50,000 Shades of Gray
The basics for any photo:
- Composition
- Impact
- Subject/background separation
- Technique
Qualities of the Successful Monochrome Image
- Tonality and Contrast
- Lines and graphics and shape/form
- Textures
- Light
- Angle of light brings out texture
- Can limit range of tones to high or low key
- Rich blacks and bright whites
- Simplicity (photo simplicity)
- Storing telling
- Street Photography
- Mood – emotion
Technique
- Shoot in Raw
- Process as a color image first
- Then convert to monochrome – Nik Silver Effects Pro; Black & White Adjustment Layer; Channel Mixer Adjustment Layer; Gradient Map Adjustment Layer
- Eliminating color can simplify an image or visa versa
Filters
- Polarizer - boost the contrast by rotating the filter to darken blue skies, making lighter objects such as buildings or clouds stand out more clearly. The polarizer can be used to remove reflections from non-metallic objects such as glass or water
- Color Lens filter – can be imitated in Photoshop
- Neutral Density Filter
Monochrome Infrared
Long exposures are great in monochrome
Long Exposure