10 steps to better BLACK & WHITE

Kav Dadfar explains his favourite ways of creating impactful monochrome images in any location and lighting conditions

- Kav Dadfar

1. Use shapes and textures

In the absence of colour, detail can hold the viewer’s interest

If you look at any subject matter in its simplest form, it is a collection of different shapes that create what we recognise as an object, person or even a landscape. For example, visualise a silhouette of a tree – you don’t need any details within the silhouette to know that what you are looking at is a tree. Shapes help the photographer compose in a way that translates a desired mood.

But shapes by themselves can lack something important in black and white photography, which is varied emotion. This is where textures can become an important element of a photo. Using our example of a tree, imagine if the tree was sitting in a still lake with soft, smooth water. This creates a more tranquil tone. Now imagine the same tree but on a pavement with harsh tarmac and paving slabs around it. It certainly won’t portray the same emotion or mood.

The combination of both shapes and textures is incredibly important in helping to create the story in black and white imagery.

2. Adapt to your subject Learn to select your subject with care for maximum impact

Whether it was taken in a studio or outdoors, when you strip colour away from a photograph, your subject matter becomes even more important. Not all subjects will work in black and white, in exactly the same way that not all black-and-white photos would look good in colour. In some compositions, it’s the colours that draw the viewer’s eyes and add the contrast needed to make the composition work.