10 Tips For Better Black and White Photos

Shooting black and white images with digital cameras can produce amazing images. There are a few things to know that are helpful but the results can be wonderful!

#mirrorlesscamera #mirrorlessphotography #digitalphotography #blackandwhite #blackandwhitephotography #microfourthirds #olympus #olympuscamera #panasoniclumix #lumix

[don_at_large]

At 68, am rediscovering monochrome. The older I get, the more I appreciate the elicit mood, emotion of monochrome for scenery, people, buildings. Still use color for Birding, and Flowers. At this stage in my life Color Images leave me flat. Monochrome seems to get more response from people who want to see my pictures. Good advice in your video.

[paulgryniewicz]

Excellent advice. I use my Pen F mostly for black & white photography. It’s flexibility and custom ability make it an ideal camera for b&w.

[cherylwaters]

Great suggestions! We often take shots on our visits to local plant shops, and we'll be using your techniques soon!

[mitHundundRad]

I also set my camera to black and white, but for a different reason. The main reason is not to be distracted by colors when setting the right exposure. Later I can easily get the color image with the RAW file and I have already taken the right exposure without much reworking. In addition, it helps with my analog photography when choosing motifs when I am unsure about the contrast and whether the whole picture looks good on Film.

[robertsaunders]

2 days ago, I dropped my Oly. E-volt 500 on a carpeted floor and it bounced and tumbled and still works fine. I like B & l or Monochrome with all my DSLR's and vintage lenses and manual vintage. Lots of notes about shutter speeds and ISO.

[theronwolf]

Good set of rules. I had been printing some of my pictures in BW, but the first time I used monochrome in the viewfinder I realized how helpful that was for composition. It removed the distractions.

And yes, sometimes the color of some objects in the view are just distraction (and NOT what your want), when you are trying to capture lighting. texture and form.

[marklawson]

Thanks Don for your info I’m very keen on black and white pictures, I will give it a go using your ideas 😊👍🏻

[michelk]

I often shoot in B&W during the winter, especially here in Sweden where I live. There is a lack of colors anyway. I usually shoot B&W in film but I may try a little more in digital. Good advice! It seems to be warm still in your location. Enjoy 😊

[sidensvans]

Black and White all the way . Just wonderful images .

[ddsdss]

Thanks and good stuff. I have a similar background and already employ virtually everything you recommend, with a few twists (for one thing, I primarily shoot Lumix cameras, although I love my Oly 60mm f/2.8 Macro lens). I had a detailed long-winded comment, but it disappeared, so rather than replicate it (your welcome), I'll just add:

Tip #11: PRINT YOUR WORK!!! As I'm sure you know, prints have a feel you just can't replicate with a projected image. With effective post-processing, you can emulate film looks (including specific emulsions and grain) very well. My preference is DxO PhotoLab for RAW processing, exporting to Nik Silver Efex for B&W conversion. I use an Epson P900 pigment-based inkjet printer and only top-grade paper (Epson and other brands). There are of course learning curves with all of this, but it's worth the time and effort. Printing WILL make you a better photographer (plus you can sell prints a lot more easily than NFTs, and they're much greener)!

[Martin-nuym]

I seem to be gravitated to macro for visible light black and white. For landscape, it is a 590nm infrared filter on a full spectrum converted camera. The 590nm filter is the same red filter used for black and white film photography, using that filter for IR gives me a lot of freedom to play with black and white or false color. Since my camera is converted, handheld shots in any type of weather makes the joy of shooting IR year-round for me.

[rob_ward]

Interesting, informative and inspiring. Thank you.

[PLATO]

All very good tips, Don. On Olympus camera’s you can really tweak your b/w pics in terms of contrast and sharpness. On my Lumix GX9 I can even add grain. Amazing possibilities

[davidmill]

Great video Dom - thanks for the advice. I’ve also enjoyed experimenting more with B&W recently, so this is really useful. Some of the Lightroom B&W profiles are really good as well when shooting in Raw.

[simonatterbury]

Great video, have been shooting black and white street shots recently using an E-PM1 and the Oly 17mm F1.8. Last night shot a gig using the same lens but the E-M10 MKIII so I could use the view finder for accurate manual focus . I use the monochrome picture profile so I ca accurately adjust the exposure and slightly under expose to crush the shadows as you have suggested.

Shooting back and white is great fun and will pop into London this week and try with a longer focal length lens. I may make some large blow ups of the best pics.

[kenpendergrass]

Interesting Nikon screen is automatically monochrome when selected. Also don’t forget format. I’m enjoying 1x1, square. In Nikon menu it’s called picture size. And good video thank you

[christophejournoud]

Hi,
Thanks for the advices. As I search on my E-P5, the only way to see in B&W on screen is to choose the B&W mode for photo. And yes the peaking mode brings back the color screen. It is not that bad because on the E-P5 the color for peaking can only be B ou W 😀

[VictorReynolds]

I do a lot of B&W work at night. The world takes on a whole new look at night.

[mikek]

I do tons of B&W with my Lumix M43. I actually have two Lumix G7 bodies... one has been modified for B&W Infrared and I carry both of them everywhere. If you really want to create some stunning images, dip your toe into B&W infrared. Back in the old days, I did lots of film B&W infrared (Kodak HIE), and loved it ... even with all of the uncertainty, slow shutter speeds and fuss. But when I got my first digital camera converted to infrared about 20 years ago, it was a revelation. I've have 4 cameras converted since and it's probably my favorite photographic genre. I never get tired of the ethereal look.