Experimenting with Monochrome Vision

I took a few shots over the weekend in black and white to experiment with the visual effect of monochrome, portraiture and instruments.  I also practised using the filters in photoshop to see what visual differences could be created.  These shots are taken with my Nikon D90 with 18-105 F3.5-5.6 lens and tripod which was needed for the very slow shutter speed

1/6s F5.6 ISO 400

This image was taken with very low light with a really slow shutter speed of 1/6s and a large aperture of F5.6 for exposure.  The ISO was set on 400 but I have since learned by researching black and white photography that the iso should be set on the lowest setting.  I have cropped this image so the face and the top curve of the guitar are quite heavy in the frame.  The image has a nice tonal range not high key or low key which probably keeps it from being a really interesting black and white image as black and white photography needs good contrast within an image.  I really like the hat, the patten and the texture have worked really well and I like the shape and pattern of the guitar. Also the creases in the clothes form a textured patten.  When working with black and white images you have to use pattens, shades and textures to create the image as you have no reliance on colour.

This image is the same as the previous image but I have used a yellow filter.  This has evened out the skin tone.  This visually has improved the image especially the face and has created some nice shading or shadowing throughout the image.  I think the contrast and the tonal range has been improved slightly by using the yellow filter although I have read that a green filter is good for evening out skin tone but the yellow worked better here.  I am not sure if filters can be used for the assignment I will need to check with Mr Steve.

This next image I have taken just as an idea of how equipment is going to look in black and white.  The guitar always looks great shot in black and white the strings and the frets adding great patten and texture. I have also noticed that dust collected along the guitar has added shading and tone to the image.  I have made a mental note not to clean any instruments between now and the shoot as even dust can create shading within a black and white image.

1/8s F5.6 ISO 400

Evaluation

I think that everything went well whilst concentrating only on people and equipment.  I need to go to the warehouse and see what shapes and texures can be used to create the desired contrast within my images.  It is however a large light open space so I think props and lighting are essential.  I will also shoot any future shots with the highest iso to see what difference it makes.  I am also going to practise looking with monochrome vision as good black and white photography requires tones, shades and textures and good contrast.  This experiment has helped me with assignment planning as I have been researching black and white photography.