It’s all in the contrast

Published on by bushboy

The 2020 Photo Challenge #44 – November Theme/Technique: Black and White Photography

Things to look for

  • If the photo lacks definition try adjusting the contrast or using colour filters in your editing software. Yellow will make things appear darker, orange darker still and red the darkest. Green filters can bring out the detail especially in green subjects. Blue filters block red light, making reds darker.
  • The best black and white photographs often have clear ‘blacks’ and ‘whites’ to guide the viewer.
  • Look for light or dark backgrounds for your photo shoot. Then, simply choose a subject with the opposite tone (light subject with a dark background / dark subject with a light background).
  • Silhouettes don’t necessarily have to be shot with perfect backlight if the subject is dark enough and the background is light.
  • Tones – the underlying brightness, darkness, and shades of grey that appear in an image. The tones of your image – whether dark or bright – should harmonise with the character of the subject itself. Dark tones can be moody and dramatic, light tones ethereal and light.
This week's assignment - Look for patterns. Patterns can be very attractive in black and white as there is no colour to detract the viewer. There are great patterns in nature and architecture.

30 thoughts on “It’s all in the contrast”

  2. What a wonderful variety of black and whites. As I scrolled down over the spiderweb, there was a very interesting optical illusion of the center of the web blinking off and on like a neon sign.. Do you see it?

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    1. Thanks ever so much Sadie 🙂 I love that web photo. Judy said she saw a neon effect when scrolling past. I was amazed I had never noticed. Adds a new dimension to the image 🙂

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  6. Wonderful. I especially liked the indoor shops with the lights all in a row. Fabulous in b & w. The floor even has quilt patterns. Love that. The glass vase within a vase capture is great too

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    1. Thank you Lisa 🙂 That arcade is quite a good place to get photos. The vases are actually the glass tops of old kerosene lamps all in a row in a second hand shop

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  7. Wow, Brian, what can I say except you should have saved some of these for the next few weeks, but something tells me that there are more where these came from. Hard to choose a favourite; the Web is stunning, no neon like flashes on my phone though, I’ll need to view it on the monitor; moody piano keys; boulder and bark patterns. Thanks for the gallery 😁

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