and white is not just a Photoshop processing feature, it is how photography began and what remains the very essence of self-expression for many photographers.
Step 1 - Why work in Black and White?
I have heard some traditionalists say that a photograph should be in black and white unless the photographer feels that the photograph would clearly benefit from the use of color. This remark does not exclude color photograph from the scope, but simply says that the default frame state should be black and white. For older generations this was a necessity, since they did not have the opportunity to work in color.
You may or may not agree with this statement, but what it means to me is that I have to seriously analyze every shot I take to see if it would look better in color or black and white.
Step 2 - RAW, ISO and Frame Settings
I can tell you from experience that there are several rules for choosing settings that will help you on your way to mastering black and white photography. Don't make the mistake of shooting straight into B&W, even though you may think it's a good option, since you can immediately see the result on your display. But if you shoot immediately in black and white, you won't be able to convert the frame to color later, but if you shoot in color, you can easily convert the picture to black and white if necessary.
Keep this in mind and shoot in RAW if you have the option. This will give you more processing power when it comes to converting your footage to black and white. Also keep an eye on your ISO values. As always, it's best to keep it as low as possible to avoid excess noise, which can be a serious problem in black and white photography.
Step 3 - Black and White Vision
Now is the time to think in black and white. Of course, we see the world in all its stunning colors, but to take good black and white photographs, we must approach the photo with a black and white image in mind. This does not mean that color should be neglected.
It's important to think about tones (how light or dark an object is) because different colors produce different tones, for example in color photography a red flower with green grass underneath may look great, but in black and white the tones can end up being very similar. and the frame will turn out flat. We'll talk about contrast later, but make sure to take into account the tones when shooting black and white, the more contrast they have, the more attractive the photo will look.
Step 4 - Light (and Shadow)
Light is the main element of photography, so it is important to use it effectively. Without getting distracted by color, light and shadow play a key role in black and white photography, directing the eye to the bright parts of the photo while other parts remain in shadow.
If you're working with natural light, it's important to consider the quality of light you need to capture the photo. If you want soft, subdued light, it's best to shoot early in the morning or late evening when the sun is low, but if your shot requires bright light, dark shadows, and more contrast, shoot during the afternoon, when the sun is high in the sky and provides strong lighting.
Step 5 - Contrast
I've talked about contrast before, but in the absence of color, it's especially important to make sure your black and white photos have a wide range of tones and strong contrast to keep the viewer interested in the frame. Avoid oversaturating your photo with gray. Instead, use light to create brighter elements that will direct the eye, and darker parts with deep shadows to provide good contrast.
Strong contrast is easy to achieve on a bright sunny day, but be careful not to overexpose your shot with too much light. It may make sense to adjust the exposure down one or two stops to limit the amount of light passing through.
Step 6 - Details and Texture
Often the eye is distracted by the bright colors in the frame, and interesting details escape the viewer. Try shooting in black and white when photographing subjects with interesting detail or texture. The lack of color focuses all the attention on them and enhances the photo.
Try to fill the frame with detail and don't get distracted by color, as I mentioned earlier, think in black and white, pay attention to tones and contrast, and try to take into account all the subtleties of the scene you are shooting.
Step 7 - Portraits
I'm sure you've seen plenty of iconic black and white portraits. It seems as if portrait photography today has succumbed to the influence of the mainstream in terms of the predominant use of color, but black and white portraits remain timeless. These portraits tell us a person's story in one frame, capturing the details and expressions of the model's face.
They make effective use of light, shadow and contrast. Find a model to practice on, a well-lit location, and see if you can create your own timeless black and white portrait.
Step 8 - Landscapes
The quality of landscape photographs depends on a strong composition, often with a point of interest at foreground, and it doesn’t matter whether you shoot in color or B&W. By excluding color, we transfer the viewer's main attention to the lines. Gradients and differences in tones become more obvious and shapes become more noticeable.
Try shooting dark storm clouds, which look very impressive in black and white photos. You can also experiment with cityscapes and architecture photography, focusing on strong shapes.
