Digital Photographer - UK (2019-08)

TOP TiPS

Here’s a quick recap of ways to make

your black & white images more artistic

Fine art

Find inspiration

from anywhere, and

don’t be afraid to

experiment with

different effects

1

There are no rules Black and white

isn’t real world, so your images don’t have

to be realistic. Once that idea sinks in, you can

really let your creative juices flow.

8

Keep it simple simple compositions

often look more artistic than cluttered ones.

Don’t be afraid of including empty space either –

it gives the viewer’s imagination room to breathe.

2

Be bold There’s nothing worse than

flat, dull black and white images. Don’t be

afraid of blown highlights, blocked shadows,

noise and contrast.

9

Make notes if an idea for an image

pops into your head, make a note so you

don’t forget. The same applies when you see

inspiration in books, magazines or online.

3

Use your imagination Be inspired by

your own thoughts, ideas and dreams. it

doesn’t matter where your inspiration comes

from if it results in great images.

10

Do something with your work

Black and white photographs deserve

to be showcased. social media and image-

sharing sites are fine, but prints hanging on a

wall or published in a book are much better.

4

Experiment sometimes the best

images result from happy accidents, so be

prepared to let them happen by experimenting

both at the shooting stage and editing stage.

5

Embrace lo-fi photography Once

you accept that images don’t have to

be pin-sharp and technically perfect, you’ll

never look back. celebrate softness and

embrace imperfections – they add character.

6

Crop to a square square

images have a sense of balance and

tranquillity about them and immediately

adds a more artistic feel. Try it.

7

Tone your images You can enhance the

mood of a black and white image by adding

a tone to it, such as sepia, blue or selenium.

Applications such as silver efex Pro offer a

number of toning presets.

Photographer craig strong created the very first lensbaby back in 2003,

using an old large format lens and vacuum cleaner hose, in an attempt to

give his early digital images a bit of character. A year later the lensbaby went

into production, and within six months of its launch it was being used by

photographers in 40 countries worldwide. Today it has a massive following –

there are almost 150,000 lensbaby images on Flickr alone.

The basic idea behind the lensbaby, regardless of model, is that it replaces

a normal camera lens and enables you to record one part of the image in

sharp focus while everything else blurs away. in addition, you can change the

position of the sharp ‘sweet spot’, so it doesn’t have to be in the centre of the

frame. Different aperture discs can be used with some models to vary the

depth of field you get. The more you distort, the more blur is created.

The cheapest

lensbaby, the

spark, costs around

£79/$87 and has a

fixed f/5.6 aperture

plus a focal length

of 50mm. Pricier

models are also

available, such

as the sol 45 (for

DslRs) and sol 22

(for micro 4/3rds),

as well as the

composer Pro ii

with various lenses.

Use a Lensbaby Experiment with creative blur

Techniques