Exercise: Black and White

For this exercise we must choose a subject, lighting condition or picture situation that we think will look better in black and white. If the camera allows a monochrome display then this should be used. We must compose and expose for the black and white version and then process, noting what effect shooting in black and white had on the choice of subject, framing, composition and exposure.

 

 

 

I specifically shot this image for this exercise as I felt that the repetition and shape lend them selves well to black and white photography.

 

 

Above is a simple conversion to black and white. It doesn't look like much at the moment but I am going to alter the values and contrast levels as I have an idea in my mind how I would like the finished image to look.

 

 

This resulting image is much stronger in my opinion. I wanted to make more of the swirly iron railing so that its shape stood out a bit more. As I knew that my final image would be in black and white I specifically looked for a subject that had an interesting shape. Being slightly under exposed also helped this image I feel as there are deeper tones. The black and white images have been cropped slightly as I think that the framing was not quite right. I arranged the composition so that the eye moves from left to right diagonally across the frame.

I do really like this version because it appears much more interesting than the other two images and I am pleased with the final result.