Top tips for black & white

Five shortlisted entrants give their B&W hints

Nguyen Tan Tuan, 1st and Crowd Winner

I like to observe shapes, lines and contrast as well as the movement and soul of the characters in an image. For me, creating a successful black & white image means eliminating the influence of colour on the shot and concentrating entirely on composition and shape, while at the same time capturing character.

Steve Cheetham, 11th and 16th

Creating a successful monochrome image needs careful consideration at every stage, from subject choice, lighting, weather conditions and exposure through to post-processing. Try to previsualise the finished image while you are making the initial exposure. Look for contrast, shape and form, and minimise distractions in your composition.

Sophia Spurgin, 17th

I look for scenes that are all about tone and texture, and emphasise these elements by increasing contrast and clarity in postproduction. In my photo of the Hope Valley cement works (overleaf), I increased the contrast in the light streaming over the hills, and the chimney smoke, and darkened the sky and foreground.

Helen Trust, 13th

Architecture can be uninspiring when it comes to colour, but with a little dodging and burning, and strong light to give enough contrast, converting your shot to black & white can change it for the better. I use Silver Efex Pro, Lightroom, Photoshop, and a lot of trial and error to make my black & white conversions.

Dan Portch, 18th

Try to ensure your image has a full range of tones, from black through to white. If you think of a scale of 0-10, with pure black being 0 and pure white being 10, consider processing the image so it has at least some 0s and some 10s. This will help the impact of the image, and help to avoid it looking grey, flat and/or soft.