Top 3 Tips for Black & White Photography

Photo by MichaelGaida

Black & white photography has been around since the beginning of film and continues to create beautiful imagery to this day. Creating spectacular black & white images can be difficult though living in such a colour focused world. Black & white can often create a dramatic and dark image which can be perfect for stormy scenes, waterfalls, and older architecture. Here are our top three tips to create stunning black and white photos!

1) Tonal Contrast

Having a balance of darkness and brightness is what makes the best black and white images. There are a couple of ways to achieve this contrast: looking for scenes with shadows and light or adjusting your exposure to lighten the scene or darken a certain component, or having additional gray or texture in your images. 

 Photo by @ian.velloza

2)  Time of Day

Black and white photos are best formulated in the early morning and late afternoon. Overcast and cloudy skies are also ideal as they provide the perfect balance of light and dark. Avoid taking black and white photos on super sunny days and blank skies as they either provide too much contrast in your image or not enough.

Photo by MichaelGaida

3) Use Filters

Polarized filters are a great way to change how your camera sees light. Using these filters can create drama in your shots and can totally change the mood of your shot.  Polarizers can also help achieve tonal contrast in a scene that it would not otherwise be possible. Certain colours often look very similar when converted into black and white so a filter can help to remedy that.

Photo by @lloyd_dykstra