Beginners Guide: Master High-Contrast B&W Photos (VIDEO)

It’s remarkable that b&w photography remains so powerful in a world bursting with color. And what is it about those stark white, black, and gray tones that grab our attention? Today’s tutorial from Providence Photography DFW addresses all this and much more so you can get in on the monochrome magic.

Instructor Alvin Turner is a Dallas-based pro whose YouTube channel offers valuable insights into both the art and craft of photography. Here’s how he summarizes the 12-minute video  below: “We’ll explore the essence of high-contrast black-and-white imagery, from understanding the fundamental principles to mastering the techniques needed to create stunning photos.”

Turner covers a lot of ground in barely 12 minutes—ranging from capture to post processing. He begins by reviewing the necessary equipment, before the moving on to a detailed discussion of shooting techniques that leverage whatever natural light you confront. Turner also uses his compelling monochrome images to illustrate a variety of eye-catching composition techniques.

The journey continues as Turner reveals the postprocessing workflow he recommends for enhancing high-contrast b&w photos. The goal here is “insuring that you bring out the dramatic interplay of light and shadow.”

The video concludes with a thorough discussion of common mistakes, along with simple solutions for fixing these vexing problems. Bottom line: these valuable, professional insights will provide all the confidence you need to try your hand at this attention-grabbing technique.

There are many more how-to videos to be found on the Providence Photography DWW YouTube channel, so be sure to take a look.

And don’t miss the basic primer we featured earlier with another successful pro who demonstrates how to control depth of field in your photographs by avoiding “one camera setting that 90% of beginners get wrong.”