Introduction to Black and White Photography

There here is something special and at maybe more artistic in black and white photography. In this post we are getting a bit away from the overall concept of digital photography. But black and white (or B&W) is the style that is definitely worth some attention. And for any photographer it’s surely a must-try one at some point.

Black and white photos are almost always being planned and staged as artworks. It’s never a snapshot of some random landscape a photographer was passing by. They take preparation. Many of B&W photos have emotional meaning. As famous Ansel Adams said: “You don’t take a photo, you make it.” This very much applies to black and white images.

Many people think that color photography is natural evolution of monochrome photography, but it’s not really the case. B&W is still a standalone style. You wouldn’t be able to express the same emotions if you shoot the exact same scene in color. Most of the magic will be gone. And vice verso – some color images will lose their power if processed into black and white. These are two totally separate areas of photography, which gives us all an awesome choice how to express ourselves. That’s why many photography students are doing their first projects in black and white.

Would you be a beginner or already an experienced photographer we encourage you to give black and white photography a try. You will be surprized by what can be achieved by using only black, white and shades of gray color. Also you may enjoy sophistication of the process itself; as it is way more complex than it seems at first. But the outcome is well worth it – you most definitely will keep your best B&W images for life.