Day: November 5, 2019

B&W and Monochrome

Published on by Laura Bloomsbury26 Comments

Those of us with digital cameras are advised to shoot in RAW and convert to B&W post-camera. Best of all though by shooting RAW & JPG on a monochrome setting I get to see the tones and have an idea of what the RAW conversion will look like.

Often though I do not do anything with RAW files because my software cannot transfer them via Bluetooth & needs a physical connection (which I have but do not always use). Partly too, because I do not fully understand colour as B&W and so make do with the JPG outcome. Now however is as good a time as any to stretch my knowledge.

B&W images rely just as much if not more, on complementary colours for contrast otherwise some hues can all resemble each other and the greyscale image becomes flat – these are RED:GREEN; BLUE:ORANGE; YELLOW:PURPLE.

Looking at how colour filters work with B&W has also helped me to understand the complementary relationships – (these are simulated in Lightroom)

B&W with Red filter effect: ” turns a blue sky almost black and makes clouds stand out. If you like dramatic b&w landscapes, you should definitely experiment with a red filter! “
B&W with Red filter effect : “contrasts with drama & illuminates flowers such as poppy”
B&W with Orange filter effect: “For buildings and cityscapes, gives brick and warm-coloured materials vibrant tone to stand out against the sky. “
B&W with Yellow filter effect: “improves plant photography, making foliage and light-coloured flowers more luminous. “
B&W with Green filter effect: ” for photographing nature and used in landscape photography too – can enhance the appearance of grass and lighten the sky. “
B&W with Blue filter effect: ” rarely used in B&W photography because it darkens colours and reduces contrast. Suitable for early morning scenes or hazy mountains with a serene atmosphere.”

Do we with DSLRs need cool or warm colour filters?
With editing software the answer is superficially no but “since digital photography is all about the intensity & quality of light, lens filters are often necessary to modify the light before it enters the lens.”*
Even post-processing cannot improve poor lighting

And of course B&W greyscale is not the only monochrome (one-colour). Added to that are all the tints of sepia or selenium as well as split toning the lights and darks in other hues.

  • The Tidemill, Woodbridge – sepia filter
  • Flower stall Kings Cross – sepia monochrome
  • Acer summer foliage with soft sepia filter
  • Hepworth sculpture with vintage sepia filter

Often where glass and sky meet the outcome is a natural monochrome

  • Tate St Ives – Cornwall
  • Turner Gallery – Margate
  • Kew Gardens Palm House in winter blue sunshine
  • Hepworth Scultpture in natural light- Tate St Ives, Cornwall
Sometimes a JPG suffices to say all that can be said in B&W!
* see "Lens Filters Explained"
Image quotes from "How to Use Colour Filters in B&W Photography"

Introspectives:  thinking out loud with an aim to improve and learn more about photography. Hence the images are not always for show – feedback is welcome.
And thanks to Patti & this week’s Lens Artists Photo Challenge for the opportunity to look at Monochrome