Black and White Photography Challenge

Black and White Photography  •  Photography Tips

I have decided to add in a few photography challenges – some practical exercises designed to take your photography further!

A couple of years ago I set my camera image review to Black and White. At the time, it was more of an experiment, however, over the next 3 months I saw a dramatic improvement in my photography…..

It was such a great exercise that I challenge you to do the same and I am confident that you will see an improvement in your photography too.

At the point of capture, color is nothing more than a distraction. There is nothing that we can do to improve or change the colour during capture. So why confuse our senses by reviewing it on the back of our camera?

Strong photos are made up of interesting subjects, shapes, lines and tones. Color is just the icing on the cake, however, all that pretty icing can often distract us from the strong subject, shapes, lines that we should be searching for.

Have you ever had your camera set up with a strong composition, only to end up chasing the colorful sky in another direction?

If so, you have fallen victim to the color distraction. Chances are you would have captured a better photo had you stayed with the original strong composition.

Remove all color and we are left with two elements to create interesting photography – Light and Contrast (contrast being the way light and dark interact within the frame). Through the process of creating appealing Black and White compositions, you will gain a much better understanding of the use of light and contrast in creating interesting photographs.

Photo captured by andreas kretschmer

The Challenge – Shoot in Black and White

Tip: If you shoot in Raw, you can change the “Picture Settings” in your camera menu to Monochrome. In doing this, the LCD on your camera will review in Black and White, however, once you import in Lightroom, the color will return.

If you shoot in Jpeg, you will have to commit 100% to Black and White for the challenge, however, the knowledge you gain is well worth the exercise!

I shot with my “Picture Settings” on Monochrome for roughly 1 year – that’s a little extreme. Perhaps a couple of weeks or a month would give you a great understanding of the importance of Light and Contrast within your photography.