How to take a black-and-white photo How to take a black-and-white photo with great texture

In fact, when you look at some photo exhibitions, you will find that a black and white photo will bring you great shock. Many famous photographs in the world are developed in the form of black and white photographs. If you want to be a photographer, it is particularly important to learn how to take black and white photos. So how to take good black and white photos!

Some people say that this is because black-and-white photography was born early, but we consider that up to now, the total number of color photos should be greater than black-and-white photos, so this reason is not particularly sufficient.

Does the classic black-and-white photo still taste the same after adding color?

Black-and-white photography tends to produce a sense of majesty and awe. So when shooting yourself, what angles should a black-and-white photo consider?

Shadow tune

"Shadow tone" can be said to be the tone of a black-and-white photo. It refers to any uniform density area on a photo, negative or transparent film, which can be distinguished from the brighter or darker parts.

From the perspective of black-and-white photography, the main colors of shadow tones can be divided into three categories: high-key, low-key and medium-key (gray tone).

(1) high profile

High-profile gives people a bright, pure, relaxed and lively feeling.

It is more suitable for expressing the image of women and children, and can also convey the quietness in landscape photos and the elegance and cleanliness in commodity photography.

Photography: Pedro Luis La Ota

High-profile photography generally uses soft, uniform and bright lights.

(2) Keep a low profile

Low-key works sometimes make people feel firm, steady and calm, and sometimes make people feel dark, heavy and gloomy.

Photography: Larry Towell

With the change of the theme and content of the work, it presents different faces. In the performance of characters, it is usually used in the elderly, elders with high prestige, and of course it can also show young people with deep personality, and so on.

There are sculptures, monuments, temples and so on in ancient buildings.

Author Erik King

Border landscape east of Brooks Mountains. Taken in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska, USA. 2009. salgado

(3) Intermediate adjustment

Although the character of alto is not obvious, the picture is rich and delicate, and often presents different emotional colors with different images, colors and light.

1967 Czechoslovakia, by Kaudeka.

It pays attention to the use of light and is generally equipped with multiple light sources. It is ideal to express the natural landscape with gray tone, and it is good at blurring the outline of objects. It also has the specialty of rain, fog, clouds and smoke, which embodies the beauty of quietness and softness.

Nakamura, Hokkaido, Japan, 2004. michael kenna

Like Leica MM black-and-white machine series, the color tone description is particularly delicate, because its sensor has no dichroic filter, it is more sensitive to light and can perceive subtle light, so there are more layers.

Leica M246752AA, 9.51-125ISO320, manufactured by OlrKjenne.

Zoom in a little more to see the details (click on the picture below):

Although it has been compressed by WeChat, it can still be seen that the snow-capped mountains in the distance, the nearby beaches and the sparkling lakes are quite rich in gray scale;

Look at the signs in different positions, there are stains. The enlarged details are still sharp, and subtle level transitions can be shown. Sure enough, M246 is different from APO lens!

Anti-difference

Contrast refers to the density difference between black and white images and the brightness difference of the shooting scene.

In black-and-white photos, contrast is mainly the difference of relative brightness of black, white and gray. The brighter the white, the darker the black, and the higher the contrast. Gray plays a role in balancing the transition between black and white.

Photo by Daido Moriyama

Generally speaking, Gao Fancha's image will appear tough, chiseled and has a strong sense of sculpture.

Edward Weston's green pepper series is also the representative of Gao Fancha.

The low contrast image is more like a gentle silent film, hazy in the clouds.

How to deal with contrast when shooting?

There is actually no complete law. It depends on the emotion you want to express.

Generally speaking, when scenery, street shooting and still life are treated as Gao Fancha, it will be more layered, three-dimensional and dramatic;

Leica M246752AA is manufactured by OlrKjennerudf5.6 1-250s.

Leica M246 Zeiss 2 14.5 lrkjennerudf 460 is from 1960s.

When shooting portraits, reducing the contrast will make the characters vivid.

Queen Elizabeth II, 195 1 year. Yousuf karsh's photo.

Of course, this is not absolute. Many people like to highlight the character and atmosphere of the characters and will deliberately improve the contrast.

Winston Churchill. Yousuf karsh's photo.

Shooting skill

There are some more practical skills in the blog "Hi-Fi Photography Tribe", and its author Bian Xiao Shifeitam has made some optimizations for Leica users:

Looking for light and shadow, ignoring color.

Although everything we see with our eyes is colored, when shooting black and white, don't be disturbed by the color of things, and pay attention to the brightness and contrast of the picture.

When we take color photos, we are often attracted by the colors of some things, but we can't do this when we take black and white photos.

Leica M246282.8, f43sISO320

Adjust the screen preview of the camera to black and white.

It is not easy to imagine the black-and-white effect by using paraxial framing, and you can use the screen or electronic viewfinder to view the scene in real time; This helps me to better imagine what the color photos in front of me will look like in black and white.

If you have filmed in color before, you will be more familiar with the concept of black and white shooting.

Pay attention to the composition, lines and shapes of things.

When shooting colors, you can pay less attention to the composition of the picture (although you should also pay attention). After all, the color itself is the most important thing.

But when shooting black and white, we must pay attention to the composition of the picture, the lines and shapes of things, because black and white photos are colorless, which will highlight the importance of picture composition.

The contrast between black and white is improved.

This is a personal preference. I think high-contrast black-and-white photos are an important way to highlight the mood of photos (think of the high-contrast black-and-white photos of Daido Moriyama, Anders Peterson and Jacob Oisopol).

Of course, different situations also apply to different contrasts, such as scenery and street sweeping. Use high contrast, but if you are shooting girls, you should honestly reduce the contrast.

Make good use of exposure compensation.

Generally, when shooting black and white during the day, I will adjust the exposure compensation appropriately, especially when the sun is fierce. I can consider reducing the exposure compensation by one step or even two steps (I can consider reducing the exposure compensation by two steps at noon on a sunny day).

Of course, this is also a matter of personal preference, because I don't like the overexposed sky (dead white sky). Aim at things on the ground to measure light during the day, and the sky will definitely be overexposed.

Hold on for a while.

Many photographers often mix black and white photos with color photos, or take color photos at the same time.

My opinion is that black and white and color have different shooting ideas and meanings, so it is not recommended that you shoot both black and white (at least not at the same time).

Leica M2462 1f3.4, f 163 iso 320, by OlrKjennerud.

Leica M246ZM35f 1.4 yellow filter, manufactured by OlrKjennerud.

Black and white images are the origin of photography, which is one hundred years earlier than color images. Although it is easy to take a black-and-white photo, controlling the most important contrast and tone really needs serious study.