5 Practical Tips on Black-and-White Landscape Photography

Black and White Photography  •  Landscape Photography  •  Photography Tips

Black-and-white landscape photography is a great way to emphasize the rugged landscape, patterns and textures of a scene. With no colors to distract viewers, your lens can focus on the mood, story, feeling and emotions of the scenario. In this video, photographer Chris Sale shares five practical tips on black-and-white landscape photography with some editing tips:

As landscape photographers, we love shooting during golden hours, and for good reason. However, as the light gets harsher, it shouldn’t necessarily mean that shooting time’s over. “Bad light” is where a greyscale image can help your images shine. During harsh light, you get higher contrast in your scene, which works great for black-and-white photography. The difference in light and shadows adds a sense of depth to your image. Also, you can use the contrast to direct the viewers’ eyes to where you want—usually towards the brightest part of the image.

“Great black and white images rarely happen by accident.”

You can rarely get a good-looking black and white image just by taking colors out of a color photo. Instead, you need to shoot with intention. So it’s important to visualize the scene in black and white first to get the best results. If it’s difficult to imagine, use the monochrome picture profile in your camera or your smartphone to help you visualize. You’d be surprised how helpful it can be.

Sale also demonstrates how you can put these tips into practice to take great black-and-white images. Be sure to watch the complete video, as he also shares some handy tips to better edit your black-and-white landscape photos.