Step 9 - Shape and Silhouettes
In all the above-mentioned cases, be it portrait, landscape, detail photography, etc., there are many factors to consider such as tones, contrast, light and shadow. There are also a number of popular shooting scenes that are worth paying attention to.
Characteristic shapes, horizontal, vertical and leading lines can help in creating interesting compositional solutions. Use them to create silhouettes, especially when you have fairly strong light available. As you gain more experience with black and white photography, you will be able to figure out which subjects work well for black and white photography and which ones don't.
Step 10 - Experiment and get creative
So, it's time to start working with black and white photography. As you can see, there are no subject restrictions, so you can go ahead and try shooting all your favorite subjects in black and white, and then compare the results with the color versions.
Try converting some of your color photos to black and white to get a feel for the processing. This will allow you to realize how it will change or improve your shot. You might be surprised how much a few simple “clicks” can transform your images.
Mastering Levels and Curves
Fine-tuning the conversion of a color photo to black and white is not the only way to control chiaroscuro—the distribution of light, mid, and dark tones in an image.
After conversion, you can use adjustment layers such as Levels or Curves to adjust the contrast and tonal distribution of your final grayscale image. The Curves adjustment layer is not available in Photoshop Elements; here you can only apply Levels.
Applying Curves
The Curves adjustment layer allows you to make more subtle tonal adjustments than the Levels adjustment layer. In the latter, only three points are available to control the distribution of tones. You can lighten or darken only dark, mid and light tones. While with Curves you can control any tone, any part of the histogram.
When adjusting the Curves adjustment layer, you can place a dot anywhere along the diagonal line. Then move it down if you want to darken the selected tone, or up if you want to lighten it. Also, you can place a dot without moving it up and down to fix the tone.
The curves are characterized widest application. At first, using them effectively may be difficult. So you might find it easier to start with the tonal adjustment templates, which are available from the drop-down list at the top of the adjustment layer's settings panel.
Templates provide ready-made tone curve shapes and can be useful in most tone correction applications. One common shape is the S-curve. It increases the contrast of a photo and also serves to lighten or darken the entire image.
Enhance Contrast
One of the most common tasks at the black-and-white image processing stage is contrast enhancement. The templates here are not flexible, so they are just a good starting point. Once you use the template, you can adjust it to suit your needs. Move existing points on the tone curve, add new ones.
To increase the contrast of your photo, select the Medium Contrast template from the drop-down list. The diagonal line will take the form of a "soft" S-shaped curve, and the contrast of the image will increase slightly. To deepen the shadows, select a point in the lower left part of the tone curve by left-clicking on the point and move the point down, for example, using the navigation keys on the keyboard. To brighten the highlight areas of the image more, select a point located at the top right of the tone curve and move the point up.
Selective correction
Local tone correction has been carried out since the dawn of photography and is used as means of expression.
Unlike the period when only individual specialists or enterprises were involved in printing photographs and, accordingly, their preparation, now you can make local tone correction of your photographs without additional time and effort.
Applying Layer Masks to Curves or Levels adjustment layers is the most in a simple way correction of large areas of the image, for example, corresponding to the sky. This way you can process part of the image while leaving other parts untouched.
Adjust correction parameters (for example, set the shape of the tone curve). Then take the Brush tool, set the opacity to about 25% and paint over the adjustment layer mask with black paint. Under dark areas of the mask, the adjustment layer will have little or no effect on the image if the areas are painted 100% black.
Applying Levels
Bright hues
Light tones are controlled by the white slider located on the right side of the histogram. The most common correction is to move the slider to the left towards the right edge of the chart. If you continue to the left, there will be a loss of detail in the highlight areas of the photo. In other words, you will artificially create overexposure.
Dark colors
The leftmost, black, slider will help you adjust the lightness of the dark areas of the photo. Move it to the right - towards the left end of the graph - to deepen the shadows. If you want to make your photo more graphic, move the slider slightly to the right beyond the right edge of the graph.
Midtones
In addition to controlling the lightness of highlights and shadows, Levels allows you to adjust midtones using the gray triangle initially located in the center of the histogram. To lighten the midtones, move the triangle to the left; to darken, move it to the right.
