Have you ever wanted to learn how to draw portraits in black and white? Drawing pictures in black and white is a more straightforward approach than working in color since you’ll only be worried about tone, not color, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy. Thus, the composition is simple without distracting color elements.How to Draw Portraits in Black and White How to Draw Black and White Portraits I also worked to contrast the softness of the water against the texture of the sandstone rocks around the falls. While the color image of Upper Falls at Hocking Hills State Park stood well on its own, I wanted to exclude much of the surroundings and lowered their values in post production after converting to black and white. This can be done both in your initial capture and further aided in your post production workflow. Simplifying is very important in black and white photography compositions. Ask yourself what is the subject what are you trying to convey. Remember a strong black and white photos relies mostly on shapes, forms, textures, light and shadows. It is important to realize though, that in black and white photography this can be distracting. Patterns in Black and White photography created by long exposure at a beach in Bandon, Oregon Simplification in Black and White PhotographyĬolor images, especially those using strong foreground elements, can have quite of few components all tied together with the use of color. I increased the luminance of my subject, the cattails and their reflection, and increased their contrast against the surrounding lake features. In the finished image I minimized the surrounding details by bringing down their values. They were several hundred feet away and the use of my telephoto help capture what I needed. But I knew at the time of capture that I wanted to emphasize the tall and seeming uniform cluster of cattails on the edge of this lake.
Take for example the image “Lone Jack Cattails”. While there are times when conditions such as fog and other atmospheric conditions might allow for a more ethereal representation, higher contrast can really make a black and white. Using Contrast in Black and White Photographyīlack and white photography can handle, and one might argue needs, a lot of contrast. Without color you need to be sure you have a clear connection from foreground element to the background because you don’t have the color element to assist. In a like fashion, the Howling Dog Sea Stack has the foreground rock with the water reflections leading through to the mid ground underlying the sea stacks. The large patterned sea stack on the left helped balance out the composition.įoreground elements in back and white photography at Howling Dog Sea Stack, Bandon, Oregon In the Yaquina Head Lighthouse image below, the rock blanketed by the incoming surf provided the foreground with the white surf’s edge along the shoreline providing the leading line toward the lighthouse in the background.
In color, the use of an exaggerated foreground component can be very effective, and combined with the element of color can really help in leading the viewer through the image. While this may be accurate, I think you must be a little more discerning in black and white. The use of strong foreground elements are a good way to anchor nature photography composition and help create a feeling of depth.
Black and White Photography with strong Foreground Elements Let’s examine a few examples of how I visualize nature photography composition to create final black and white prints. And I think it is also a reason black and white seems to be more timeless and fitting for fine art. It is said color represents reality, where black and white photography is more about abstract. This is because color itself can be a key and compelling element in a successful nature photography composition. Some color photos, while very beautiful, just don’t work in black and white. My photography composition must stand on its own based on its structure of lines, patterns, contrast, light and form, and texture. As a result, I am not mentally distracted or seduced by any colorful compositional elements. When I shoot black and white photos I place my camera picture style to monochrome. We also discussed how understanding the effects of color filters as used in the film days could affect a monochrome representation, and how this might aid in previsualization as you approach a subject in the field. In my earlier article, Learning to See for Black and White Photography, we noted that by eliminating color your focus turns to form, lines, shadows, and texture.
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