Week 4: Black & White

(Color)

(Straight greyscale or desaturation)

(Finer tuned b&w conversion)
(click images to see larger version)

Photos of the Week

Week 4 Assignment: Black & White

Black & White photography requires a special skill from the photographer, the ability to see in Black & White. This skill can take many years to perfect, that is, if it is possible to perfect. It seem like everything in the old days were b&w since the only photos from back then were in b&w. It makes you wonder if anybody even had shirts that weren't white or grey, or if all houses were white or grey. I imagine it to be easier then to see in b&w, even if that were not the case.

Today is different, since we have had color film for well over 60 years. Before digital you would choose to shoot with color film or b&w film, and the resulting photo is what you were stuck with. Today, with almost all digital cameras, you can also choose to shoot in color or b&w (even sepia and other options on some). If your camera has a "live-view" LCD (as almost all point and shoot cameras have, and most newer DSLR cameras have) then you actually have the capability to "see" in b&w, when your camera is set to shoot it. If you choose to shoot in b&w, however, you are once again, stuck with a b&w image. On the other hand, if you shoot in color, you always have the ability to convert it to a b&w image using any photo editing software (if shot in b&w, you Cannot convert it to color). The reason I mention this is so you do not limit yourself, or your image to being one or the other. I do not recommend shooting in b&w for this reason, unless you are 100% sure you will never want to see it in color.

The b&w conversion process can very in complexity, from simply clicking a button in the editing software to convert to b&w or setting the sturation level to zero, to doing a more complicated conversion of working in greyscale and adjusting the many color channels, contrast levels, and curves to finely tune the conversion. The latter can be similar to shooting with b&w film and using different color filters (red, green, yellow, etc.) to get the look you are striving for.

Coming Next:

Week 5 Assignment: Self-Portrait