The biggest problem with in-camera black and white is that contrasting colours can end up with a similar tonal value in your images.

There are a number of ways to change the way that individual colours are converted into black and white, including in-camera filter effects, but the best way to learn is by using the black-and-white adjustment tools in either Elements or Photoshop CS.

These adjustments allow you to use sliders to control how individual colours are converted into black-and-white tones. Darkening or lightening the tones of these colours can transform your final result compared to a more basic conversion.

To use these tools you’ll need to use a colour original, so you should either turn off the black-and-white picture mode on your camera, or simply shoot in raw format and then process the raw file without using the black-and-white effect.

Shooting for success
This conversion technique relies on contrasting colours in your original image, so we chose to shoot a simple pink flower against a blue background. The basic set-up was positioned on a table close to a window, but not in direct sunlight.

This diffuse lighting was deliberately chosen to provide a soft light without there being too many shadows on the flower or the background.

With your image open in Elements, you simply need to go to Enhance>Convert to Black and White.

This will open up a new window that contains a whole range of preset styles to choose from, along with the manual controls for adjusting the red, green and blue intensity, and a contrast control.

On the next page we’ll take a look at some of the Preset options available in Photoshop Elements.

PAGE 1: Shooting images you can easily convert to black and white
PAGE 2: Black and white conversion in Photoshop Elements
PAGE 3: Black and white conversion in Photoshop CS

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Despite the many changes in how we shoot and manipulate images having moved on from film photography, many of the basic skills are still the same. The real difference is the time it takes. The shooting and developing process that once took days can now be mastered in a few hours.

So in the new installment of our ongoing Shoot Like A Pro series we’ve come up with a set of tasks to help you master the art of black and white photography. From simple shooting to controlling contrast and tones, these tasks will take between 30 minutes and a couple of hours.

Follow these tasks, and by the end you’ll be shoot professional-quality black and white photography in no time at all!

This week we’ll be starting at the shooting stage of making black and white photography.You can save time and effort by getting your results right in-camera, so the first task will be visualising and composing a world without colour.

How to pre-visualise and compose for black and white photography

We are so used to seeing the world in colour that it can be difficult to get to grips with how everything will look when converted to black and white photography.

So, if you are struggling to see in mono, try setting your camera’s picture mode to black and white, then simply get out and take some photos.

Using this picture mode will give you the ability to instantly review your images in black and white to see if they work or not, and how the different colours convert into monochrome tones.

For even quicker feedback you can also view the scene in black and white by switching to Live View mode. If you don’t like what you see, you can just find a different subject and try again.

PAGE 1: How to compose for black and white photography
PAGE 2: Good subjects for black and white photography
PAGE 3: Try using in-camera filters for your black and white photography
PAGE 4: Shooting images you can easily convert to black and white
PAGE 5: Black and white conversion in Photoshop Elements
PAGE 6: Black and white conversion in Photoshop CS
PAGE 7: Master Photoshop Levels and Curves
PAGE 8: Using the Levels sliders
PAGE 9: Master the Dodge and Burn tools
PAGE 10: Toning techniques for black and white photography

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Converting an image to black and white is pretty simple, but if you want truly impressive results it pays to think about how and what you shoot, and learn how to use your editing software’s powerful tools to get the most from your shots. In this black and white photography tutorial, we’ll show you how to choose your subjects, set up your camera and how simple but effective adjustments in Photoshop can make your images stand out.

We’ll also reveal how to get creative with high-contrast graphic compositions and create moody landscapes, and show you how dramatic high- and low-key effects can be used 
to transform your still lifes and portraits.

How to see in black and white

When it comes to black-and-white imagery, being able to ‘see’ how your final shot will look is a key skill. It’s important to understand how the colour image you see through your camera’s viewfinder will translate into a monochrome image. To get the best results, you have to look beyond the colours, and instead try to visualise how a shot’s shapes, textures and tones will be recorded.

The success of your black-and-white shots relies on several different factors, but the main thing to look out for is a main subject that will appear in a significantly different shade of grey to the background. Then look out for subtleties of tone and texture that will add depth to your images.

It’s tempting to think that white balance doesn’t matter if you’re going to remove the colour, 
but because the success of any conversion relies on successfully translating colours into attractive tones, it’s important to capture an image without any colour casts.

Recognising potential shots when out in the field can take practice, so why not try converting some of your existing images to black and white to get a better feel for what will work (for more, see Black and white landscapes: make a mono masterpiece)?

Good subjects for black and white photography

When you use photo-editing software to remove the colour from an image you instantly lose one element that the viewer relies on to interpret the scene. So other elements become even more important for successful black and white images.

