{"id":349,"date":"2025-02-27T02:53:06","date_gmt":"2025-02-27T02:53:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lumefind.com\/?p=349"},"modified":"2022-07-01T15:43:44","modified_gmt":"2022-07-01T15:43:44","slug":"7-black-and-white-photography-tips-to-really-improve-your-work","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lumefind.com\/?p=349","title":{"rendered":"7 Black and White Photography Tips to Really Improve Your Work"},"content":{"rendered":"

Take your black and white photography a notch higher with the help of Street Photography International co-founder, Alan Schaller.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Think you could use some tips to take your black and white photography<\/strong> to the next level? We\u2019ve already shared loads of tips and tricks for photographers of all levels, but since we\u2019re always looking for insights from experts then and now, here\u2019s another set from another real pro. In a recent video by COOPH, London-based street photographer Alan Schaller, the co-founder of Street Photography International who also shoots exclusively in black and white, gives seven helpful tips and insights on getting better at the craft.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

Shoot black and white on purpose<\/strong><\/h3>\n

This may be a topic for debate, as many photographers prefer and even recommend shooting both in color and black and white. They believe shooting a scene in color will allow you to decide during post if a shot looks better in color or black and white. But Schaller believes that this may confuse you, as shooting in color requires a different skill set. He recommends dedicating every day for one month to shooting only in black and white: you\u2019ll eventually find some noticeable improvements in your photography.<\/p>\n

Focus on what makes black and white interesting<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Schaller makes a great point about why he doesn\u2019t recommend shooting in color. Since colors don\u2019t affect a black and white image as much as texture, tonality, contrast, and light, it\u2019s more important to focus your attention on these elements instead of getting distracted by all the bright hues. For a start, look for variations of light in a scene and pay attention to the contrast they create in your images.<\/p>\n

Adapt to your lighting situation<\/strong><\/h3>\n

If you want to shoot high contrast images but don\u2019t have the lighting for it, don\u2019t force it: look for something else instead. The key is to get the look and feel of the environment, like looking for reflections from the puddles on a rainy day, or interesting shadows or backlighting to add to your composition. Schaller reminds us to take what we have and roll with it; there\u2019s no such thing as bad lighting!<\/p>\n

Make good use of your environment<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Pay attention to the various elements around you \u2014 like geometry, context, and reflections \u2014 to get creative with your street snaps. Don\u2019t just focus on the human element. The key is to combine a good subject with good environment and good light: you\u2019ll do great.<\/p>\n

Capture a good range of contrast<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Schaller tells us to recall how the Zone System by Ansel Adams represents every tone in an image for a well contrasted image. This also works great for street photography, especially once you\u2019ve learned how to effectively do the last two tips above.<\/p>\n

Change perspective<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Feeling bored with your street snaps? A change in perspective will effectively take care of that. Schaller suggests switching to interesting angles in order to present the world in a different way through your photos.<\/p>\n

Edit wisely<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Last but not least, Schaller reminds us that we can only work with what we\u2019ve captured in terms of editing. We can\u2019t always force the file like crazy, as some images just won\u2019t look great if we do. If you haven\u2019t captured it in your frame, there\u2019s a great chance it won\u2019t happen in your edits. He likens editing to \u201cvarnishing a table that\u2019s already been well made.\u201d<\/p>\n

If these tips inspired you to get out there and practice, don\u2019t forget to also check out Alan Schaller\u2019s Instagram and the COOPH YouTube channel for more photography tips and tricks!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Take your black and white photography a notch higher with the help…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":402,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-349","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-photo"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lumefind.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/349","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lumefind.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lumefind.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lumefind.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lumefind.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=349"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.lumefind.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/349\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":615,"href":"https:\/\/www.lumefind.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/349\/revisions\/615"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lumefind.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/402"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lumefind.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=349"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lumefind.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=349"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lumefind.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=349"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}