Post-Competition Discussion: B&W

[FowlersFreeTime]

February's monthly competition was amazing, truly great to see so much participation!

For context, I don't shoot B&W. By the time I dipped a toe into photography, I was already in the era that spawned digital photography, therefore I have no B&W film experience. That said, it was a fun challenge to try to find a scene that I could edit from color to monochrome. I did some research online, and edited as much as I could, but ultimately I don't think I picked a scene that was ideal for B&W.

So for discussion, did you learn anything from the exercise of shooting/editing Black & White? Or any other musings about the topic you want to share?

 

[Clix Pix]

I do occasionally shoot something and convert it to B&W when I see its possibilities, sometimes at the scene or later when at the computer editing. Somehow I never quite got around to doing something for this competition, though!

In general, for me what works best in B&W is a scene involving something which is fairly simple, with lines or texture, -- or perhaps a scene which is dramatic conveying mood and/or lots of contrast. A minimalist approach can be really effective, too. In B&W, contrast is the big thing, though, which captures a viewer's attention, draws it to the image and may keep it lingering there.....

For that matter, though, contrast is important in color photography, too, but B&W is where it is notable and can really shine.

 

[alexpler]

This has been the best competition! Lots of amazing pictures and different approaches to the same category. Such variety was very enjoyable.

As for myself I don't usually shot/post in B&W but I had this set of pictures that I thought they could work in B&W and I enjoyed the result, so who knows, it may be useful for future projects.

 

[Unframed Dave]

Amazing to see so many entrants this time round.

 

[FowlersFreeTime]

In general, for me what works best in B&W is a scene involving something which is fairly simple, with lines or texture, -- or perhaps a scene which is dramatic conveying mood and/or lots of contrast. A minimalist approach can be really effective, too. In B&W, contrast is the big thing, though, which captures a viewer's attention, draws it to the image and may keep it lingering there.....

This right here. This mirrors my thoughts on what makes a scene an ideal composition for B&W.

Your camera can shoot B&W without having to convert in post. Set it up and go out for a walk with B&W in mind.

I am going to try this approach next time. Rather than try to imagine what the scene would look like in b&w, I'll switch on "Creative Look" profile "BW" so I can have the display in B&W, JPG saved in B&W, but still have a full raw file to manipulate if I want.

 

[FowlersFreeTime]

That's not very challenging though, is it? The idea behind my suggestion is to hone your B&W skills. Set the camera up for B&W jpeg only and force yourself to shoot only images that you think look good in B&W. This is similar to a prime lens or single lens challenge, where a photographer uses only one lens for a walk, a week, or even a month. Make it about learning with nothing to fall back on.

hmmm ok, worth a shot.

 

[alexpler]

That's not very challenging though, is it? The idea behind my suggestion is to hone your B&W skills. Set the camera up for B&W jpeg only and force yourself to shoot only images that you think look good in B&W. This is similar to a prime lens or single lens challenge, where a photographer uses only one lens for a walk, a week, or even a month. Make it about learning with nothing to fall back on.

There's a B&W setting (high contrast monochrome or something) that gives some striking pictures straight from the camera, like they were shot in an old analogue camera. I use it from time to time, but never forced myself to shot a full set with it. Maybe I should...

 

[evacguy]

I think this month's competition was the best I've seen while a member of the Forum. Not just the number of entries, but the quality and diversity of the entries. I have always loved B&W photography and I've been a big fan of Ansel Adams even from before I picked up a camera, partially because Adams photographed one of my favourite places on the planet, Yosemite. I don't know how Adams made B&W landscape look so natural. Sometimes I see a scene and I think that will make a great B&W image, but mostly, its when I get the image in post I decide to process it as a B&W image from the start of the process, sometimes it works.

 

[alexpler]

Just for curiosity about this month's competition: how long does it take to be considered "long exposure"? Because I shoot handheld and I'm afraid that without a tripod nothing will fit.

 

[alexpler]

Alex, if you shoot a wide-angle lens of any kind you can get pretty long exposures handheld when you consider the added benefit of stabilization. Plus, you can always stabilize on a park bench, a wall, a tree, a fence, etc.

Thanks for the tips, I'll give it a try. Although long exposure it's not really my thing haha.