Foundations of Photography: Black and White with Ben Long

In this Foundations of Photography, Ben Long shows photographers how to develop a black and white vocabulary and explains the considerations to take into account when shooting for this medium. The course follows Ben as he goes on location and explains what makes good black and white subject matter and how to visualize the scene in terms of tonal values and contrast rather than color. Along the way, he demonstrates some exposure strategies for getting the best images. Back at the computer, Ben demonstrates techniques for converting the resulting photos into black and white using Photoshop and other imaging tools, and offers tips on printing and output.

Topics include:

• Why shoot in black and white


• How to recognize good black-and-white subject matter


• Preparing the camera


• Shooting a tone-based subject


• Exposing for black and white


• Understanding grayscale


• Converting from color to black and white using Photoshop CS4 or CS5


• Converting to black and white in Camera Raw


• Vignetting


• Toning and split-toning


• Comparing high key versus low key images


• Preparing a black and white image for print