Guide to Seeing Photos in B&W: Less Can be More (VIDEO)
Today’s eye-opening tutorial from expert Ken Evans is for those of you who are disappointed by your monochrome images, and is all about understanding how to view outdoor scenes in b&w. The unique video below describes how restraint, tone, and structure can be used to shape meaning within the frame.
Ken’s impactful work explores the important relationships between imagery and emotion; namely, synergy of what’s seen and what’s felt. In his view minimalism is a key consideration, and he describes his approach like this: “In black and white photography simplicity isn’t about what’s missing—it’s about what remains when everything else is purposely removed.”
In other words, less is not a path to emptiness, but rather a straight road to attention-grabbing images with impact and clarity. Ken illustrates his tips and techniques with compelling outdoor images of subjects like fences, winter fields, solitary trees, and the single curve of a lonely country lane.
Ken’s approach to minimalism begins with removing distractions and unimportant elements in a way that guides the viewer’s eye through the frame. Be sure to use a link in the description beneath the video to download a free guide that delves deeper into everything you’ll learn in the seven-minute episode below.
As you’ll see, minimalism is not just a mindset. The appropriate techniques require that you slow your roll, breathe a bit deeper, and embrace the quiet and solitude, while concentrating on clean compositions, subtle light, and wide-open spaces.
Shooting b&w with intentional simplicity can be a welcome relief in our crazy world full of floods of information and noise. You may just discover that your camera will enable you to slow all that down while creating order out of chaos when shooting in b&w. Just click on “Watch on YouTube” in the black box below.
If this lesson strike your fancy, be sure to visit Ken’s instructional YouTube channel that offers an abundance of straightforward videos for monochrome shooters of all skill levels.
And don’t miss the tutorial we featured earlier with a notable British pro who explains reasons why your images may be soft. Then he reveals several easy tips that will enable you to capture photographs with maximum sharpness every time.
