By Editor Miro Susta
Edited and published by Yvette Depaepe, the 26th of April 2024

Black-and-white: the opposites, but in perfect partnership.
A duo of classic colours evoking pure elegance, strong enough to convey a clear message with all their simplicity.

'Morning at Ra Gusela' by Lubos Balazovic

Black-and-white photography has a special atmosphere for me. To this day I am still turning over in my old family albums full of portraits of my parents, siblings, friends as well as of myself. They take me back to the past, and still have a special magic effect on me.

1949

Almost all the photos from my childhood and youth are in black-and-white. But that was a long time ago and is inextricably linked to my childhood and youth.

Since then, I have fallen in love with the beautiful interplay of the two colours and the contrasts that can enhance the power of the moment and the emotions.

'House in white' by Frank Peters

Although we live in the digital age, black-and-white photography is still based on analogue black-and-white film. In the past, the photographer simply inserted a roll of black-and-white negative film and that was it.

'London’s peanuts (Film)' by Didier Guibert

However, everything has completely changed with digital technology today. With one or two clicks the photographer can create a black-and-white photo from a colour one, achieving amazing control over the tones.

'The night walked down the sky…' by Yvette Depaepe

It makes sense to think in black-and-white before or during the photo capture, but the advantages of the final image quality are only noticeable during post-processing.

'The mirror of the clouds' by Aida Ianeva

The post-processing software uses the colour information captured at the time of shooting to allow the photographer to decide how dark or light each colour should be.

***Cloudy evening at the lake*** by Franz Engels

For example, some green tones in the landscape can be optimised so that they stand out darkly against the bright sky in the background.

'Eternity' by Thomas de Franzoni

Software programs manage this in diverse ways, but most have sliders for each colour (usually red, blue, green, yellow, etc.…), and when converting to black-and-white, the tone can be lightened or darkened by raising or lowering each colour slider.

'Winter is coming' by Lars van de Goor

For example, in the following landscape photo, three layers were created: green foreground, middle rocky and white mountains in the background, and the whole well separated from a grey and white sky.

'Alpine view' by Miro Susta    

In another photo, the photographer presents a landscape with a white waterfall, dark grass and rocks and a bright sky in the background in strong graphic contrast as black and white, whereas the same treatment of a colour image would look heavily over-processed.

'In search of Thrasi Thorolfsson’s treasure' by Cedric Leblond

Following few motif ideas for black-and-white photography.

LANDSCAPE
In landscape photography, black-and-white can be used very effectively to emphasise the texture and structure of rocks, trees and grasses.

'Dark Barrika' by Antonio Carrillo Lopez

Black-and-white is a particularly desirable choice for landscapes with strong contrasts between light and shadow.

'Ox Bow #2 in BW' by Matt Anderson

Cloud formations and skies also look dramatic in black-and-white.

ARCHITECTURE
In architectural photography, black-and-white can achieve a powerful effect. Building structures, lines and patterns can be visibly emphasised in black-and-white.

'Convergence' by Hans-Wolfgang Hawerkamp

High contrast and dramatic shadows give architectural photography a special atmosphere.

'Meaningful Cells' by Akira Takaue

STREET
Street photography benefits from the black-and-white colour combination, as it captures the mood and feeling of a sometimes extremely short scene very effectively without any other colour interfering with the effect.

'MAD Madrid' by Alejandro Marcos

'Involvement' by Didier Guibert

PORTRAIT
Black-and-white portraits are timeless, classy and elegant. The absence of colour draws the viewer's eye to the essentials: the face and expression of the person portrayed and emphasises emotions and character traits.

'Eri' by Miharu †

ACT ART
A beautiful representation of the black-and-white act photo, which can appear more feminine, is achieved with a large and diffuse light source that significantly minimises shadows.

'Miss July' by Dieter Plogmann

The best way to do this is for the light to come from the side at an angle from above. This makes the skin appear more even and the image looks friendlier due to the lower contrast.

'Art Nude Audition waiting room' by Colin Dixon

Three of the following photo editing techniques, which are closely linked to black and white photography, should not be forgotten.

SELECTIVE COLOURS
In selective colour techniques, one colour or a single-coloured object is displayed in a black-and-white picture.

'Roentgenium' by Holger Glaab

'Beauty Through Order' by Marsel van Oosten

HIGH KEY
High-key photography relates to a photographic style in which the picture is composed of light-coloured tones. Its objective is to create a very bright and almost overexposed photo that conveys a positive, bright mood.

'Lost' by Ales Komovec

LOW KEY
The low-key style is the exact opposite of the high-key photography technique. Here the photograph consists of dark tones. The very dark and high-contrast photos create a negative to dramatic mood.

'Waves of Ballerina' by Antonyus Bunjamin (Abe)

Black-and-white is an abstraction and the stripping away of the "real" colour - this opens the view to the essentials.

'Symmetry Art' by Miro Susta

The main benefit of black-and-white photography is that the photographer can play with light and shadow, how light and shadow contrast and co-exist within a composition to create a dramatic effect.

'of solitude and other demons' by Josefina Melo

'White Swan is Landing' by Angela Muliani Hartojo

The beauty of black-and-white photography is that the attention is focussed on the most important elements in the photo. The combination of black-and-white is the best way to show the blackness as well as the light and shadows.

'The Spy Who Loved Him' by Richard Bland

'Sunrise-Death Valley' by Wanghan Li

Taking black-and-white photos means focussing on the essentials.
"A subject that impresses with strong colours may be disappointing when presented in greyscale," says photographer and photography trainer Rolf Walther.

'Beauty of Reflection !' by Mrinal Nath

If you have any further ideas or suggestions on how to get the best out of black-and-white photography, please do not hesitate to comment!

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