THINK IN BLACK AND WHITE AS YOU COMPOSE

When you line up a potential black-and-white landscape, you’re looking to arrange the shapes that form your scene in a balanced way, and need to concentrate on the contrast that’s present, rather than any balance offered by colour differences. A simple but effective way to assess the contrast is to close one eye and squint your viewing eye so the scene is simplified into what’s light and what’s dark.

Layers of depth are also important for mono scenics, so bring foreground detail close to the lens to draw in the eye, and make sure it leads through to a good backdrop. If the foreground and background share similar mono tones, you’ll need to separate them, with some midground, otherwise they will blend into each other.