will47 Loc: Indianapolis, IN

When taking a photograph that you know you know you are going to convert to b&w are there any considerations you should take in the original image? Thanks.

speters Loc: Grangeville/Idaho

If you set your camera, that it shoots in color, but displays the images in B&W on the LCD, you'll get a feeling for what to look for in an image (like contrast, etc.), because you're seeing it in B&W and can study and learn what's important for you in an B&W image! It's just a little thing, but with time, I'm sure it does help a little (to me it makes finding a good composition easier)!

rmalarz Loc: Tempe, Arizona

First and foremost, placing the light values in the Zones in which you intend them to be in the print. Followed by composition. However, these are also the considerations when I'm photographing a scene that I intend to print in color.
--Bob

will47 Loc: Indianapolis, IN

How do I place light values into zones?

ygelman Loc: new -- North of Poughkeepsie!

Although it would be better to imagine what the black/white image would look like, there are some things that you should know: 1) you can get a monochrome filter (for your eye, not the camera) to look at the image; 2) you might be able to display the image on your camera in b/w before you snap the shot; 3) you can do quite a lot in Photoshop to change the b/w brightness level of selected colors and even different objects that have the same color.

The last is probably all you really need, but being able to imagine what you can get is better; that just takes experience.

pesfls Loc: Oregon, USA

I have been working on this business for the last year or so also. So I'm no expert but have been gaining improvements. For starters I have found getting a proper exposure the most critical thing for converting to mono . Trying to lighten up an image in mono that is underexposed has been nigh on impossible for me to produce results that are satisfying as you can't recover enough detail in the darkest zones. Probably those with better computer skills than me can but that's a guess.

What's been working well, and some will disagree with the technique I prefer, is to use a hand held meter and take an incident light reading for the first shot. Then I often bracket a bit. Absent owning a hand held meter you can take a reading of your palm in the same light as the subject and then open up one stop to get the same result. Make sure you have your computer monitor brightness adjusted appropriately or it'll drive you nuts if you print. I have found Lightroom to be my favorite processor for mono shots over some of the other choices I own, if that's helpful.

Lastly, of late I have been recording in both RAW and jpeg/mono which has been helpful deciding which file to work on. Here's one image I shot using an incident reading that then only took a few minutes to post process & left me with the tonality desired. Send a note to malarz, on here, & ask for his thoughts to your question. I know he's a fan of spot metering. He's been very helpful & kind to me about my mono frustrations. Have fun. Good luck.

(Download)

Rongnongno Loc: FL

Shoot as color and... Do use color filters as we did when shooting B&W. Despite the nay-sayers that will tell you you can do the same thing in post processing there is a difference.

The Zone system mentioned by Bob is King of the hill here. Get familiar with it as there is no way to teach you how to use it in a single thread.

dsmeltz Loc: Philadelphia

All the above and look for and pay attention to negative space, shapes and contrast.

blue-ultra Loc: New Hampshire

Ansel Adams developed the zone system and he said expose for the shadows and print for the highlights

rmalarz Loc: Tempe, Arizona

I've found, through exhaustive experimentation, it to be the exact opposite when applied to digital. For digital, I expose for the highlights and process for the shadows. Film, expose for the shadows and process for the highlights. However, the exposure in either case is to place the shadows or highlights in a chosen Zone. That determines the exposure.
--Bob

dsmeltz Loc: Philadelphia

Once again I am going to wonder why there is no B&W forum on UHH.

rmalarz Loc: Tempe, Arizona

Because no one who has wanted to maintain a black and white section has started one. Apparently, it's not difficult to get a section started. Keeping it managed can be another situation.
--Bob

dsmeltz Loc: Philadelphia

I am just not good enough at B&W to do it.

Photocraig

All of the posts are telling you important things about the Zone system. To totally master this subject--originating from the sheet film large format practices and purposes of Ansel Adams. Many things have changed and the application of Zones to Digital take a bit of conversion in thought and practice, too.

First, the purpose of the system is to put the photographer (capture and processing) in control of how to expose a scene to present a final product (print) that represents the photographer's vision. That's where the detail recording in the brightest portion and the darkest portion of the scene (YOU choose or "place" what and where) are available for the photographer to process the final product. Again, print oriented--which is OK, because it translates to digital media, too. Blown out highlights or just plain blob Shadows translate, maybe even are worse than "Paper White" or the converse Pure Black.

This video instruction from Mark Wallace is a concise and practical tutorial on using the zone system in B&W digital travel photography. https://www.adorama.com/alc/0014901/article/using-zones-for-black-and-white-photography. This will give you a practical overview and some good techniques to get you started. Perhaps, if you're young enough, you might have the time and resources to thoroughly study this subject in your lifetime. But, as Mark shows, it is not necessary to be a Master to ust this tool to produce nice work.

Watch the video and keep learning. You have just stumbled onto the Mother Lode of Photographic Exposure Control, and really understanding it. And don't think for a minute, it isn't directly applicable to all aspects of Digital Photography.

It is why I still use a separate Spot meter.

C

E.L.. Shapiro Loc: Ottawa, Ontario Canada

An old cinematographer's and film director's tip to help you "see" in black and white. If you can find a GREEN filter such as a wratten XI or No.11- in any size- it does not have to fit on your camera. You simply view the scene or subject directly through the filter. You will get some idea of a monochromatic rendition. You won't see it in black and white but it helps. If you camera has a monochromatic function, shoot the image in black and white and asses the effect right on the spot.

Serious black and white imaging, besides the grayscale, exposure and zone applications, filtration is an important skill set. With the appropriate filters you can darken skies, accentuate cloud formations, lighten or darken skin tones,get better panchromatic renditions of colors that may blend to the same tone of gray if not filtered and more. A basic set of filters; red, orange, green, yellow and blue plus a circular polarizer can work wonders for you black and white photography and are fun to experiment and learn with.

During the film era, there were many publications and guides for filter usage. Film manufactures included filter data with the data sheets. Nowadays, you can find this information online. Check out- ilforphoto.com The information is for film but the basic theory is applicable to digital photography.