BLACK AND WHITE PHOTOGRAPHY: 8 MISTAKES YOU SHOULD AVOID (ESPECIALLY THE LAST ONE)
BLACK AND WHITE PHOTOGRAPHY: 8 MISTAKES YOU SHOULD AVOID (ESPECIALLY THE LAST ONE)
Black and white photography has almost as many followers as photography in general, or I would almost say more, because even those who are not fond of photography end up using their mobile filters or monochrome mode to shoot when saving their visual memories. Because it is fashionable, because of nostalgia, because yes ... or going one step further, because it enamors, seduces, attracts and because a good black and white photograph makes you even vibrate. Here I have to insist, a good onePhotography. Not everything goes in black and white, in fact it is very easy to spoil a photograph by shooting in black and white or convert it later. There are some very common and recurring mistakes that you should avoid at all costs if you want your grayscale photography to be strong enough to leave the viewer gawking and unable to stop staring at your image.
TEACHING MISTAKES
In other articles we have given you tips for better black and white photography and even some tricks to succeed with your black and white photography.. Today, on the contrary, I am going to tell you about mistakes, because many times concentrating on them we learn more. Errors often teach us more than successes, and we should not see them as something negative, but as part of a process of learning and improvement. With each mistake you learn to distinguish and correct, you will go one step further to become a better photographer or photographer. In this article I tell you, many with examples, so that on the one hand you review the black and white photos that did not convince you and you did not know why, probably because you have fallen into one of these traps that I am going to tell you. And on the other hand so that you avoid them from now on and don't end up like the girl on the cover when you see your results. There they go:
1. Look in color. Sometimes we really like a photo and we decided to convert it to grayscale because of that black and white is so cool. This does not always work. If an image is sustained by color, it is a huge mistake to delete it. As much as we want a black and white photo ... we had better compose another one from the beginning thinking about how to stand out.
If your image is sustained by color, it is a big mistake to turn it into monochrome.2. Not having a clear center of interest. A black and white photograph does not have colors that distract attention, that provoke emotions in the public. So you have to have something that arouses the viewer's attention and interest, a clear center of interest, a story to tell. The gaze must know where to go and what to read.
The gaze is lost in this image and does not know where to focus attention.3. High ISO. You have to know that the black and white noise is much more evident. You may want to use it as a creative element, consciously include it in your image, if so, go ahead, it sure looks great. However, if you do not have that intention, do not forget to set the ISO value as low as possible when shooting or noise will spoil the result. If you get lost with this term, do not stop reading this .The noise is more noticeable in black and white4. Flat skies. If your photography includes a good proportion of sky, make sure it has clouds, because otherwise it will be as bland as a meal without salt, or as a garden without flowers. The clouds create contrast and provide information, if you remove a clear sky the beautiful blue ... what do you have left?
So you can see it clearly, here are two images with different skies, which one catches your attention the most?
Cloudless skyCloudy sky.5. Shoot in monochrome. This happens a lot and it is a big mistake, because in this case it is the machine that decides for you how to do the conversion and also there will be no going back, if the image does not convince you later because you realize that the color was important, since you will not be able to recover it. Always shoot in color and then, in the "security" of your home, convert it to grayscale and if it does not convince you, leave it in color.
6. Lack of contrast. Ideally, in black and white photography, it should contain black and white. If your image only contains intermediate grays, it will be a rather flat photograph. This does not mean that it has to be a super contrasted image, but the different shades of the gray scale, from one extreme to the other, will make it much more attractive to the eye. Look at the two images below, which of the two seems more interesting to you?
A matter of contrasts7. Always shoot in JPG. Maybe you don't know that there is life beyond JPG and I'm not talking about galaxies or anything like that, I'm talking about photographic formats. The JPG format results in a compressed file that leaves a lot of information on the way. If you shoot with a mobile or a compact you will have no other options than this, but if you do it with an SLR you have the opportunity to work in RAW , which is as if you saved the entire scene on your camera and at home, when processing the image you can adjust and readjust the values as you are interested, something that is not possible in JPG. It is not always convenient to shoot in RAW, like everything, it has its advantages and disadvantages, however, when you want to get a spectacular photograph, try shooting in RAW, you can put more of yourself on it, put your signature, your creativity ..., in short, you will have more plasticity when it comes to working with it.
8. Not composing well. Composition in black and white photography is really important. I have already told you that the absence of color makes you lose tools with which to get excited and you must turn to other resources. Composition is in this case your most important resource. You can destroy a possible spectacular photograph if you do not make a good arrangement of the elements within your frame. Remember that there are some compositional rules that you do not always have to strictly observe, but you do need to know them well to break them with a clear intention. The mistake is not breaking them when necessary, the mistake is not knowing those rules and skipping them out of ignorance.
The importance of a good compositionWithout a good composition your photography will have no appeal
If you avoid these errors, especially the last one, you will achieve better black and white images, I have no doubt. Just as I have no doubt that the best way to learn and improve is to practice and make mistakes. And there is no need to stay there, at that point, you must be the most critical person with your own work, analyze what the errors are and avoid them at all costs. If you leave your camera stored in its case, you will not make mistakes, of course, but you will also not get photos that move.
What are you waiting for? Find your camera and jump into capturing stunning black-and-white images, but first I'd appreciate it if you found this interesting or useful if you shared this article on Facebook, Twitter or Google+. Thank you and see you next article!
