Are Smartphones Threatening the Camera Industry?

As smartphones are getting better at capturing images year after year, one might be wondering when, if at all, we will see smartphones directly competing with larger cameras. Are we at the point, or perhaps might be soon approaching one, where it won’t make any sense to buy a high-end DSLR or a mirrorless camera to capture professional-looking images? Now that smartphones like the iPhone 7 Plus are shipping with dual lenses (one standard wide-angle lens and one telephoto lens to capture portraits) and some manufacturers are even pushing larger sensors to specifically appeal the photography market, it is no wonder why some photographers might think that a smartphone is all they need to get professional results. During the past few years, I have been using a variety of different cameras with sensors ranging from tiny 1/3″ all the way to medium format, so I thought it would be a good idea to write an article about this particular topic, with some images to represent different cameras and sensor sizes.

Captured with my iPhone 6 Plus, ISO 32, 1/950, f/2.2

Let’s take a look at what is and what isn’t possible with small vs large sensor cameras.

1) Do Smartphones Threaten Dedicated Cameras?

As you may already know, pretty much all major manufacturers, including Nikon and Canon have been reporting decreased camera sales during the past few years. We have written about these trends a few times, with Michael Heath writing his analysis in 2015, then Thomas Stirr writing a rebuttal in response to the article, followed by yet another article on the same topic earlier this year. In addition to the above, other team members have also written their thoughts on the camera industry and its future when considering new mirrorless technologies and other factors. So overall, we have written quite a bit on this subject at Photography Life. My intention is not to continue the debates, but rather to present my thoughts, accompanied by some pictures on the current potential of the smartphone industry.

iPhone 6 Plus + iPhone 6 Plus back camera 4.15mm f/2.2 @ 4.15mm, ISO 80, 1/15, f/2.2

First of all, I strongly believe that smartphones are indeed impacting the overall camera industry and sales. The evidence of this change is found in the point-and-shoot market, which has been rapidly declining during the past few years. And for a good reason – why would anyone want to buy a point-and-shoot camera with a tiny sensor, when smartphones already have pretty decent image quality that is good enough for most people? Having been traveling extensively during the past couple of years, I see more people taking pictures with their phones and less with point-and-shoot cameras. With a smartphone, one has the option to take a picture and instantly share it with the world, so the question of image quality becomes somewhat secondary in nature.

LG-H810 @ 4.42mm, ISO 50, 1/250, f/1.8

And with a plethora of options for achieving a fairly good image using various apps and filters, there is a sense of instant gratification, which also becomes a key part of the process. If an image looks good enough to be shown on Facebook or Instagram, why bother with other options? That’s where simplicity, ease of use and time savings kick in as well. Knowing this, smartphone manufacturers are also heavily pushing more and more features to make people want to buy their products, instead of spending money on dedicated cameras. From dumb point-and-shoot devices, smartphones are transitioning into highly capable image and video recording devices, with sophisticated and fairly accurate autofocus systems, improved image quality and lots of options to capture complex scenes using HDR and other technologies.

iPhone 6 Plus + iPhone 6 Plus back camera 4.15mm f/2.2 @ 4.15mm, ISO 40, 1/15, f/2.2

And the latest smartphone models are now even offering options for RAW image capture, which opens up post-processing opportunities to yield even higher image quality. Without a doubt, smartphones are playing a key role in eradicating the low-end point-and-shoot markets, where big camera manufacturers used to dominate in the past. And let’s not forget that those are also the markets that would yield high profit margins…

LG-H810 @ 4.42mm, ISO 50, 1/60, f/1.8

However, all this does not mean that the smartphone industry is capable of competing against large sensor cameras (and by “large sensor”, I mean relative to smartphones, with 1″ diagonal sensor and larger), at least at the moment. We have seen a few attempts at creating large sensor smartphones, but those attempts pretty much failed overall – an average consumer does not know or care about sensor size and various camera specifications. Megapixels still sell, and as long as the number is larger than 8 MP, the size of the sensor is not something most consumers would even look at. An average smartphone user does not know how the size of the physical sensor would correlate to things like pixel pitch, resolution, dynamic range and high ISO performance, or how the physical size and optical construction of a camera lens could influence the look of their images.

iPhone 6 Plus + iPhone 6 Plus back camera 4.15mm f/2.2 @ 4.15mm, ISO 50, 1/120, f/2.2

We as photographers, on the other hand, are much more well-versed in this area and we understand what differentiates a high-quality image from a dedicated large sensor camera, compared to results obtained from a smartphone. Most of us understand the limitations of smaller vs larger camera systems and we found our ways to work around those limitations. This means that when it comes to choosing camera gear, we are certainly going to factor in all those features and specifications. An average consumer would not be able to understand our considerations without proper education first, which is not something that is going to happen.

