Whether it’s the inspirational wild landscapes of Ansel Adams, beautiful portraits or gritty street scenes, monochrome photography is as popular as ever. In Teach Yourself Black & White Photography, we explore the simplicity and timeless class of monochromatic imaging – and show you exactly how it’s all done. Whether you’re a semi-pro photographer looking for inspiration or a total beginner unsure which DSLR settings to use, our essential 196-page guide will help you learn new skills and shoot better black and white pictures. We reveal how to look at subjects and scenes with the eyes of a black-and-white photographer, ready to capture the contrast in an architectural shot, or draw out a person’s personality in a portrait. We also show you how to plan a fine-art nude photoshoot, and the effect that perfect light can have on a still life. As well as shooting advice, we share our top tips for converting landscapes, urban scenes and other colour photos into mono and enhance them using Photoshop, Elements and Lightroom – from basic methods to more advanced image editing techniques. So whatever you’re drawn to, we have plenty of projects and ideas for you to sink your teeth into.
Teach yourself Black & White Photography
Teach Yourself Black & White Photography
The fundamentals of mono photography • The basics of great monochrome photography are easy to grasp. Our experts unravel the key concepts in four stages
LEARN THE ART OF BLACK & WHITE IN A WEEKEND! • The shooting and darkroom skills needed to create classic monochrome images used to take years to master. We reveal how to get great results in just one weekend
Shoot for black & white • You can save time and effort by getting your results right in-camera, so your first task is to get used to shooting the world without colour
TRY IN-CAMERA FILTERS
Take control of the conversion • Once you’ve got to grips with the basics of what to look for when shooting in black and white, it’s time to take more control over your images
USE PRESETS IN PHOTOSHOP ELEMENTS
Master Levels and Curves • Learn how to take control over the tones and contrast of your black-and-white images
USING THE LEVELS SLIDERS
Discover how to dodge and burn • Darkening and lightening different areas of an image is a classic darkroom technique. Here’s how to do this in Photoshop CS, CC and Elements
HOW TO DODGE AND BURN
Toning techniques • Black and white doesn’t have to mean no colour. Here’s how to tone an image
TRY SPLIT-TONING
Classic ideas to try • Now you’ve mastered the basic shooting and editing skills, it’s time to get out with your camera and produce some classic black-and-white images
HIGH-KEY PORTRAIT
CLASSIC STILL LIFE
MOODY LANDSCAPE
THE BEAUTY OF… Black & White • Harness the stark beauty of black-and-white photography with this detailed primer on portraiture in monochrome…
Black and white basics • Get started with black and white by learning how to dismiss colour and see the world in shades of grey
SET UP YOUR CAMERA FOR BLACK AND WHITE
Make the most of natural light • Learn how to take fantastic portraits anywhere at any time of day by making use of natural light
SHOOT PORTRAITS WITH WINDOW LIGHT
EXPOSE FOR DIFFERENT SKIN TONES
Studio techniques to try at home • Give your portraiture a professional edge by getting to grips with a simple home studio photography kit – read on as we illuminate the subject…
CREATE DIFFERENT LOOKS BY REPOSITIONING THE LIGHTS
Get creative with black and white • Switch off the colour and unleash your creativity by emphasising shape, form, texture and pattern
Go further in software • Discover the best digital darkroom tools and...