Black and White Photography

[iND]

Things that make a good B&W.

To say a that a good black and white ideally covers a spectrum (histogram) of black to white and that I try to have at least one thing absolute white and one absolute black is perhaps an over simplification but it does help start the discussion.

In truth most of my better B&W reach to if not touch both ends of the histogram (black....white)

But the vast majority of my good B&W cover a good stretch of the gray spectrum, which despite a recent book title has more than 50 shades.

I try to plan a B&W before I shoot, it is rarely an after thought in post processing.
So I look for things like texture and lighting that is not too sharp.
I dont mind grain and this allows higher ISOs, which is very liberating.
But most of all I look for the right colors.

Here is an example.
Take an average color chart


Apply two techniques to convert it to B&W

simple RAW desaturation

Then a B&W preset in Color Effects Pro



Two points here:
Desaturation by itself results in a much narrower range of grays.
While Color Effects Pro and Silver Effects Pro can considerably increase the spectrum.
Second when I see blue and green I think left histogram (black end) and when I see yellow and green I think right side of the histogram (white) and I see red as mid grays.
I use this minds eye to decide preshutter snap if I am going to have a good gray spectrum that usually results in a better B&W