Monochrome Mastery: Shoot, See, Perfect

Rod Lawton

A series on black and white photography for any photographer who is fascinated by this unique medium. Why shoot in black and white at all, how to see and shoot in black and white and how to perfect your black and white images in editing software.

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9 episodes
Avg 11 min
English

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S1 · E5
August 5 · 10 min
5: Basic black and white adjustments
Black and white negatives are rarely perfect straight from the camera and it's the s are with digital. In the darkroom you adjust the print exposure and paper grade to maximise your print's tonal range, and in a photo editor you use exposure, brightness, levels and curves. Here's how it's done. Hello. I'm Rod Lawton and I'm a full-time photography journalist writing about camera gear, shooting techniques and photo editing. You can find my work on digitalcameraworld.com, amateur photographer.com and in print. I have my own websites at lifeafterphotoshop.com, fotovolo.com and rodlawton.uk.
S1 · E6
August 5 · 10 min
6: Dodging and burning
For decades, dodging and burning has been a mainstay of black and white photography technique. It's what brings black and white images to life. It's an art and a visual skill which can be applied just as effectively in software – and it's not about AI, pixel-perfect masking and complex adjustments. Done the old way, dodging and burning is quick, dirty and beautiful. Hello. I'm Rod Lawton and I'm a full-time photography journalist writing about camera gear, shooting techniques and photo editing. You can find my work on digitalcameraworld.com, amateur photographer.com and in print. I have my own websites at lifeafterphotoshop.com, fotovolo.com and rodlawton.uk.
S1 · E7
August 5 · 11 min
7: BW software and plug-ins
You can carry out all the basic darkroom tasks in regular photo editors – colour/black and white conversion, exposure and contrast, dodging and burning and even grain and toning effects. So why would you need dedicated black and white software tools and plug-ins? Let's see. Hello. I'm Rod Lawton and I'm a full-time photography journalist writing about camera gear, shooting techniques and photo editing. You can find my work on digitalcameraworld.com, amateur photographer.com and in print. I have my own websites at lifeafterphotoshop.com, fotovolo.com and rodlawton.uk.
S1 · E8
August 5 · 14 min
8: Recreating vintage black and white
You can't just slap a sepia tone and a bit of grain on a digital image to create a convincing vintage look. In fact it takes a lot of very subtle visual cues and techniques to produce evocative and timeless black and white imagery. This is where dedicated tools plug-ins really prove their worth. Hello. I'm Rod Lawton and I'm a full-time photography journalist writing about camera gear, shooting techniques and photo editing. You can find my work on digitalcameraworld.com, amateur photographer.com and in print. I have my own websites at lifeafterphotoshop.com, fotovolo.com and rodlawton.uk.
August 5 · 8 min
9: Making black and white prints
Your best black and white images deserve to be seen, and there's nothing quite like a physical print. A desktop printer can do a great job but you need to know what to look for. Or you can use an online lab to do it for you and even create a real silver print from your digital images. Hello. I'm Rod Lawton and I'm a full-time photography journalist writing about camera gear, shooting techniques and photo editing. You can find my work on digitalcameraworld.com, amateur photographer.com and in print. I have my own websites at lifeafterphotoshop.com, fotovolo.com and rodlawton.uk.
S1 · E4
July 31 · 8 min
4: Ways to convert colour to black and white
Almost all digital cameras capture images in colour. You can either leave it to the camera to convert colours to black and white with a monochrome picture style or do it yourself in software? But which method is best – convert to greyscale, desaturate the colours, use Photoshop's Channel Mixer or go for more modern colour/mono mixing tools instead. And don't forget that these days we also have presets, LUTs and profiles... Hello. I'm Rod Lawton and I'm a full-time photography journalist writing about camera gear, shooting techniques and photo editing. You can find my work on digitalcameraworld.com, amateur photographer.com and in print. I have my own websites at lifeafterphotoshop.com, fotovolo.com and rodlawton.uk.
S1 · E1
July 24 · 10 min
1: Why shoot in black and white?
Why shoot in black and white at all? Maybe you have a fascination for black and white photography but you can't explain why? This episode attempts to explain why monochrome photography has its own very special appeal – and how to explain this to people who don't understand! Hello. I'm Rod Lawton and I'm a full-time photography journalist writing about camera gear, shooting techniques and photo editing. You can find my work on digitalcameraworld.com, amateur photographer.com and in print. I have my own websites at lifeafterphotoshop.com, fotovolo.com and rodlawton.uk.
S1 · E2
July 24 · 16 min
2: How to shoot in black and white
We see the world in colour, so can we train our eyes to see in black and white? Can your digital camera help? Do you still need black and white filters, and should you be shooting JPEG or RAW? Hello. I'm Rod Lawton and I'm a full-time photography journalist writing about camera gear, shooting techniques and photo editing. You can find my work on digitalcameraworld.com, amateur photographer.com and in print. I have my own websites at lifeafterphotoshop.com, fotovolo.com and rodlawton.uk.
S1 · E3
July 24 · 10 min
3: Best cameras for black and white?
What's with these dedicated monochrome cameras now appearing and do you need one? Is sensor size important for black and white, do you need a retro-styled camera and can you really shoot black and white on a phone? Hello. I'm Rod Lawton and I'm a full-time photography journalist writing about camera gear, shooting techniques and photo editing. You can find my work on digitalcameraworld.com, amateur photographer.com and in print. I have my own websites at lifeafterphotoshop.com, fotovolo.com and rodlawton.uk.

Showing 1–9 of 9 episodes