TONE AND FORM
‘Tones’ are the shades of grey that make up an image
and ‘Forms’ are shapes defined by edges, which are
themselves defined by tones. Edges are always bound-
aries between light and dark, and this includes tex-
tures which are also defined by differences in tone,
just more subtly.
The interplay between Tone and Form makes the im-
age work or not; successful images tend to include a full
range of Tones from deep back to almost paper-white
which at the same time define visually interesting Forms.
It’s worth stating that whilst colour plays no direct
part, there is a subtle exception in that whilst an image
might be monochrome, that does not mean it has to be
a perfectly *neutral* grey. Warm-toned monochrome
images, or cool-toned monochrome images can add
a very subtle appeal to a photo. Some images can be
split-toned which means, for example, that the shadows
might be a bit cool and the highlights a bit warm. Done
correctly, this can add a very slight sense of three-di-
mensionality to the image.
Different photographers have different preferences
with regard to colour toning. Personally I like a slight
warm tone and most of my favourite images have a
slight warmth to them. But that’s just me!COLOURS AND GREYSCALES
The real world is made up of colour, and most cameras
capture colour in some fashion. Monochrome imag-
ery relies only on shades of grey, so at some point we
need to translate those captured colours into different
greyscale values.
This can be done in-camera - most modern digital
cameras have a B+W ‘mode’ - but it’s not very control-
lable and at best you might have a high contrast setting
plus some other ‘creative filter’ settings. For the best
possible results, photographs should be captured in raw
and then converted in-post to monochrome using Light-
room or, best of all, Photoshop, which offers some seri-
ously powerful B+W conversion techniques.LEFT: Milos, Greek Islands. Going for the ‘Ansel Adams look’ here.
Blues reduced in B&W settings, plus a lift of the Whites to make
them as bright as possible. Leica SL (Typ 601), VARIO-ELMARIT-SL
24-90mm ASPH lens. 1/500s @ f8, ISO 400. +1EV.OPPOSITE: Old Quarantine Station, Mornington Peninsula, VIC.
The B&W process is neutral, and 'the life' in the shot comes from
the Texture and Clarity sliders, which are your friends when it
comes to industrial machinery. Leica CL, Super-Vario-Elmar-TL
11-23mm ASPH lens. 1/30s @ f5.6, ISO 200, -1EV.PHOTO TIPS: BLACK AND WHITE CONVERSIONS
- Subjects made up of predominantly strong shapes and/or tones
- Subjects with confusing and/or distracting colours
- High contrast lighting situations
- Portraits
- Industrial subjects
- Abstract images
- Historical subjects, especially interiors
- Decaying and grungy buildings or machinery
- Subjects with no dominant or important colour
- Any street photography
GREAT BLACK AND WHITE SUBJECTS