ABSTRACT
Composition is everything that goes into a picture. Too often colour can be a distraction and gets in the way of strong composition. In compositional terms, black-and-white photography deals with the stripped-down essentials. Black-and-white composition means being sensitive to the balance between the light and shadow in the image, as this will contribute a great deal to conveying the ‘mood’. Learning to ‘see’ in black and white is learning to see how colour is represented by grey tones and learning to become more aware of the formal elements of composition that relate to black-and-white photography. Filters change the grey tones amateur photographers get from the colours of the subject – a similar colour to the subject will make the tones lighter, a complementary colour will darken the tones.
