Saturday, February 7, 2015

Black and White Book Club, week 2: Details in B&W

Join us all February for the Black and White Book Club. We are sharing and discussing Andrew Gibson's The Magic of Black and White, Vol 1. Consider joining 365Project and sharing a daily picture or jump in with the Boost Your Photography 52 Weeks Challenge for a once-a-week go at black and white. The first week focused on seeing in black and white, and this week we will look at pages 22-31 and focus on details in black and white.


Interested in learning more about last year's Black and White Book Club? Last year we discussed Michael Freeman's The Complete Guide to Black and White Digital Photography (or the Black and White Photography Field Guide). Check out each week's posts: the overview and week 1week 2week 3week 4, and week 5.

Black and White Book Club Week 2: details in black and white

After reading pages 22-31, the idea this week is to focus on the details in black and white photography, and the chapters focus on texture, lines, foreground interest, use of negative space, shapes or patterns, and utilizing contrast.

By simplifying your photographs down and trying to focus on only one of these challenges at a time, you can learn a lot about what makes an interesting and engaging photograph. Many of these chapter subjects have also been the subject of previous blog posts and BYP52Weeks challenges. If you are curious, you can read more in the following articles:



"Lines guide the viewer's eye through the photograph from one point to another" (pgs. 23-24) I really liked the point that Andrew Gibson raised in this section - if you are using lines in your photograph, where are they leading? It is not enough to simply use a leading line, you need to have a purpose and a plan for it to lead your eye somewhere interesting and meaningful. Try it!

Pick one of the specific sections to focus on each day or even try one for the whole week. Think about texture, lines, foreground, negative space, or capturing contrasts. See what the details can do for you.

We look forward to having you join us this month via either 365Project (daily) or Boost Your Photography 52 Weeks Challenge (weekly). Please also consider sharing your thoughts about this week's topic in the comments below.





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