LG-H810 @ 4.42mm, ISO 50, 1/120, f/1.8

Even if camera manufacturers attempted to educate the general population, their marketing efforts would fail against the marketing budgets of much larger smartphone manufacturers. If Apple shows that the iPhone is good enough to capture beautiful images through those massive billboard-size “Shot on iPhone” campaigns, why wouldn’t people believe? Such powerful marketing works and we know it does, because the world has already purchased a billion of those iPhones and the iPhone constantly dominates top photography charts in terms of the most used camera capture tool.

iPhone 6 Plus + iPhone 6 Plus back camera 4.15mm f/2.2 @ 4.15mm, ISO 80, 1/4, f/2.2

So camera manufacturers now have a tough dilemma – unless the world is educated about things like sensor size and optics, they will continue to lose out in selling their lower-end offerings to that same crowd. However, I personally do not anticipate any significant changes in large sensor camera sales to the photography community, which is educated enough to understand the above-mentioned terminologies.

LG-H810 @ 4.42mm, ISO 50, 1/40, f/1.8

During the presentation of the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus, Apple specifically pointed out that the iPhone would not be able to match the quality of a DSLR, even with all the fancy technology the company integrated into the new model, including a telephoto lens for portraiture.

iPhone 6 Plus + iPhone 6 Plus back camera 4.15mm f/2.2 @ 4.15mm, ISO 32, 1/1800, f/2.2

2) Sensor Size Matters

The question of sensor size comes up all the time, but at the end of the day, how important is it? We have all seen our share of photographers “down-scaling” their equipment to go for smaller and more compact camera systems, claiming that those cameras are “good enough” for their needs. Indeed, even 1″ camera sensors are capable of yielding superb results when compared to what we have had a few years back. If one determines what their target resolution and acceptable high ISO working range for their particular work is, along with the relevant lenses and accessories, perhaps moving down to a smaller system would make sense for them.

LG-H810 @ 4.42mm, ISO 50, 1/320, f/1.8

However, it is important to keep in mind that the technology does not necessarily move slower with larger sensors and camera systems. For those who need better overall image quality, larger camera systems have a lot more to offer. And the best part of it – larger camera systems are not out of reach in terms of affordability anymore. A full-frame camera can be bought for around $ 1,500 and even lower in the used market, and we are now starting to see medium format cameras under $ 8K. A medium format digital camera system used to be reserved only for those with deep pockets and it looks like medium format will soon start hitting the mainstream market, just like full-frame did a while ago.

iPhone 6 Plus + iPhone 6 Plus back camera 4.15mm f/2.2 @ 4.15mm, ISO 32, 1/2000, f/2.2

LG-H810 @ 4.42mm, f/1.8

Sensor size does matter, because a larger surface area allows for larger pixels, which yield better high ISO performance. At the same time, more pixels can be crammed into a larger sensor, yielding more total resolution, which can translate to more details, especially with solid lens offerings that are capable of resolving that much detail. Larger sensors generally tend to have more dynamic range, better colors and better subject isolation capabilities due to differences in depth of field (read more about this in an excellent article on sensor size, perspective and depth of field by Francois Malan). So bigger will always be better when it comes to overall image quality.

