B&W photography is an aberration in art history. Before the advent of the pinhole camera, visual art images — more specifically, paintings — in galleries or museums were in color.

At one time, though, B&W photography was modern — the technology of its day. It was even portable, although photographers had to lug around bulky equipment and make their own exposure plates (what we take for granted as "film" today). And the results were quite exciting for the times, allowing everyday folks to see images of faraway and exotic locales as well as being able to obtain affordable portraits and other photographs, as shown in Figure 9-3 (compared with the luxury of a painted portrait). Too, the advent of a portable camera launched photojournalism.

Figure 9-3. B&W was the start of photography.

With the growing acceptance of photography as an art form throughout the 19th century, some came to find that the B&W images were actually more artistic and intellectually challenging than paintings, in which viewers didn't have to imagine nature's colors.

With the advent of color film, though, B&W fell out of favor with some. People wanted this new technology and the more realistic images intrinsic to color photography. Naturally, because color processing was more costly and because color photo technology was new, B&W photography was considered by some as a poor man's photo option.

Towering buildings, old forts, walls of steel and glass ... man-made structures of our modern world stun in real life — and can in photographs, too, if you take a few steps when setting your camera before taking architectural shots in B&W.

Figure 9-4. Modern skyscrapers become art in B&W.

To see how different the same piece of architecture looks in color compared with B&W, see the juxtaposition in Figure 9-5 of a color and a B&W image (converted to grayscale in Photoshop, in this instance, for the sake of comparison) of the same architectural shot. (Nice juxtaposition, too, of old and modern architectural styles.) Both give a different effect and feeling.

Figure 9-5. The same shot looks very different in color versus B&W.

When shooting architecture, with its strong straight lines, watch out for vignetting and line distortion — unless, of course, you want to exploit those effects for an artsy twist to a shot. These effects are caused by the curvature and structure of your lens that can either be prevented or eliminated (or welcomed):

When shooting a building, first study it in a variety of ways. Shoot so that everything in the photo moves to one vanishing point or to one direction as the viewer looks across the frame.

Shooting architecture as architecture is often best done at dusk and dawn when the light is softer and the shadows are less harsh. (For dramatic art photos, on the other hand, you might want to shoot architectural details with harsh shadows.) The time of day in which you shoot architecture changes, which in turn affects the look of your B&W photograph. A picture taken in the noon sun can provide more detail. In contrast, a picture taken at dusk can have more shadow — providing more contrast perhaps but also a little less detail in any small objects in the shot. Finding the perfect time of day for shooting in B&W is an experiment in light and shadow. You'll know when you get it right, and the results might surprise you.

Although the weather and the time of day (not to mention the time of year) can affect how your picture comes out, adding to and/or taking away from the focus of your structural subject, your perspective also involves some calculation.

Figure 9-6. Shooting late in the day can create undesirable shadows.

Figure 9-7 shows a picture that is divided about a third of the way so that everything moves to two vanishing points — one to the left, and one to the right. From these two points, you can tilt your camera in any direction so that the vanishing points move up or down into the corner and/or top of the frame. For more on composing a shot using the vanishing point, see Chapter 1.

Figure 9-7. Shoot from different perspectives.

Tip

You can tilt the canvas of your B&W and color images with minimal loss of sharpness in your photo by choosing the Image

The picture in Figure 9-8 was taken at night. The shutter was set to stay open for one-half second using the Tv mode (shutter priority) of a digital camera. The aperture of the camera was set automatically using the light available to determine how wide it would be for the half-second it was open. The picture didn't blur because the camera was set on a minitripod on top of a newspaper stand. For more about night photography, see Chapter 10.

Figure 9-8. Avoid blur by using a tripod.

You've probably heard the old "stop and smell the roses" expression. I like to apply this to architecture, especially the little stuff that comes attached to a fence, gate, or door, or the bigger stuff that forms patterns like that found in iron work. So when you're looking for subjects to shoot in B&W, don't forget architectural ornamentation — and get up close to capture all the detail.

Creating B&W photos gives you experience in working with enhanced shadows, highlights, shapes, and forms without having to think about color. Some subjects are a natural for B&W photography, such as the portrait made of the stone figure shown in Figure 9-9. You can see the weathering in how B&W captures its texture: You can almost feel the statue's roughness. The camera's depth of field and the subtle blurring of the background produces a totally photographic phenomenon that's not seen as clearly in any other art medium or in person. It is this depth and texture that brings emotion to the viewer.

Figure 9-9. Capture texture in B&W photography.

Take a look at the lighting in the following photos. The lighting affects how the shadows, midtones, and highlights come out in your photograph, each being different and dependent on how you expose the shot. (See Chapter 6 for more information about lighting with studio lights.)

Figure 9-10. Use flash for front lighting and flash fill for outdoors.

Many times photographers stay away from severe shadow — shadows so dark that they surround the subject by black. However, these kinds of shadows can enhance the physical features of a subject.

Figure 9-11. Capture an informal shot when your subjects are relaxed.

Photojournalism is a classic innovation of photography as functional art. If you've ever seen the news on TV or online or read a newspaper or magazine, you've been touched by photojournalism. Who can forget the gritty B&W newspaper photos of the Vietnam War? Who doesn't remember that even-earlier poignant kiss of a sailor returning home and happy to be there? Good photojournalism can transport you to a time and place instantly with its historic spontaneity and realism.

Being a successful photojournalist is a matter of balancing preparedness, timing, and luck. You've got to be at the right place at the right time with your camera. Take a picture of an event that soon will be history, and you've got yourself an image of merit — a document that over time becomes more interesting.

