How tonal choices and visual attention shape monochrome photography

Black and white photography records different amounts of light at each image position, but not different colors, and is mostly used for artistic purposes and certain technical imaging applications. What helps us see and interpret images in monochrome? The lessons consider how tonal choices, image-making methods, and visual attention shape monochrome photography.

2 articles, 1 video, 1 book · about 20 min of reading and viewing

The reading path

1. Read
   

   black and white photography · Wikipedia · 5 min read

   Black and white photography can be made by desaturating a color RGB image, removing visible color while leaving its color channels available for tonal adjustments such as darkening a blue sky, or by converting it to grayscale, which permanently eliminates the colors. In black-and-white photography, toning solutions can convert silver in an image to silver sulfide, imparting a brown or sepia tone. Selenium toner instead converts silver into more stable silver selenide, producing a blue-black or purple image. In astrophotography, monochrome cameras let the whole sensor detect hydrogen-alpha light, which is red; only the red pixels, approximately 25% of a color sensor, detect this light. This lets the whole sensor capture specific wavelengths from deep space objects.

2. Read
   

   5 Pro Tips for Better Black and White Photography | Fstoppers · Fstoppers · 5 min read

   For black-and-white photography, focus on patterns, shapes, and poses rather than color. To see the world in grayscale, use a mirrorless camera set to black-and-white mode or look for contrasting colors, differences in exposure, striking patterns, and ways to make the subject stand out.

3. Watch
   

   Black and White Photography · YouTube · 10 min watch

   Monochrome photography has historical, commercial and aesthetic contexts, and this video opens a series on black and white techniques.

4. Book
   

   Looking at Photographs · Bookshop.org

   Looking at Photographs by John Szarkowski explores how to see and interpret photographs.

Book links are Bookshop.org affiliate links. Curiate may earn a commission on purchases, at no extra cost to you — Bookshop.org also gives a share to independent bookshops.