PORTRAITS ARE A FAVORITE subject of black and white photographers, and for good reason too. The stark reality presented by this type of photography seems to show the person as they really are. It seems to lay bare their soul and expose all their traits and flaws. In a sense, looking at a black and white picture of a person is more like looking at a photograph of his personality, rather than of his features.

It is common for actors and models to carry around 8x10 inch black and white portraits of themselves. These are given to potential clients and agents. In fact, the entertainment industries sets so much stock in the value of these images, that roles for minor parts will often be decided on the basis of this alone.

Of course, you don’t have to be an actor to be photographed in black and white. Everyone is a potential subject, and whether you are photographing a bride or a bandit, you can make them look good in shades of grey. Having said that, there is one demographic that lends itself more to the charms of this type of photography than any other, and that is the old.

Wrinkly people, and to be honest it doesn’t matter if it’s the wrinkles of a face that has seen too many winters or those of a life that has been very well spent, make for really interesting black and white pictures. Instead of looking old, more often than not, they appear to have character and personality, perhaps as if they have a story to tell.

But whether you are photographing the old or the young, getting in close can be well worth your while. I often fill the frame to bursting point, in what is described in the cinematic tradition as an extreme close-up, often losing the top of the head and the ears, focusing on only the facial features.

The beauty of monochromatic portraiture lies not in how it performs in predictable ways, but rather how you can use it to present an infinite number of moods. Whether you are photographing a romantic couple in love, or the anger of a street riot, black and white photography can capture the essence of the atmosphere and stir in the viewer the exact emotion that you are attempting to convey.

Digital Black and White Landscapes

Another subject that lends itself to the charms of black and white photography is the great outdoors.

Indeed, some of the greatest black and white photographers in the history of our fine art has been masters of the landscape, with Ansel Adams, the creator of the Zone System, just one example.

One difference between how we used to shoot black and white landscapes on film and in how we now do it on digital is in our use, or rather lack thereof, of filters. In the old days, the photographer would have to use a yellow, red or orange filter to bring out the details in a partially clouded sky so as to ensure that the details in the clouds and the pale blue sky did not all disappear into plain white when printed. Today, there is no need to do that. Just make sure that the pictures are taken in color, and you can then transform the image in Photoshop to highlight the details you need.

Overall, the ideas behind capturing good landscapes in black and white are remarkably similar to capturing it in color. The first thing you will need is a lot of patience, waiting, often for hours, till the sun reaches the exact point in the sky from where it will light the landscape in exactly the way you want it too.

And as with color, your most valuable tool when setting out to photograph the glory of nature will invariably be a tripod. This will allow you to use longer shutter speeds, especially at the end of the day when the sun casts marvelously long shadows over the fields and valleys and allow you to use greater depth of field. It will also force you to think about the shot a little bit more before you set up to take the picture.