There is something especially dramatic and compelling about a photo that has to rely on tone, shape, texture, contrast, and shadow rather than vibrant color design. You may have poured over prints by Ansel Adams and Alfred Stieglitz and wondered how they managed to capture such amazing, and deceptively simple, images. Minimalist black and white photography is something anyone can try, but only a few manage to master the techniques necessary to make it great.
If this is something you are serious about trying, the first thing you have to do is learn how to ignore color. There are two easy ways to help yourself do this. You can go out and purchase a monochrome viewing filter for your camera, or you can go to the dollar store and pick up a pair of cheap sunglasses with dark grey lenses. Almost any subject lends itself to this technique. You can photograph landscapes, cityscapes, people, or still lifes.
Composition is one of the first subject instructors teach art students. Good composition is very important, whether you are working in black and white or color. You should be aware though, that composition in monochrome and in color are not interchangeable.
One of the foundation stones of good monochrome picture taking is tone. It is not exactly the same as contrast, but similar. When you shoot a cityscape that has lots of vibrant color for example, the vibrancy of those colors may not translate when the same scene is shot in monochrome. They may just become a mass of different grays. You can alter the tone with the use of filters. You can also change the lighting. If you change the light, you'll create instant shadows and highlights.
Shadows are something you must become aware of. These are powerful tools for those making minimalist art. If your shadows are strong, you have a chance of taking a good photo. Shadows are intriguing to people. It's important to understand that a shadow isn't a black void. It can, and often should, be full of shadows that observers may or may not be able to completely make out.
There are shapes in shadows, but it's contrast that creates them. Shadows can be the element that defines your photos. Shapes are the objects the human brain uses to define and recognize its surroundings. One of the ways we identify objects is by the way they are shaped. Working in monochrome makes it even more important to look for shapes, and how they work with contrast and tone.
Texture is partly a product of shadow and light. If you eliminate texture as a way of creating a stark effect, the outcome will be something more along the lines of abstraction than if you included the texture. Texture can be created with the use of a low level light source that creates highlights and shadows revealing your subject's texture.
Stripping color from a photo can be scary. Color can be a crutch for those without much technique. Working without color strips away the crutch and reveals the artistry.
If this is something you are serious about trying, the first thing you have to do is learn how to ignore color. There are two easy ways to help yourself do this. You can go out and purchase a monochrome viewing filter for your camera, or you can go to the dollar store and pick up a pair of cheap sunglasses with dark grey lenses. Almost any subject lends itself to this technique. You can photograph landscapes, cityscapes, people, or still lifes.
Composition is one of the first subject instructors teach art students. Good composition is very important, whether you are working in black and white or color. You should be aware though, that composition in monochrome and in color are not interchangeable.
One of the foundation stones of good monochrome picture taking is tone. It is not exactly the same as contrast, but similar. When you shoot a cityscape that has lots of vibrant color for example, the vibrancy of those colors may not translate when the same scene is shot in monochrome. They may just become a mass of different grays. You can alter the tone with the use of filters. You can also change the lighting. If you change the light, you'll create instant shadows and highlights.
Shadows are something you must become aware of. These are powerful tools for those making minimalist art. If your shadows are strong, you have a chance of taking a good photo. Shadows are intriguing to people. It's important to understand that a shadow isn't a black void. It can, and often should, be full of shadows that observers may or may not be able to completely make out.
There are shapes in shadows, but it's contrast that creates them. Shadows can be the element that defines your photos. Shapes are the objects the human brain uses to define and recognize its surroundings. One of the ways we identify objects is by the way they are shaped. Working in monochrome makes it even more important to look for shapes, and how they work with contrast and tone.
Texture is partly a product of shadow and light. If you eliminate texture as a way of creating a stark effect, the outcome will be something more along the lines of abstraction than if you included the texture. Texture can be created with the use of a low level light source that creates highlights and shadows revealing your subject's texture.
Stripping color from a photo can be scary. Color can be a crutch for those without much technique. Working without color strips away the crutch and reveals the artistry.
About the Author:
See the exhibitions of the very talented minimalist black and white photography expert online. To get instant access to the website, here is the link http://www.kieranwalshgallery.com/about.
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