If you’ve never set you camera to capture images in b&w or converted color photos to monochrome during the editing process, the tutorial below from B&H Photo Video will inspire you to give it a try. In less than three minutes a notable photographer and Sony Artisan shares his five favorite tips for those new to b&w photography.

Instructor Thibault Roland is a fine art b&w photographer and educator with a very interesting background. An early fascination with science motivated him to obtain a PhD in physics, and later do research at Harvard, before discovering a passion for photography that changed his life.

This quick beginners guide begins with Roland explaining why b&w imagery is so compelling when shooting landscapes, portraits, seascapes and architectural images. He puts it like this: “Taking pictures in b&w or converting them from color to b&w is a great way to tone down elements that would be too distracting in color and take away from the main subject.”

He further notes how b&w imagery “can create a feeling of timelessnesss because it’s often difficult to tell if monochrome images were made yesterday or at some time in the past. Roland also discusses why certain subjects work better than others when the goal is to eliminate all the color from a shot.

Roland explains how accentuating patterns, shapes, and textures will help you create more compelling and unique images with this form of photography. Thus, it’s important to look for subjects with these attention-grabbing attributes.

While you may think of b&w photography as too limiting, Roland dismisses this misconception. Instead, he suggests you think of this genre as “freeing yourself from colors.” This enables you to expand your view of the world and actually increase your creatives choices.

It’s also worth noting that by shooting in color, with the idea of converting to b&w while editing, leaves open the possibility of presenting your work in two different ways. Roland notes that this approach also provides creative flexibility, “because you will be the one to decide if the final image will be bright, serene, dark and moody or anywhere in between.”

He also demonstrates why b&w photography will make you a better photographer, “because it will force you to be more rigorous in finding strong compositional elements. Even your color photography will benefit from these expanded skills.

You can learn more about Roland and examine his beautiful work by visiting his website. And there’s much more to see and learn on the B&H Photo Video YouTube channel.

Today’s lesson from one of our favorite outdoor photographers demonstrates a fun and easy pro trick for adding depth to your outdoor images, and it takes less than six minutes to explain. The technique involves using natural or man-made objects to frame the key subject in a scene.

Instructor Mike Smith is a British pro specializing in landscape photography, who regularly shares behind-the-scenes tutorials that are intended to inspire other to improve their skills. The straightforward method that he demonstrates below is extremely useful when shooting nature scenes, travel photos, and just about any images you shoot outdoors. And it works with whatever gear you own.

Smith puts it like this: “Framing is a great way to add something to your photographs that others may have missed. It’s where you place a main subject within your photograph with other elements partially or totally surrounding it.” This approach is particularly effective if you can find a relationship between the framing elements and the subject.

Conversely, you can also create compelling images by “juxtaposing two different things that have no relationship to each other.” In either case, the goal is to carefully scrutinize a scene, looking for potential framing objects. These can be anything from an arch, doorway, or old abandoned building, to a void between tree branches.

Smith illustrates how the power of this technique lies in its ability to create depth, “because the thing that you’re shooting through adds another layer to your photograph.” Hence, you a have a subject behind the frame and the background in the distance—resulting in photos with more depth and dimension.

You’ll see how the focal length of your lens, as well as camera-to-subject distance factor into the equation, to heighten or lessen the effect. The aperture you choose is also important because it enables you to control depth of field.

Other less common forms of framing involve using varying degrees of brightness or variations in colors to encircle a subject. A setting sun is also an effective option. Smith explains why he never uses the camera’s optical viewfinder when looking at the sun through a long telephone lens.  Instead, he’ll compose on the rear LCD.

Smith also demonstrates the power of what he calls “partial framing” to get the job done. He offers several other possibilities, like photographing a person walking down the middle of a shallow stream that’s bordered by thick foliage on either bank.

The use of these framing techniques simply requires seeing things a bit differently, and when you do good things tend to happen. After watching the video pay a visit to Smith’s popular YouTube channel where you’ll find an abundance of helpful tips and tricks.

And don’t miss the tutorial we posted recently from another accomplished pro, with a beginners guide to shooting eye-popping photos of starlit skies.