black and white

[bushnall]

Hi all

For college I have to shoot black and white on FILM yes film so my question is what looks good in B&W, I have never shot in straight b&w before, I have converted colour into b&w using photoshop channel mixer so i am able to alter the tones in mono to how i like but straight into b&w and only 36 prints I need to get it right
Many thanks in advance
Chris Bushnall
Northanmpton

[ianpinion]

Hi Chris,

I think you would be best posing this question directly to someone like Abers, who works predominantly in black and white. Saying that, you know yourself from converting colour images to black and white what should work and what won't. The general rule is to make sure your image has a wide tonal range as this will add to the drama within it. Look for textures and patterns as these always work well in black and white. For further inspiration, why not have a look through the galleries on this site as there have been some very atmospheric black and white shots on here.

[bushnall]

Thanks for the reply Ian, I will certainly look at his work. If I was shooting digital I would not of bothered with this question as i could shoot away and delete rubbish shots but film I cannot delete, 36 chances, for decent prints luckly college is developing the film

[ianpinion]

For a few guidance notes click here and go to the newsletter download section. The September newsletter is all about how to see images in black and white. Hope this is of more help.

[chris-p]

Look for things with lots of tones in rather than colour (which is what we normally do).

You could go out with a digital camera in B&W mode so you can take some shots, see what works and then take the shots on film... or does that count as cheating?!

[bushnall]

Thanks Ian will look at the link you sent me.
Chris thanks for the tip....................me cheat....................only if it helps HAHAHAHAH will do that aswell, I wont be doing film photography for a living it will be digital but my college assignment this week is film and dark room printing, and I have borrowed a canon 30 film slr camera to play with