Shooting in Black and White | DP Week 2 - Post 2

Black and white photography, as opposed to the realism associated with color photography, is often seen as a medium that leans toward subtlety and interpretation. Monochrome images are not direct renditions of their subjects but are abstractions from reality, representing colors in shades of grey.

I tried a new creative exercise about photography this week, shooting only in black and white, the idea coming from an article I read on Canva.

What to do: Dedicate an entire day to shooting purely in black and white from morning until night. Instead of relying on post-processing or using filters, set your camera to black and white before you capture photos.

What I did was:

• Look for a place to photograph.
• Set my camera to black and white.
• Shoot a photo of the place in the day and one at night.
• Crop if necessary.

My results were these, a comparison between a day photo and a night (almost) photo.

In this one, you can see there are more lights in the sky.

In this one, the sky is almost full of clouds and has less natural light. You can see the artificial light in the back and for me, a more nostalgic tone.

And I also took a photo in a different scenario, a tree is always a good subject to photograph.

With this exercise, I learned to shoot not thinking about colors, but of contrast, lights, shadows, lines, and shapes. I found it practical and easy to set the camera to black and white first because then you can just crop the photo and you're done. I also liked how a monochrome effect makes a photo seem timeless.

Do you like black and white photos?