LG-H810 @ 4.42mm, ISO 150, 1/30, f/1.8

However, how much image quality does one truly need? Now that’s an important question, because it all depends on the intention of the photographer and the end result / output. If I were to only shoot images for this website, I would certainly downsize my gear – probably to a camera with a sensor as small as 1″. I have been quite happy with the results I get from the Sony RX100 IV, for example, which is a pretty impressive camera:

DSC-RX100M4 + 24-70mm F1.8-2.8 @ 10.15mm, ISO 200, 1/13, f/11.0

DSC-RX100M4 + 24-70mm F1.8-2.8 @ 16.17mm, ISO 125, 1/160, f/5.6

You have already seen Thomas Stirr do some incredible work with his Nikon 1 cameras and Sharif has numerously demonstrated that the Micro Four Thirds system can yield superb results, even when capturing fast action.

iPhone 6 Plus + iPhone 6 Plus back camera 4.15mm f/2.2 @ 4.15mm, ISO 32, 1/15, f/2.2

LG-H810 @ 4.42mm, ISO 50, 1/15, f/1.8

Having shot with both systems, I would not hesitate to use either one – they are both very capable in their own ways. And if I wanted to go a bit larger, I would stop with a solid APS-C camera system like the Fuji X, which shines in many areas for me, especially when it comes to lenses. But I still choose to shoot with a full-frame system. Why? Because I want to have options. I spend countless hours visiting and scouting various locations. I put a lot of energy, time and money for traveling the world. If I came back with a winning shot, I would like to be able to showcase the image in its full glory, and not just in a web-sized version that I share with our readers.

LG-H810 @ 4.42mm, ISO 50, 1/690, f/1.8

With the equipment I use today, I can make large prints of my work without hesitation, giving the best visual experience I can deliver to my potential customer. In fact, I often push my full-frame Nikon system to its limits, making even larger panoramic images with exceptional detail, something I cannot achieve with a single shot. So if a larger sensor system was made available to me at the cost I can justify and afford, I would want to move up in image quality, not the other way around.

iPhone 6 Plus + iPhone 6 Plus back camera 4.15mm f/2.2 @ 4.15mm, ISO 50, 1/15, f/2.2

LG-H810 @ 4.42mm, ISO 50, 1/40, f/1.8

LG-H810 @ 4.42mm, ISO 50, 1/15, f/1.8

The amount of potential detail and resolution of a large sensor system is pretty evident, especially when looking at images at 100% view. Take a look at the below image from the Pentax 645Z medium format camera:

PENTAX 645Z + smc PENTAX-FA645 45-85mm F4.5 @ 45mm, ISO 200, 2/1, f/11.0

And take a look at the incredible detail and resolution offered by this camera, when viewed at 100% zoom:

100% Zoom from a cropped area

With a bit of sharpening added to the image, I know I can make a very large print that will look incredible even when viewed at close distances. Thanks to modern technologies, such as in-body 5-axis image stabilization and super high-resolution modes offered by cameras like the Pentax K-1 by moving the sensor and creating composite images, even more detail can be achieved at pixel level, reducing the gap in performance between full-frame and medium format even further.

LG-H810 @ 4.42mm, ISO 200, 1/25, f/1.8

Would I have similar thoughts and considerations if I were to shoot portraits? Probably not, as I would find my full-frame system to be more than adequate for those particular needs.

LG-H810 @ 4.42mm, ISO 250, 1/25, f/1.8

Therefore, it is up to each person to decide what their goals and priorities are with their camera system. I do not mind providing images from my iPhone 6 Plus or my LG G4 on this website at 960 pixel-long resolution as I have done in this article, but if I had to provide much larger resolution images, I would not be comfortable with that choice. Images this small look great, but the moment you start looking at them at 100% zoom, they start looking like mud in comparison to what I can get with my Nikon D810. It does not matter that smartphones have 10+ MP sensors – the actual pixel-level detail they are capable of producing is limited 2-3 MP, maybe a little more.

At such a close distance, even my LG G4 can do a pretty decent job at isolating subjects
LG-H810 @ 4.42mm, ISO 50, 1/270, f/1.8

And it is not just about resolution, ISO performance or details either – the tiny pixels on smartphones severely limit their dynamic range, which is quite evident when capturing high contrast scenes. While you can use certain features like HDR in order to get around some situations, there is only so much that a small sensor system can recover. In addition, you will never be able to get the same amount of data from a smaller sensor. The iPhone 7 might be able to shoot images in RAW format, but we know those won’t be the same 14-bit images we can get from large sensor cameras. There won’t be nearly enough headroom to be able to recover all the colors, let alone extreme highlights and shadows.

iPhone 6 Plus + iPhone 6 Plus back camera 4.15mm f/2.2 @ 4.15mm, ISO 40, 1/120, f/2.2

Lastly, the creative opportunities on smartphones are very limited, even with the iPhone 7 Plus that has a secondary telephoto lens. Even though it is a 56mm equivalent, it will never be able to compete with a 50mm f/1.4 prime on a full-frame camera. With its limited aperture of f/2.8, everything from 6.4 feet and further will be in focus. That’s why Apple is blurring out the background via software, as it is impossible to create enough subject isolation through the built-in lens and sensor (speaking of which, the secondary sensor on the telephoto lens is actually smaller).

