Five Black And White Photography Assignments

This month’s articles give you an insight into my creative processes and how I approach black and white photography. To finish I’d like to give you some black and white photography assignments. These are five briefs that you are free to interpret how you like – the aim is to motivate you to get out there and try some black and white photography. Don’t take it seriously. It’s playtime, have fun with it.

Black and White Photography Assignment #1: Simplify the composition

Black and white is a graphic medium that emphasizes shape, texture and form. It works well with photos that have bold yet simple compositions. 

Here are three ways you can simplify the composition of your black and white photos:

1. Photograph something light against a dark background. You can emphasize the contrast between light and dark when you develop the photo using masks in Lightroom Classic.

2. Photograph something sharp against a blurred background. Use the wide aperture settings on your lenses. The photo below combines both these techniques.

3. Move in close and create a near abstract image. The photos below show how it works. The feet in the photo on the left belong to a statue. The photo on the right is a close-up of a tropical plant.

Black and White Photography Assignment #2: Add emotion and mood in low light

Black and white photos are full of mood and emotion, and you can emphasize this further by shooting in low light. Low light is moody and evocative, which is why it’s used so often in television shows and movies. Think of the light you get after the sun has set, for example, or in a dark room lit by a single lamp. 

I made the photo below on a walk after dusk. The sun had set, the light was soft and it was a still evening. All these things capture the mood of the moment.

Black and White Photography Assignment #3: Photograph something colorful

You can take one of two approaches to this assignment. The first is to go out with your camera and photograph colorful subjects in black and white. Don’t forget to set your camera to its black and white mode (and use Raw) to help with seeing in black and white.

The second approach is to go convert one of your favorite colorful photos to black and white. Either way, the idea is to give a new way of looking at a familiar subject. 

I made the photo below in Jodhpur, India, otherwise known as the blue city. It’s a city that asks to be photographed in color, and I never made a black and white version of this photo until now. 

Black and White Photography Assignment #4: Use a plugin

In case last week’s article didn’t prompt you to take action, here’s a gentle reminder. If you have a plugin you can use for black white photography, like Exposure X7, DxO FilmPack or Silver Efex Pro, then take some time to explore the presets and see what you can do with them. The best ones to use are those that emulate black and white film or analog printing processes. I created the photos below using cyanotype presets in Exposure X7.

Black and White Photography Assignment #5: Make a print

Your last assignment is to make a print of one of the black and white photos you created while doing these assignments. Back in the days before digital photographers spent large amounts of money building black and white darkrooms and creating prints. The print was the end point, the goal of the process. This is something that easily gets lost with digital processes. This is an easy assignment if you have an inkjet printer. If you don’t, then get a print made by somebody else, either a friend or relative with an inkjet printer or a printing company like Whitewall. You don’t have to spend a lot of money. Small prints have a unique charm and can be just as rewarding as large prints.

Final thoughts

I hope you’ve enjoyed this series of articles exploring part of my creative process, and the prompts at the end of it. You can revisit the previous articles using the links below. Don’t forget to leave a comment and let me know what you think.

Further reading

• Creative Process: Color Or Black And White?

• Creative Process: Photographing Gardens In Black And White

• Creative Process: Platinum Printing and Polapan With Exposure X7

The Magic of Black & White ebook

My ebook The Magic of Black & White takes you on a journey exploring ideas like the ones in this article that help you make better black and white photos. It covers topics like composition, light, the best subjects for black and white and post-processing.