Features of using Levels and Curves
Curves have more flexibility than Levels, so it's easy to get carried away with adjusting the light and shade using the Curves adjustment layer. Remember that if at some point a fragment of the tone curve is close to the horizontal line, the image will look unnaturally “flat” and lacking in contrast.
A Note on Photoshop Elements Features
Program versions 9 and later allow limited control over the shape of the tone curve. The corresponding tool is called “Color Curves” here. To use it, select “Enhance” -> “Adjust Color” -> “Adjust Color Curves” from the main menu. You won't be able to set a point anywhere on the tone curve; the program gives you the ability to control different segments of the curve using four sliders. They are responsible for dark (Shadows), quarter and three quarters simultaneously (Midtone Contrast), medium (Midtone Brightness) and light (Highlights) tones.
Mastering the Dodge and Burn tools
The Dodge tool and Burn tool are successors to classic analog techniques. These tools allow you to increase exposure - lighten (dodging) - or decrease exposure - darken (burning) - arbitrary areas of the image.
A similar effect can be achieved using local tonal correction using the “Curves” and “Levels” adjustment layers described earlier. Here you simply paint with a “dodge” or “darken” on the original image, without resorting to using additional layers and masks for them.
It's best to create a copy of the layer containing the original image (Background layer) and use the Dodge and Burn tools to paint over the copy layer.
This technique simplifies the assessment of the lightening-darkening effect by turning off and on the visibility of the copy layer and allows you to return to the original image at any time if you are not satisfied with the result.
The main mistake when using the tools in question is the overabundance of the effect. As a result, the fact of lightening and darkening is striking, and the result is uneven.
To get a uniform and visually pleasing effect, set the Exposure parameter to within 3-5%. Use small, gradual “strokes” to apply the effect to individual areas of the image. Another way to keep an image looking natural when using the Dodge and Burn tools is to use a soft-edged brush (set the Brush Hardness to something low).
Dodge tool
You can choose the tones of the image - dark, medium or light - that will be brightened. Lightening the light tones will increase the contrast between the dark and light tones. Lightening dark tones, on the contrary, will weaken the contrast.
Burn tool
Has the opposite effect to the Dodge tool. You can also choose target tones: light, medium or dark. Darkening dark tones will enhance the contrast between light and dark tones in a given area. Darkening light colors, on the contrary, will reduce contrast.
Practice. Step by step guide
Step 1. Select the right tool
Once you have created a copy layer of the original photo, select the right tool(“Dodge” or “Darken”) in the Tools palette.
Step #2. Adjust the light colors
Set the properties of the selected tool to “Highlights”. Use the Dodge tool to paint over the lighter areas of the image if you want to enhance the contrast. Conversely, paint with the Burn tool if you want to reduce the contrast.
Step #3. Adjust dark tones
Set the properties of the selected tool to “Dark Tones” (Shadows). Use the Dodge tool to paint over dark areas of the image if you want to reduce the contrast. Conversely, paint with the Burn tool if you want to enhance the contrast.
Toning black and white photos
Color toning of black and white photographs has its roots in processing photographs in a dark room. Most often, the photograph was given color by subjecting it to chemical processing in order to prevent the loss of contrast during the aging process. However, color toning was used as a means of expression. In a digital darkroom, shading is not technically necessary, it just reflects your aesthetic preferences.
One color tinting
Using Photoshop you can "colorize" a black and white image different ways. The easiest way is to create a “Hue\Saturation” adjustment layer. Check the box next to the Colorize option, then move the slider labeled Hue to give the image the color you want. Move the Saturation slider to change the purity of the color.
Cross-process toning. Step by step guide
Step 1. Create a Gradient Adjustment Layer
Select “Gradient Map” from the list of adjustment layers. In the dialog box that appears, left-click on the “Gradient” parameter. In the newly appeared Gradient Editor window, select one of the proposed templates called “Violet, Orange”. Confirm the layer settings by successively clicking the “OK” buttons in both windows.