Here’s 
a run-down of the most common elements that you should look for when identifying a suitable subject for the black-and-white treatment. Remember that these elements can be used individually, or even combined 
to produce marvellous mono images with clout.

1 Contrast, shape & form
One of the fundamental aspects of black and white photography is that your whole composition relies on contrast (for on composing images, see our 10 rules of photo composition – and why they work). For this reason, look out for subjects that feature simple, strong lines and shapes. It’s often the shadows that define shape and form, so pay attention to areas of darkness, as well as light.

2 Tone
Black and white photos actually include a whole range of greys, which add subtlety to your images. Normally, you look for subjects that will translate into a range of tones from black to white, but you can also get great results where the subject is mostly light (high-key) or dark (low-key).

3 Texture and detail
Fine detail, or strong textures such as weather-beaten stone, foliage or clouds, can help to give your black-and-white shots depth and interest. Strong side lighting is perfect for bringing out the texture in any subject. You 
can use strong natural light, or get creative with flash to create sidelighting on the subject.

4 Graphic composition
Black-and-white images need strong compositions to really work. Keep an eye out for strong lines or features in your scene that can be used as leading lines, or positioned diagonally across the frame to create dynamic images.

Bad subjects for black and white photography

There’s no absolute right or wrong when it comes to choosing a subject for black-and-white, but you’ll come across subjects and scenes that rely on colour for their impact, and also lighting conditions that don’t work well in monochrome.

Here are some examples of what to avoid when looking for suitable subjects for black and white photography.

Bland skies
It’s easy to think that because you don’t need bright colours you can shoot black-and-white images in any light or in any weather. It’s certainly true that with some skillful conversion and adjustment in Photoshop post-shoot you can add drama , but the sturdier the building blocks the better your finished image will be (find out How to fix bleached skies in Photoshop). So, unless you’re trying to create a minimalist image it’s worth taking the time to capture maximum detail in the best lighting conditions possible.

2 Safeguarding mood
If the scene you’re shooting relies on colour for mood or impact, chances are you’ll be better off keeping the image in colour, as in our mushroom image above. Sunrise or sunset shots are another good example; you should always ask yourself whether the image loses some impact without the subtle hues.

3 Colour contrasts
Subjects that rely on contrasting colours – such as a purple crocus against a green lawn – generally don’t work well in black and white. This is because the two colours will end up looking similar in tone when converted.

Try graphic compositions

Simple shapes and a strong composition virtually guarantee striking black-and-white images. With their straight lines and dramatic angles, man-made structures are ideal for this type of shot, although for more organic shapes you can also try working with trees, rocks or foliage.

To make the most of graphic shapes, try to make your composition as simple as possible. Keep an eye 
out for plain backgrounds, and try shooting with the subject at an angle (find out How to remove background distractions). For the shot above we chose a composition that avoided including as much of the surrounding architecture and street furniture 
as possible, with striking results.

High-contrast lighting can really help to enhance graphic shapes, so make the most of strong side lighting from the sun. If you’re using your own lighting, position a single light to one side of the subject. Strong, direct light creates crisp shadows, which make graphic subjects in their own right.

8 secrets for setting up your camera to take black and white photos

1 Check (and balance) exposure
Beware of over-exposure (with mostly dark tones) or under-exposure (mostly light tones). If your scene has many light tones, for instance, high-key subjects commonly appear under-exposed. Using about +1.5EV exposure compensation should help balance such an exposure (find out how to use this feature effective in our guide to exposure compensation, part of our ongoing photography cheat sheet series).

2 Aperture advice
To ensure that the scene on 
the opposite page was sharp from front to back, we used an aperture of f/16, focusing on the grass about a third of the way into the scene (download our free f-stop chart for understanding aperture).

3 ISO and grain
The noise generated by some cameras at high ISOs doesn’t have the same aesthetic quality as film grain, so it’s best to shoot at ISO100 or 200 if possible, and 
then add a more authentic film grain effect later (learn how to reduce noise at high ISO settings).

4 File format
To ensure the best quality, shoot in raw to capture maximum tonal and detail information. The raw file will include more data than a JPEG, and will give you complete control over sharpening, contrast and white balance adjustments.

5 Mono picture style
This is handy for visualising how your subject will look in mono, but don’t shoot in JPEG format, as this will permanently discard all colour information. Instead, shoot in raw so that you can take control of 
how the colours are converted.

6 Banish dark shadows
For high-key images you need to make sure that the background is bright, and also that the lighting on the main subject is quite diffused (see below how we gave this subject a striking high-key effect).

7 Consider composition
This is the building we chose for our graphic composition, as it appeared on the day. As you can see, choosing the right viewpoint, and excluding as many unwanted distractions as possible (such as that annoying street lamp!), is key to producing really graphic images.

