Monochrome Magic – Black and White images continue to remain popular and when we are successful the images have drama, impact and appeal. In this set I have 9 videos, that run for 3:40 minutes in total, which indicates these are detailed and packed full of techniques and information. You can download all 9 videos at the bottom of the page. Pdf list of contents
Seeing Past the Thumbnail – One of the skills we must learn when looking at Raw images is to look past the thumbnail as it is and try to see it as it could be after editing. That is a little easier said than done, but it gets a lot easier the more you do it. Download the video to keep here.
The Sally B – Flying Fortress – Light is everything in photography, but we always have light of course or how would we ever capture an image. We want enough light for our subject to give us that sparkling contrast and vibrant colour, if colour is important in the shot. We want the highlights just reaching white and the shadows just touching black, so that the image jumps from the screen from sheer photographic quality before we even consider the content. We don’t want any burnt-out highlights or blocked up shadows. Download the video to keep here.
The Angel of the North – Here we have an image where the content and the general lack of colour tends to push our thoughts towards a monochrome image. The picture here has a fair degree of contrast and sparkle, but then it was shot straight into the light, albeit that the sun was hidden behind the angel. However, one of the issues I always find myself grappling with is how to make my photograph of a common and well photographed subject stand out from the crowd. Download the video to keep here.
Mr T in London – Here is a shot that many will be familiar with, or something very similar. Those living statues that you see all over the world and what a way to earn a living. I have had some success with using these figures before, but usually as a composite. This guy was on the South Bank of the Thames in London, close to the London Eye. I shot a few images of him, but here I wanted to remove him from that fussy background. Download the video to keep here.
Variations and Alternatives – A short section where we look back at alternative options for a couple of the images, we have created. Download the video to keep here.
The Scottish Loch – Expose to the Right – I am sure many of you who view this video may have heard the term expose to the right. What we are looking at in my starting image fits that description. I can tell that I have the optimum exposure here for any manipulation I care to make. Expose to the right refers to the fact that we are not driven to get the thumbnail picture looking perfect on the LCD screen, but to squeeze as much light into our digital negative as we can. Expose to the right can often capture an image that is better for manipulation than one that looks good on the LCD. Download the video to keep here.
Camera Raw Filter – A brief look at where the Camera Raw Filter may fit into Monochrome conversions of images already created in colour. Download the video to keep here.
Monochrome Landscape – Here once again we have an image that has most of the ingredients within it make a good shot, but in colour? Probably not. We have a good composition here, an interesting sky but less than perfect lighting conditions, but then this is typical of the sort of image we will shoot in these conditions. A landscape where we have no water to reflect light and add interest into the foreground, so let’s look at taking this image to a sparkling monochrome result. . Download the video to keep here.
Infrared – Infrared images have that special something when we are talking monochrome. Check out our Infrared videos too below. Download the video to keep here.