How to See & Photograph in Black & White

“It just looks good” is the most common “argument” amongst the b/w enthusiasts. I’ve heard it so many times, and I disagree with this notion most of the time. Not any colour image looks good in b/w although, of course, occasionally one might get happy accidents. I believe that the reality of a b/w is more complex, more nuanced. When one intentionally photographs with no colour, it sets different challenges, and there are a few principles that apply too.

I rarely take b/w images, because 9 out of 10 they don’t look great. There is a reason for it - I don’t think in b/w. I bought my first camera in 2008, it was semi-professional DSLR with a kit lens. Since then I’ve gone through various cameras, I switched from digital to analogue and back, but somehow, in all these years the learning curve in photography avoided the topic of b/w photography, until now. Maybe, shooting in colour and the fact we all see the colourful world we live in made it more convenient, or perhaps more ‘native’ for me to photograph.

Pavel, on the other hand, started exploring the world of photography as a kid and back then the only available medium was b/w 35mm film.

He trained his eye in b/w photography from the start of his journey when he was only 7 years old. No doubt he has a great vision when it comes to b/w image, something I need to learn and practise a lot more of. All photographs featured in this post are from Pavel’s personal archives.

The long winter months is the time when nature naturally lacks the variety of colour. I thought it’s a great time exploring this subject. I’ve started my research and came across the lecture by Eileen Rafferty aimed at people like me - who wants to try b/w photography. The talk is very informative, and I made a lot of notes, happy to share them with you too!

WHY SHOOT BLACK & WHITE?

There are a few factors that may or may not make a successful b/w image. It requires a lot of practice, but knowing the basics, it will speed up the process of training your eye for b/w photography. Eileen Rafferty explains it with great detail in this video.

I encourage you to watch the full video on this topic (speed it up x1.5), it’s very informative. Below you will find my notes and a few pictures from personal archives.

Self-portrait of both of us taken on Ilford XP2 35mm film