8 Ensure detail with filters
It’s always best to capture as much detail as possible in your original image. We used a soft-edged ND grad filter to prevent the sky from becoming over-exposed (for more, see ND grad filters: what every photographer should know).

Using filters

Traditional coloured filters used for black-and-white film aren’t suitable for digital cameras, but you can still boost the contrast in your graphic black-and-white shots by using a polariser. By rotating the filter you’ll be able to darken blue skies, making lighter objects such as buildings or clouds stand out more clearly. 
The polariser will also remove reflections from non-metallic objects such as glass or water, which helps to produce more graphic images.

Shooting low- and high-key black and white photos

Successful black-and-white images don’t always have to contain an even mix of light and dark tones. Look for subjects that have mainly light tones to produce clean-looking ‘high-key’ images.

These images work best when you have a light-coloured background to work with, and also soft, diffused lighting to prevent too many dark shadows spoiling the high-key effect.

Close-ups, still lifes and portraits – where you often have control over the lighting and background – make good subjects for the high-key treatment, but don’t discount the possibility of shooting high-key landscapes when there’s snow or mist, as these conditions are naturally dominated by lighter tones.

Alternatively, try shooting scenes made up of mainly shadows and midtones. The dark tones give a sense of mystery, making it an effective technique for intense portraits.

For successful ‘low-key’ images you need to make sure that little or no light falls onto your background, so only the main subject is lit. This is usually achieved by controlling the lighting using flash or continuous lighting, such as a reading lamp, but you can achieve low-key results using daylight alone; you just need to search out areas of shadows to use.

Black and white conversion tips you need to know

Now that we’ve looked at how to choose suitable subjects for black and white photography, and then set our cameras to shoot them, we inevitably come to photo editing. Using the examples we looked at above, in this section we’ll look at how to fine tune your black and white photos.

Below are key points you should know when converting black and white photos with lots of texture and detail, graphic compositions, high-key and low-key images.

Expert dodging
The derelict building is the shot’s main focus, but it’s been thrown into darkness during the black-and-white conversion. To fix this, we used the Dodge tool to reveal hidden detail in the building’s dark slate (see also How to adjust tones using the dodge and burn tool).

Boosting contrast
Both the sky and the foreground in the photo above lacked contrast in our initial conversion, so we used a Photoshop Curves adjustment layer to selectively increase the contrast in these areas.

In more graphic compositions like this one, you’ll want to maximise contrast, as we’ve done here with this tower block using a Curves adjustment layer to darken the sky and also lighten the main structure of the building.

Lighten the background
Even if your background is illuminated, you may still need to use a Curves adjustment layer in Photoshop to make it lighter. Do this by dragging the right-hand end of the curve upwards.

Sharpen the detail
To really draw attention to the sharpest areas of the subject, add a little extra sharpening using Photoshop’s Unsharp Mask filter. The lack of shadows makes noise much less noticeable.

Make the blacks black
To make the image appear even more low-key, we used a Levels adjustment layer in Photoshop. In the Levels window, we dragged the grey centre slider and the black left-hand slider to the right of the histogram to darken the midtone areas and the shadows. We then selectively masked out this adjustment to bring back detail in the model’s face.

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In our hectic, image-saturated world it’s easy to see why Zen-like minimalist photography has become popular. Simple framing, long exposures, square crops and eery mono treatments can create stunning and visually soothing results. The good news is that they’re also simple to create. Here, we’ll share tips that will help you to get similar minimalist landscapes of your own, including how to use an ND filter to slow shutter speeds, how to avoid camera shake and how to convert your RAW file to black and white.

While many subjects can work for a minimalist composition, scenes that capture the tranquillity of water work exceptionally well. So, with that in mind, we headed to the seaside town of Clevedon in the UK. The brown, muddy water didn’t lend itself to colour images, but looked great in black and white.

Black and white conversions work very well with minimalist landscapes or seascapes; sometimes, less really can mean more. A great exponent of this approach is Michael Kenna, whose approach to seascapes is entirely surreal. Using a square format, and often heavily vignetted, his work is particularly noted for creative use of long exposures. This turns otherwise obvious textures, such as clouds and waves, into soft suggestion by heavy ND filter usage or shooting in extremely low light. It’s this exploitation of movement that creates his famed dreamlike effect.

To master this simple technique we recommend looking for a visual anchor. If you’re shooting near the coast, try using features such as groins or posts, because these lead the viewer’s eye into the frame. We created a symmetrical composition to reinforce the simplicity of the framing and pre-visualised a square crop.