LG-H810 @ 4.42mm, ISO 100, 1/40, f/1.8

LG-H810 @ 4.42mm, ISO 50, 1/160, f/1.8

3) Summary

When I posted the article about the iPhone 7 Announcement, talking about all the great camera features of the phone, I was a bit surprised to see a few comments and emails from our readers, who said things like “It’s another nail in the coffin for paid photography in all areas”, or “iPhone will soon replace DSLRs”. While overall image quality and features are certainly getting better on smartphones, they will never be able to compete with dedicated interchangeable-lens camera systems. It is one thing to take a decent picture in broad daylight and totally different when photographing people in a dim wedding reception.

I don’t see how my smartphone is going to be able to take a picture like the one above in the future. But who knows, perhaps some day smartphone engineers will prove me wrong…

Hope you’ve enjoyed the article and the images. Would love to hear your thoughts on this in the comments section below!

The post Are Smartphones Threatening the Camera Industry? appeared first on Photography Life.

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What is a Stop? The Common Currency of Exposure Explained

What are stops? Are they the same as f-stops? How are they measured? Are they the same for different exposure controls? Are they still useful now?

These are common questions for those just starting out in photography. They are good questions, and the exposure concepts surrounding them can be confusing. You have probably been told that a stop is a “doubling of light,” which of course is true. That is helpful, but it doesn’t show how stops really works and how they tie your exposure controls together.

What I want to show you in this article is how the concept of a stop acts as a common currency in exposure, and allows you to take complete control of it. Rather than being confusing, stops are really a simplification tool. Without stops, we’d have a hard time controlling our exposure between the three controls; aperture, shutter speed, and ISO.

Introduction

I’m using the term “common currency” to describe stops. To see what I mean, think about the barter system before we had money. If you sold chickens, I sold apples, and someone else sold bricks, how would we all trade? And what if the person selling the bricks didn’t value your chickens as much as I did? It was a mess, which is why the concept of money was developed. Now we all value our goods using money and we exchange money with each transaction. This has proven to be a remarkably useful tool, which is why it has stuck around for a few thousand years.

Similarly, in photography we faced trade-offs when it came to exposure. For example, how could we value a change in the size of the aperture versus lengthening the time of shutter speed? And then how would we value the sensitivity of the digital sensor (or film in the old days) as compared to these other two adjustments? It isn’t apples to apples. The concept of stops is how we square everything up.

Understanding this is a necessary precondition to mastering your camera and controlling the exposure process. Hopefully this will help you grasp your exposure controls better. First, we’ll take a brief looks at each of them and show you how they are measured in stops. After that, we’ll get into how to use them together.

Shutter Speed

Your shutter speed is a measurement of time. As you probably already know, when you open up the shutter, the camera is gathering light. The longer you allow the camera to gather light, the higher the exposure value. Most shutter speeds you use will be a fraction of a second, but here are the common values for shutter speed you will see when you look through your viewfinder or at your LCD:

The segments in this chart are 1-stop increments. Again, a stop is a doubling of light. Remember that shutter speed is a measurement of time, so a doubling of the time your shutter is open is the same thing as a doubling of light. Therefore, for example, a move from 1/250th of a second to 1/125 is a one stop change. You have doubled the time the shutter is open so you have also doubled the exposure value.

Something that might confuse you is that your camera doesn’t change settings (each click of your dial) in 1-stop increments. Most cameras are set to move in 1/3 stop increments. So rather than moving from 1/250 to 1/125, each click of the dial on your camera will only move part of the way there. It will take three clicks to move a full stop. It looks something like this:

The point is to understand that we are taking a time measurement and converting it into a stop. Each doubling of the amount of time the shutter is open equals a stop. Conversely, you reduce by a stop every time you cut the shutter speed in half. We’ll be able to use that stop in connection with the other controls in a bit.

