Most amateur photographers choose to use colour and light to enhance thecomposition of their photographs but many don’t realise what effects can becreated using black and white.  Here are some tips on black and whitedigital photography basics.

First of all the amateur photographer needs to remember that black and whiteisn’t just as simple as plain black or plain white.  Don’t forget all theshades of grey in between and the possible contrasts.

Lighting is just as important in black and white digital photography basicsas it is in colour because of the contrasts and textures it can create.

Photographing landscapes:  On a bright sunny day with a cloudless sky,it’s probably best to stick to colour but if there are some clouds, creatingshadows on the ground, this can provide fantastic contrasts.  A reallystormy lowering sky with billowing clouds look great in monochrome, as doreally craggy, rocky landscapes.  A grassy meadow full of wild flowerswon’t create the right effect at all.

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The point of monochrome landscape photography is to produce drama usingcontrast between bright light and dark shadows.  Don’t concentrate onaspects of your photo that would normally require colour to show them to theirbest effect.

Photographing portraits: Another of the black and white digital photographybasics is portraiture.  Most people have seen professional weddingphotographers at work and their resulting monochrome portraits.  The lackof colour means that the subject is the total focus of the photo and the mutedtones lend an air of timelessness and romanticism.

The absence of colour also lends an artistic tone and modern digital camerasoften have different tonal modes such as greyscale and sepia as well as plainblack and white.

Here are some more technical and artistic black and white digitalphotography basics:

1.    Get a camera which will shoot in RAW (this is not anabbreviation, it literally means unprocessed) and will enable you to do theprocessing on your computer and will give you much more flexibility.

2.    Use the lowest possible ISO to reduce the grainyappearance.  You can add it back later, if you wish but you can’t take itout.

3.    Take photos outside on a cloudy day.

4.    As you can’t focus on colour, seek out textures andtones to give interest to your photos.

5.    Use movement in your photos to give impact anddrama.

6.    Invest in a good software program such as AdobePhotoshop for your post production manipulation.

If you follow these black and white digital photography basics, you’ll soonbe turnout out professional quality photographs.

Flash photography is a skill not many try to master. Its like people justdon’t want to learn it and just muddle through with their camera and flash onauto. I’m here to tell you: its super easy!!! The basics of flash exposure:Shutter speed affects ambient light only ISO and aperture affect ambient lightAND flash Flash distance, power, and modifiers all change its output. When youunderstand that concept its easy. If you want to adjust the flash change ISO,aperture, flash power or flash distance. If you only want to change the ambientlight in the scene then adjust your shutter speed. I have all my students startout in manual exposure mode with the flash on manual too. That way you arecontrolling the flash and learning how it works, not just getting by.Video Rating: 4 / 5

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