Here are places where you can find these snappable, historic events:

Here are some thoughts to keep in mind if you're considering trying to sell photojournalism shots:

Creating a B&W print requires no magic wand: You can

Shooting B&W on a digital camera

Obviously, digital cameras can't use B&W film, but they do have a setting with which you can shoot in B&W. The B&W mode in many cameras is among many menu items (described in Chapter 12). In some cameras, it may be hard to find without that handy roadmap, the User Guide. For example, the B&W feature on a Canon Digital Rebel XT, can be found within a setting called Parameters.

So what's better for B&W: film or digital? As a comparison, here are two images, shot at the same time and angle: one on film and one that's digital. (Okay, both are technically digital now because the film image was scanned.) But there are differences, as you can see in Figure 9-13. On the left is a B&W film image of a Spanish-style staircase taken in the P (that's point-and-shoot mode) of a film (Canon Rebel) camera and then scanned with an HP Scanner. On the right is the same image taken with a digital camera (a Canon Digital Rebel), again in the P mode. The film image has a somewhat broader tonal range, with darker shadows and brighter highlights, while the digital image shows better detail in the shadows.

Figure 9-13. B&W film versus digital comparison.

Warning

There are at least a dozen parameters at work when you look at images printed on a computer or in this book that can make the two different — and those parameters aren't always because of the digital versus film format itself. And of course, there's always the factor of personal preference. So rather than declaring one medium superior to the other for B&W photography, let me caution you to remember that the quality of your digital art photos, whether originating as pixels or on film, depends on two things: the settings you use when capturing the image and the post-capture processing you do in your image editing software.

Note

Don't forget that when you capture in the Raw file format, all the image's original data is still part of the file, including color. Using Photoshop's Camera Raw plug-in (or other Raw-capable software), you can always return to the original image, as captured in the camera, complete with full color (even when the camera was set to use its B&W feature).

You can manipulate digital B&W digital images so that they look like B&W film prints. Sometimes you might need a B&W shot for certain types of publications, like catalogs or newspapers. Or, you might want to convert a color image to B&W (see the earlier section, "Creating a B&W image") to invoke a sense of nostalgia and time past.

Face it, the past sells. And B&W is an important piece of the past. From deco to retro, people like to have a piece of the past. Imagine an image of a woman wearing an apron in a 1950s-style kitchen or a man outside in a bathrobe picking up the newspaper, waving happily at the neighbor in front of a 1920s Craftsman home. The old days become new again for younger folks, and the old days are relived by older folks. Figure 9-14 shows a B&W shot of a modern building — a photograph that was shot this century but looks like it was shot decades ago because of the architecture and its lack of color.

Figure 9-14. Make modern photographs appear vintage.

Whatever your reason for capturing and printing in B&W, you want to start with the best image possible. You won't get a quality print from a so-so image. You can't serve hamburger and pass it off as filet mignon, you know. Here's how.

To create a great print, you need to start with a great image — a quality image, that is. You want the best quality image that your camera can capture whether you shoot with B&W film (and scan those images) or with a digital camera set to B&W. For the highest-quality photographs, follow these pointers:

A B&W photograph comprises shades of gray that add definition and depth and detail to the image. Figure 9-17 shows a chart depicting shades of gray in 5-percent increments from darkest to lightest (including the background color, which is the 50% gray sample). The chart includes a total of 21 shades of gray.

The image of a hibiscus flower (in Figure 9-18) shows the range of gray that makes up a typical B&W photo. There are 256 distinct shades of gray in the photo.

Figure 9-17. Shades of gray, from black to white.

Figure 9-18. Many shades of gray define B&W photos.

Landscape shots can provide a natural scene containing clear highlights that contrast with the midtones and shadows in the image. (A good B&W photograph has many contrasts between light and dark tones.) The photograph in Figure 9-19 shows dimension using B&W:

Figure 9-19. Landscapes offer interesting composition tones.

To enhance tonal difference in your B&W shots, assess the tones of your subject and then choose a background that is different. If you're shooting something with a lot of highlights, choose a very dark background, as many product photographers do. See how effective this can be in Figure 9-20.

Figure 9-20. Flowers, in B&W, contrast with an almost-black background.

When shooting outdoors with B&W, look for great tones that nature throws your way, especially when it comes to moisture-bearing entities, like clouds, fog, haze, and steam. What's murky when shot in color can often be brought out as a very interesting highlight. Clouds can be your friend, either filtering harsh sunlight or cutting across the sun, giving you dramatic shadows. Fog and haze can provide wondrous midtones or spectacular highlights when side- or backlit. (For more on light sources, see Chapter 5.) And don't forget to look for steam — from a train, a geyser, a heating system, a tea kettle, or hot lava hitting the ocean.

In B&W photography, distinctions are also made in the gray tones of various colors by how dark or light they are. These distinctions become even more important in B&W because these tones are in essence the "color" of the photo. By knowing what highlights, midtones, and shadows mean, you can

Figure 9-22. Tweaking the contrast adds depth to your image.

So what do these terms mean?

After you compose your image and have a digital image to work with, it's time to make a print. Yeah!

You've walked the walk. Now it's time to talk the talk — the photography talk, that is. You got hold of a good printer, say an Epson Stylus Photo 2200, and now you're ready to take your show on the road.

The print of choice for museum quality is a silver-gelatin print. Digitally speaking, though, your silver-gelatin print is going to look better on some papers than others. I use enhanced matte because it's inexpensive, takes to the ink very well, and looks great behind glass. New papers come out all the time from rag to fine art to canvas. Try www.inkjetart.com to get all the latest about new papers and their compatibility with your printer and any special settings you might have to use. For more about printing the final product, see Chapter 17. To read about print mountings and framing, hop to Chapter 18.