5 Day Black and White Photo Challenge – Days…

November 6, 2014February 22, 2015
by Zhi Lee

In a previous post, I shared tips on black and white photography as part of the 5 Day Black and White Photo Challenge. 5 Days, 5 Black and White photos, nominating a different photographer each day. In this blog post, I describe the techniques used to create each image.

Black and White Asia Travel Series

I decided to pick a theme for the black and white challenge. It happens that I’ve recently been back from a trip to Hanoi, Vietnam. Here are a few selections.

Day 2

The layers of toys form an almost orderly chaos. They give lots of texture and add an incredible amount of interesting detail to the image without being distracting. The light bulbs form natural centres of attention. They have been darkened slightly so as not to create to many contending elements. Even though there are a few points of attraction, this image really works for me because there is so much to explore. The expressions on the women’s faces ironically convey a sense of timelessness as they wait for time to pass.

Day 3

Shot from 105mm, more “tele-photo” than a regular portrait, this compresses the image in a way that makes the subject really stand out. A sharper depth of field was chosen so that the canvas in the foreground wouldn’t have appeared too blurry, otherwise it would have been too distracting.

Water folk at Halong Bay, Hanoi. By Zhi Lee — Water folk at Halong Bay, Hanoi. Canon 6D @ 6/6.3, 1/160s, ISO-100

Day 4

The light from the lamp naturally creates a lit up area of interest on and around the female worker. Other parts of the image were darkened slightly, to create a centre of focus around the main subject.

Embroidery Halong Bay, Hanoi — Disabled workers respectfully earning their keep near Bat Trang Ceramic Village, Halong Bay, Hanoi. Canon 6D @ f/4, 1/100s/ ISO-2500. By Zhi Lee

Day 5

I’d say don’t be afraid of using high ISOs, especially if you’re using a full-frame, or even cropped sensor SLR. This was shot handheld. The lines created by the building adds a lot of interest to the image without the need for colour.

La Salle College of the Arts in Singapore. By Zhi Lee — The La Salle College of the Arts in Singapore. A fine campus that has won 3 international architectural awards. Canon 6D @ f/4, 1/25s, ISO-6400. By Zhi Lee

Day 1

Last but not least, the first image of the series. The metal bars lead the viewer into the subject, which is placed on a third from the right. Subjects placed on thirds have extra emphasis according to the rule of thirds.

Aperture: ƒ/4
Camera: Canon EOS 6D
Focal length: 58mm
ISO: 1600
Shutter speed: 1/50s

Related Images:

Portraits

5 Day Black and White Photo Challenge – Day…

November 2, 2014November 2, 2014
by Zhi Lee

I was nominated by George Lim Photography to participate in the 5 Day Black and White Challenge. For 5 days I have to post one monochrome image each day while challenging another photographer to do the same. This is Day 1 and I’m nominating Sean Dick of Evoke Studio.

Monochrome photos pose a challenge in themselves. Being devoid of colour, you’re left with only variances in light to convey your message.

Black and White Photography Tips

Here are some tips when applying a black and white treatment.

Use composition to lead the eye

This applies to both colour and monochrome photography. Leading the eye to parts of the image helps capture the attention of the viewer. In black and white photography, you’re unable to use bright colours to lead the viewer. Fall back to using interesting shapes, tones, textures and leading lines to enhance the composition. In the image below, I placed the subject a third in from the right of the image (rule of thirds), and used the metal beams running from the bottom right to the subject to lead the eye into image.

Pay attention to the quality of light

They say that light makes a photograph. This is more so with a black and white image. Dark areas form the black parts of the image, and bright areas conversely form the lighter/whiter parts of the image. Look for interesting variances in light. Soft light adds a calming quality to the image, whereas harsh/strong light creates a more edgy look.

Use contrast to make subjects pop

Contrasting areas in an image can draw the viewer’s attention. On the other hand, less contrasting areas (e.g. a uniform area of grey) are happy to just sit back and blend into the unnoticed. In the image below, the bright spot from the welding gun naturally draws the viewer’s eye towards it. The weld gun is starkly contrasted with the man holding it. The dichotomy between light and dark around the welder makes this a very strong image.

Aperture: ƒ/4
Camera: Canon EOS 6D
Focal length: 105mm
ISO: 100
Shutter speed: 1/400s