MONOCHROME

 

I love monochrome photography. However, my photos are usually taken on my iPhone or digital camera, so I don't have the opportunity to use black-and-white film. So instead I manipulate my colour images using computer software such as Photoshop or Artweaver.


Black-and-white photography is considered more subtle and interpretive, and less realistic than colour photography which is why I like it. Monochrome images are not direct renditions of their subjects, but abstractions from reality, representing colours in shades of grey. In computer terms, this is often called greyscale.


The easiest way to get black and white from colour in Photoshop is;
 "Image > Mode > Grayscale"
This will get rid of all colour.


A better option is "Channel Mixer" which is an image adjustment tool that allows you to mix/blend the colour channel balance of an image. With this tool that we can easily replicate the effect of placing red or yellow filters over the lens. 

There are also various mobile apps which can give your images a monochromatic look with the click of a button. Although most digital cameras now come with a 'Black and White' setting.

On the right are a few examples of some monochromatic photo editing (with the original images on the left). As you can see sometimes this kind of editing can enhance a photo, or make it look worse. These images have been uploaded from my mobile phone so I have used an application called Snapseed to create my black and white/sepia toned images.