Black & White Photography

Monochrome, or black-and-white photography dominated for decades, due to its lower cost and its "classic" photographic look. Black and white photography is a branch which can be traced back to the very origins of photography.  It is important to note that some monochromatic pictures are not always pure blacks and whites, but also contain other hues depending on the process. The cyanotype process produces an image of blue and white for example. 

The albumen process, first used more than 150 years ago, produces brown tones. Certain labs process true black and white film and use actual black and white process paper. Black and white photography focuses more on light intensity and contrast than color photography. When color is stripped away details of objects become more prominent to the eye and different parts of a scene can become more important than in a color image. Although colour photography and digital photography pushed black and white photography to the background, it still have its own patron audience and enthusiasts.  However, there are a few items that can really help the impact of a black and white photograph.

• Wide Range of Tones- Having a wide range of shades of black/grey and white can help add a strong sense of depth to your black and white images. Images that are literally only black and white (or close to it) create an almost illustration effect, like an ink pen drawing without shading.
• Contrast- Because black and white depends on shading to help show boundaries between items, good contrast between objects (via color or lighting) is a great help in creating a strong black and white image. While we usually try to find colors that do not clash with one another in color photography, clashing colors can help create contrast when captured as black and white.
• Good Lighting- Good lighting is an almost universal need in photography. With black and white photography it can be even more important as a slight shadow becomes a charcoal grey over whatever is in it. With black and white photography it can be much more difficult to recover details in shadow after capture than with color film.

(Compiled from the web)