How to Control Light in Primary Subjects in Black and White Photography

In black and white photography, lighting a primary subject and its surroundings affects tone and mood. As artists, photographers are free to use lighting in any way they choose. Since creative black and white photography is all about shades of gray, guidelines for tonality determine how primary subjects are interpreted. Rather than stringent rules, lighting guidelines for black and white photography serve as aids to controlling the medium and the message.

Things You'll Need

• Camera
• Artificial light source

Instructions

1. 

   Use logic. If a subject is dark, the background should be light. If a subject is light, the background will be dark. Subjects of intermediate shades should contrast against a contrasting background.

2. 

   Use artificial illumination with the most easily produced use of light to differentiate between subject and background.

3. 

   Directly illuminate either subject or background to render one darker than the other. For example, if you want to light a black statue against a light background, illuminating the statue renders the statue light and the background is shaded.

4. 

   Create a heightened impression of three-dimensionality with shadows and blur. Shadows utilize gray scale values to define subjects. Shadow with highlights and reflection further add dimension between subject and background. When a subject is out of focus, the lack of stark contrast creates an impression of dimensionality.

Tips & Warnings

• Lighting occurs with natural and artificial light as well as with camera settings.

• Film development or printing (for digital pictures) requires technique and/or software so as not to lose all the effort of special lighting.

Resources

• Black and White Photography Shadows and Light–the Secret of Tonality
• How to Take Better Black and White Photographs
• Digital Black and White
• Printer Tests for Black and White Photos
• Key Ingredients for Black and White