Sometimes the sheer lack of features can be just as compelling. 3-stop, 6-stop and even 10-stop Neutral Density (ND) filters can give much greater control of shutter speed and should be top of the minimalist landscape photographer’s kit list. See our guide to using ND filters for long exposures in daylight.

Step 1: Keep your camera still

To avoid blur caused by camera shake during the long exposure, take all the usual precautions, such as using a tripod, a cable release (or self-timer) to fire the shutter, and locking the mirror in the up position.

Step 2: Use an ND filter to slow things down

Compose and focus your image, then attach a Neutral Density filter to your lens to reduce the amount of light that hits the sensor, in this case by 10 stops. On our shoot, this gave an exposure of 15 secs.

Step 3: Edit your RAW file

Use your RAW editor to make a mono conversion (we used the Black and White Mix tab in Lightroom 3). Create a square crop, then use Graduated Filter to apply an ND Grad effect that gently darkens the sky.

It’s essential to pre-visualise how your whole scene will work as a long exposure and in black and white before you start shooting.

Initially we tried to avoid the people here, but in retrospect they added a haunting human presence that’s surprisingly effective.

A long exposure of 15 seconds and a simple, symmetrical composition helped to create this srong minimalist scene.

Without the extra dimension (or confusion!) of colour, you can more easily explore the shapes, lighting and textures of an image in a new way. These quick photography tips show you how.

1 Think in mono

It’s all very well using Photoshop to do a mono conversion of a colour shot and hoping that it looks good, but the greatest black-and-white images by all the best photographers have been pre-visualised that way. Even if you’re capturing your original images in colour, try to think of and look for subjects with mono shots in mind and you’ll start producing better results.

2 Filter effects

Traditional film photographers used coloured filters to control the type of mono images they produced – a red filter would generally increase the contrast, for example. You can put a filter on your digital camera and achieve similar results, although your original file will be tinted with the colour before you convert to black and white. If you’d like the best of both worlds, shoot without a filter but replicate the effect in post-processing. Most image-editing packages offer a menu of filter presets.

3 Duotone

A duotone effect can be used to enhance your mono images. The effect can be replicated using software such as Photoshop CS or Photoshop Elements in a number of ways, and it’s a relatively easy technique to learn. But it’s important to think about how a coloured tint will affect the overall mood of your picture. A blue tint evokes a sense of coolness that might not be appropriate for some subjects but perfect for others. A yellow or brownish tint, such as sepia, might allude to something old and historical.

4 Split-toning

This wonderful technique was popular with traditional black-and-white photographers who, using a concoction of chemicals, would literally split the tones in their prints. The end result would show a subtle shift to one tint in the highlights and lighter tones while another tint would colour the dark tones. The results could be spectacular. Like many old darkroom techniques you can easily recreate a split-tone effect in Photoshop and other software, and it’s a lot less messy.

5 Texture, form & shape

Without colour a black-and-white image is reliant on texture, form and shape. As you go about your photographic business, train your brain and eye to disregard the colour information and instead concentrate on the shapes and light within the frame.

6 Shoot RAW

Shoot in RAW and use the power of processing software such as Adobe Camera Raw to convert your images non-destructively to black and white. You can also change the tones and contrast and even add a coloured tint. It’s also possible to replicate the effect of a split-tone image and add a vignette effect for an extra creative touch.

7 Black & white portraits

Portraiture can be greatly enhanced with a competent mono conversion. Where clothing and hair colours can clash and distract from your subject’s face, a black and white conversion can draw the eyes to their facial features instead. It’s also a good way to smooth out facial skin tones. Just don’t expect to get a great image if you simply desaturate the picture. You’ll end up with a flat grey photo. Instead, follow this guide to quality black and white conversion and use dodge and burn techniques to boost contrast in specific areas.

8 High key/low key

Through a combination of lighting and digital darkroom techniques you can create mono images that are either very light or dark in their tonal quality. Images produced in this way can be beautiful and emotive, but it’s not simply a case of over- or under-exposing your shots or pushing Photoshop’s Levels sliders to the extremes. Use lighting and exposure to create images that still have detail in the highlights or shadows. Your camera’s histogram and highlight clipping alerts will come in very handy for this technique.

9 Mono HDR

Ansel Adams (1902-1984) was a master mono photographer who developed the zone system so that he could get details in both the highlight and shadows of his splendid scenes. Today you can cheat a little. By taking several images of a scene at different exposures you can combine them using HDR (High Dynamic Range) software, such as Photomatix. This is a great way to get an image with a full tonal range, but don’t go over the top!

10 Practice!

The more you train your eye to see in black and white the better your images will be. There’s no substitute for hard graft and, as with most crafts, practice makes perfect. So get out there, keep your mono eyes open and shoot like crazy!

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