Black-and-White Landscape Photos
Using Adobe Lightroom for Great Monochrome Landscape Images
Much of the landscape photographer’s skill lies in reproducing and perhaps subtly enhancing the natural colours of the countryside, wilderness and coasts. But despite all the advances and changes of modern photography, the well-composed black-and-white shot still maintains a place of honour in books, exhibitions and private portfolios. Why is this, and how can we produce our best monochrome images?
The Attraction of Black-and-White
While colour might be important, the light and its reproduction are the keys to great landscape pictures. The angle, colour and intensity of the light create the highlights, shadows, shades and reflections that make up the image. Removing the colour from these patterns can add strength and elegance to some compositions, while colour may actually detract from intricate natural patterns etched out in subtle or sharply contrasting shades of grey.
The importance of the light is never better demonstrated than in a good black-and-white picture. For this reason, many would argue that working in black and white is a good way for any photographer to learn how to improve on approaches and techniques.
Working with RAW Images
For digital photographers there is an overwhelming case for working with RAW images rather than relying on the camera for the conversion to jpeg or other formats. The only downside is the extra steps needed at the conversion stage, but being in control of the conversion process far outweighs any increase in the time required.
Modern specialist RAW conversion software like Adobe Lightroom or Apple’s Aperture combine several steps in the post-shoot work flow, from cataloguing images, keywording, developing, exporting to non-RAW formats and printing. These programs often eliminate the need for finishing in Photoshop. Alternatively the RAW converter included with Photoshop CS3 can serve the purpose.
Adobe Lightroom
After importing a set of RAW images from your camera into your Lightroom catalogue, make a new collection of virtual copies of each image to work on. Your raw settings will not change the underlying image information; but making virtual copies allows you to keep the original images that you might want to work on in colour later, while still keeping your black and white versions intact.
In the Library module apply a quick-develop conversion to grayscale for the whole collection, and see which looks most promising for a black and white conversion. Usually they will have plenty of well-defined detail and fairly strong contrast. A picture with a dramatic pattern of clouds in the sky will often be a good candidate for a black-and-white conversion.
Click on the Grayscale tab in the Develop module. You can make the usual histogram adjustments to control contrast in the same way as for the original colour image. But Lightroom’s grayscale treatment includes eight colour adjustment sliders that allow excellent flexibility and precision in tweaking the image.
You have a sea cliff scene peppered with gorse bushes? With the yellow slider you can highlight the flowers in the grayscale image. Or the green slider will bring up or tone down grass and trees, and the blue slider the sky and ocean.
When you are happy, print the finished image or export it as a JPG or TIF file.
How to Get the Best Monochrome Conversion
There are other well-documented ways to make black and white conversions, but the Lightroom method is as effective, precise and straightforward as any of them. There are opinions, preferences, styles and guidelines on converting from colour to monochrome, but no unbreakable rules. Getting the best picture means experimenting, and one of the great advantages of digital photography is that it allows us to experiment so easily and cheaply.
Take note of other people’s experience and guidance, but allow yourself to be surprised by which shot comes out best after losing its colour, and by the best settings for it.
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