Step #2. Adjust the strength of the effect
The photo looks slightly psychedelic at this point, you may need to tone down the effect a bit. Select Overlay from the Blending Mode drop-down list at the top of the Layers panel. Additionally, try reducing the Opacity of the adjustment layer to 50% to start with.
All photos by Chris Ruther(Chris Rutter).
Have you ever wondered how to create beautiful black and white photos? Well, there's good news and bad news. First of all, shooting in black and white is still photography. This means that if the image is unsuccessful, then no amount of black and white magic will save it, that’s a fact. But the good news is that by following a few rules when creating black and white photos, you will have a lot of control in post-processing. Here are three that you might find useful.
№1 Initially do correct settings
Let's get started. There is only one requirement to create black and white photographs– raw format. If you can't shoot in raw, shoot JPG in color. Ironic, I know, but I'll explain why later.
This is not an ironclad rule, but it is better to lose detail in the shadows than in the highlights. This means that it is better to underexpose than to overexpose, as this will greatly damage the black and white photo. But this of course remains at your discretion and intention. If you want to overexpose for a specific reason, then do it! Depending on the image below, you may want the highlights to be blown out.
Most modern cameras can shoot in pure RAW and display the image on the screen in black and white. If this is possible in your camera, then take advantage of it! This way, when you shoot, your image will be closer to the final result you had in mind.
#2 Two things to look for
Black and white photographs are usually considered last. If the image doesn't look good, convert to black and white and get a good shot. But it doesn't work that way. If an image looks good in black and white, it means all the necessary elements were there to begin with. In any case, intentional black and white photographs will always be superior to those taken as such as a fallback option.
When you shoot black and white photography there are two things to look for, contrast and shapes.
Contrast in light and color
Look for contrast in highlights (light versus dark) as well as contrast in color (ironic again!). Once again, these rules are not mandatory. But if you are just starting out, it is better to first understand the rules and then break them.
Let's look at the graphs:
On the color wheel, shades that are close to each other will tend to look flat (like the two orange shades above). And colors that are far apart, like opposite sides of a circle, will appear more contrasty (blue and orange).
Search forms
In black and white photography, objects are reduced only to their essence, since there is no color to distract attention from form. This means that the composition must be strong as the elements of the photo become more obvious. Black and white photography doesn't seem so simple anymore, does it? Let's look at another example using the colors above.
The blue bunny stands out more than the dark orange one due to the color contrast.
INLightroom
That's where black and white photography really comes to life. First, I'll explain why I recommend shooting in color (or raw). The thing is, if you shoot straight in black and white, you'll get many shades of gray that the camera captures. But if you're shooting in color initially, you'll have much more control over tones in post-production. See below:
One stripe of color creates three different stripes of black and white (gray shades). The black and white shades you get are malleable. See how the red spot gives you three different shades of grey.
When shooting in color, you can say "red becomes very dark and blue becomes very light." You can do the opposite and say “the blue becomes very dark and the red becomes very light.” Now do you understand why it's so important to shoot in color? You lose these options when shooting in black and white.
PanelB& W VLightroom
In Lightroom, go to the Adjustments module, scroll down and click on B&W (right in the HSL/Color/B&W panel). All the color sliders are at your disposal here. Take the first slider. Moving red to the left will make all shades of red darker. The same goes for the rest of the sliders; orange, yellow, green, cyan, indigo, violet and magenta.
The good news is that you can work directly on the image. See that weird circle in the top left corner? If you click on it and hover over any part of the image, click and drag up, down, left or right, it will automatically sample the color and allow you to edit the black and white mix from there. You will see the corresponding sliders move and all similar colors (shades) in your image will be adjusted.
The image on the left is straight from the camera in formatRAW. On the right, all I did was darken the blues using the blue slider.
Once you've completed the black and white conversion, tweak the clarity and contrast. Again, this won't magically make the image beautiful, but if the composition is right, you should get a good result. Here's the final image:
Conclusion
As you can see, good black and white photography is based on the same rules that make a good photograph. But other than that, this special black and white aspect is about understanding how color transforms into monochrome. Good exercise– Convert color images and experiment with conversions to better understand how it works. Be yourself, stay focused and keep shooting.
