Mono capture
I’m keen to improve my black-and-white skills; what subjects should I capture in mono? Amanda O’Leary
I don’t think black-and-white is a subject-led technique. It can work for any subject you want, from sports to portraiture and everything in-between. Rather than thinking in terms of subjects, you need to think in terms of light, shade, texture and form.
The best tip is to try to keep things simple. Black-and-white is all about understanding how a naturally colourful scene can look better stripped of that colour. You need to understand how different colours translate to tones and work off each other. Texture can also be really important within a blackand-white image, and will help by adding interest to your shot. One of the things I absolutely love about black-and-white is that you can shoot it anywhere and at any time of day. In fact, sometimes the extra contrast you get in the middle of the day can be help rather than be a hindrance, as it can be for colour photography.
If you are serious about shooting blackand-white, I’d suggest you go out only with monochrome in your mind. Look for simple scenes that offer you an excellent tonal range. Often you’ll find scenes that aren’t interesting in colour will really shine when given the black-and-white treatment.
The black-and-white shot you can see to the right wasn’t that exciting in colour, but on location I could see that the different tones in the sky, the sea, the concrete wall, the path and the chains of the railing would make a good monochrome shot. I just had to wait for a point of interest on the path to finish the composition off, which the approaching couple helpfully provided.