A black and white photo delivers different meanings. It shows many values such as antique and rare. Now, with technology, black or white photos or monochromatic images are easily made by special tools and services. Even so, this kind of photo still has a special place in someone’s heart.
This image offers a classical appearance and never out of style. Black and white photos have a capability to give a sense of wonder. That’s why, if you want to convert a photo to black or white, the simple way is using an automatic software or service to get the best result. If you insist on doing it by yourself, consider this for better results.
What is Black and White Photography?
Simply put, black and white photography is a branch of photography that combines different types of gray tones, from white to deep black, to create a beautiful photo.
You may be thinking, “Why do people still use black and white images today?”
In an age where all cameras, whether cell phone cameras or professional ones, can produce color images, a black and white image looks like something that should be in a museum as a relic from the past.
But, that seems far from reality. Black and white photography is still widely used by people. The timeless impression possessed by black and white photos also seems to apply to its existence.
Why Should You Use Monochrome Pictures?
Black and white photography is not a mere trend. Many professional photographers build their careers based on black and white images. Here are a few reasons why you should try black and white photography.
1. Black and White Photography Can Remove Distraction
The distraction referred to here is color. For people who live and grow up with colorful media, color is a part of our daily lives that we are not aware of.
In photography, color is not always a good thing. There are some types of photography that will appear stronger when you remove color.
Portrait images are one type of image that is very suitable for black and white photography. The presence of color can indeed make the subject look more alive. However, with black and white portrait photography, you can bring people to focus more on the small details of your subject; whether it’s a frown, a look in the eye, or a small smile on your subject’s face.
By removing color, you can get people to focus on the essence of your subject; that is himself.
The same can of course also apply to other types of photography, such as landscape and black and white street photography to name a few.
2. Black and White Photography Offers Interesting Perspectives
In the early days of color photography, many people still preferred black and white images. Why? Because the black and white color offers an interesting point of view.
When you remove color from your image, your focus will shift to things related to composition. You’ll also start to see tones, light, and texture more deeply.
Through black and white photography, you will be more focused on the essence of the photography itself rather than thinking about whether or not a color looks good on camera.
In addition, there are many reasons and advantages that photos have that make people still use them a lot.
3. Black and White Photography has Timeless Quality
Black and white images generally have a specific impression; whether it’s dramatic, somber, and others. However, whatever impression your black and white images give, one thing is for sure, your black and white images will feel timeless.
Photography has come a long way since its inception. Various technologies allow photographers to produce images that may not have been imagined before when photography first appeared.
In its development, black and white photography has never been extinct. This type of photography has existed since the first photography appeared until now. Even with the advent of color photos, exact black and white color photos are still being used.
This is what can then be a strong factor that makes black and white photography feel timeless.
Tips to Do Black and White Photography
Black and white photography offers its own advantages and challenges. You will be able to focus more on the composition and essence of your photos with black and white mode. However, you may have some issues with lighting if you are not familiar with black and white photography.
To help you take good black and white pictures, here are some tips you can follow.
1. Bright light
Creating a black and white photo is related to the light, how bright the light is. The bright light condition gives the main rule while converting this. The brighter the light, the better the black or white photo in the result. Find a strong light like the sun or something that bright.
An image with bright light resulted in an incredible black and white photo after conversion.
Read also: How to Make an Image Black and White in Photoshop
2. Contrast
Your edited photo will be blurred in the result if you don’t set your contrast level. Contrast gives a clear distinction between black and white. For example, you can put your product with the sun as the background and this resulted in a silhouette.
Low contrast resulted in blur in black and white photos after conversion.
At the end, increase the contrast level of the image in the post production process with whatever app you use. This additional technique will make your photo more incredible to look at.
3. Line and shape
An image with lines and shapes inside are so exciting to see. Strong line and shape always looks stunning as ever. Black and white photos, especially with line and shape, allow you to focus on the subject when you see it. Line becomes sharper, the shape becomes stronger, and the whole image is like telling something about the story.
Some lines and shapes offer different sensation while looking at this image.
Also Read: Basic Composition Photography
4. Black and white benefits
For example, you have a special photo but it is blurry, poor light, or the color is a mess. Convert this to black or white color to hide this ugliness. The white color can save your photo. So, besides turning it into a classical one, this technique also hides the ugly part from the image.
Also Read: How to Fix Blurry Photos in A Easy Way
An image after converted into black and white photo gives a focus view to the object.
5. Use The Existing Black and White Mode
Many of today’s cameras already have a built-in black and white feature. Using this feature, you can have a preview of the subject you are about to capture.
To get the best image quality, you can also take pictures in RAW instead of JPEG.
6. Use of the Rule of Third
Whether you’re taking a black and white photo or a color photo, the rule of thirds is a photography technique that can really help you to capture good photos. This photography technique will help you divide your photo into 9 squares of similar size.
These boxes will help you to position the subject of your photo. That way, you will be able to easily adjust the composition of your image, which is an important element in a black and white image.
Generally, the main subject of a photo will occupy the 5th square, or be in the center of the image. However, you are of course free to experiment by placing the main subject anywhere.
7. Pay Attention to Shadows, Textures and Patterns
As a photographer, you should have paid attention to these three things. However, with monochrome photography, you have to pay more attention to this.
For example, if your subject has shadows, you should look for a solid light background.
Textures and patterns can also make your monochrome photos look more interesting. For example, you are looking for interesting textures from roads or walls around your subject.
Those are some tips on black and white photography that you can use as a guide. Black and white photography is not a mere trend; it is a form of photography that has its own feel and complexity. By studying black and white photography, you will have a deeper understanding of light, tone and texture
Those are some things that must be considered for better result black or white photos. If you are still having trouble, Dropicts as a professional photo retouching services is ready to help.
Image Courtesy : http://www.abeautifulmess.com/2015/08/tips-for-better-black-and-white-pictures.html
