Creating A Black & White Collection

Black and white collections can be truly beautiful. They capture a spirit and an emotion in the photo that you sometimes don’t get with a color photograph. With today’s digital camera’s it is very easy to take a color photograph and manually adjust the image to a black and white or a sepia in post processing. What is difficult with this is framing your image in color knowing what it will look like in black and white. There are a few ways that you can do this.

One is to manually adjust your camera settings to shoot in black and white instead of color. This will eliminate the guess-work when it comes to framing your image. The problem is, is that it will only be in black and white, not color. The other option is to get a mental picture of what the image will look like in black and white when you are framing it. This is probably a little more complicated but a little better if you want to maintain the color image. When framing your black and white photos you want to remember a few key elements.

• Lines: Lines are your friend. Black and white photos create drama. Lines are a good way to capture that feeling in an image.
• Framing: When you frame your photo imagine what it will look like in black and white and what parts of the image will be the focus once it is black and white.
• Focal point: Focal points are the area of the image that will be the main focus. This is what the eye is drawn to. Lines, light, and contrast add to a focal point being recognized.

I was at a friend’s birthday party this weekend and they live in the country. I noticed these great old pieces of machinery that I think will look great in black and white. There was an old tractor and old wagon wheels. Old machinery makes for great black and white photography because of the nostalgia that your subject already possess as well as the great lines that machinery provides. The wagon wheels against the grassy background make for great contrast. The rustic look of the tractor creates a feeling of a photo that is older than it actually is.

You can find great black and white subjects right in your own backyard. Take a look at your surroundings and see what you can come up with. Imagine what the image will look like in black and white and have at it. The images that I took all were done with the Canon SD1300 and edited in Google’s Picasa photo editing program. Simple tools that anyone can have access to. Picasa allows you to choose between black and white, selective black and white, and sepia. Picasa also allows you to adjust your shadows and highlights that enables you to create your masterpieces.

So go out into the world and create and feel free to share what you have come up with.

Until next time, happy shooting!

-Robert Hillis