Aperture

Now let’s look at this in the concept of aperture. As you probably know, the aperture is the hole in the lens that lets light through into the camera, and it is adjustable. Making it larger lets more light into the camera; making it smaller lets less light in. To change your exposure value using the aperture control, you are changing the size of the aperture.

Aperture measurements can be confusing. To begin with, the measurement is actually of the size of the aperture compared to the focal length (The F-number of a lens is the ratio of its focal length divided by the diameter of the aperture.). That makes it a ratio or reciprocal figure, which means that the larger the aperture the smaller the measurement, and vice versa. Secondly, different lenses have different maximum and minimum aperture values. With that in mind, here are common aperture values:

Again, remember that your camera is probably set up to change values in 1/3 stop increments. So, for example, you camera won’t go directly from f/5.6 to f/8.0. Instead, it will probably go from f/5.6 > f/6.3 > f/7.1 > f/8.0 as you click the dial.

I’m ignoring the concept of depth of field here because it isn’t important for purposes of this discussion. All we care about now is converting these measurements into stops. So, on that front, what we have done here is convert a size measurement into a stop. That means we can easily compare it to shutter speed changes as we saw above. We’ll also be able to compare it to changes in ISO, which we’ll talk about next.

ISO

Finally, we get to ISO, the third exposure control. This is a measure of the sensitivity of your camera’s digital sensor to light. Making it more sensitive to light increases exposure but leads to increased digital noise in your pictures. Conversely, decreasing the ISO lowers the exposure value but also decreases digital noise. Here is a chart showing common ISO values in one stop increments:

As you can see from the chart above, the ability to change ISO is pretty limited. Whereas there are 18 stops within the range of common shutter speeds, there are only seven in ISO. There are cameras with ISO values that go higher (such as ISO 12,800 and even 25,600), but they lead to pretty dramatic digital noise. This limited range though does show why increases are important.

In any case, as you can see what has been done is create a system where we have taken a measurement of sensitivity to light and converted it into stops. Each doubling in sensitivity doubles the exposure value, which equals a stop. What’s great is that (unlike the aperture measurements) ISO is simple. It is easy to understand that an ISO of 200 is double that of ISO 100.

Putting it all together

Now that we have covered the concept of stops for each of the three exposure controls, we are ready to talk about them together.

The key thing to understand here is that a stop, is a stop, is a stop. By that I mean that a stop of shutter speed exposure, equals a stop of aperture, equals a stop of ISO. In other words, lengthening your shutter speed by one stop is the exact same thing as opening your aperture by one stop. And that is exactly the same thing is changing the ISO by one stop. The measurements all equate.

Why does this matter? Because you will face the need to change your exposure values all the time. This will allow you to take complete control over the exposure process. For example, when you want to increase your depth of field you know you need to make the aperture smaller. But that will cause your picture to be underexposed. By using stops, however, you can increase the exposure by the exact same amount using either the shutter speed or ISO.

An example of using stops

If this seems confusing, an example should help make it clearer. Let’s say you are out shooting a landscape scene and you hold up your camera and set up a correct exposure. It is 1/500th of a second at f/5.6, with an ISO of 100.

That’s just fine, except that remember that this is a landscape photo. You want a much deeper depth of field than f/5.6 is going to allow, so let’s move that to something like f/11. You know that this is a 2-stop decrease (check the charts above for confirmation).

Landscape shot at 1/125 of a second at f/11.

If you made no other change, your photo would be very underexposed. But you now know that you can just increase (lengthen) your shutter speed by the same amount (two stops) to offset this move. In other words, since we have converted all these exposure changes to stops, we have a common currency that we can interchange freely. A 2-stop shutter speed increase takes you to 1/125th. In other words, you started at 1/500, twice that is 1/250, and doubling that again is 1/125 (again, check the chart above to see).

You could also change ISO if you wanted (to ISO 400), but you probably don’t want to do that to keep noise to a minimum. Your new settings of 1/125, f/11, ISO 100 are much better for this situation.

For those who do better with visuals, here is how the two offsetting moves appear:

Another example

Let’s walk through another example to make sure you’ve got it. Let’s say you are photographing a friend or a family member and your camera settings are at 1/40, f/16, ISO 200. The camera’s meter says you have a correct exposure. Take a look at the shutter speed and aperture settings and you’ll see a few problems though.

First, the aperture is too small for this situation. You don’t need a small aperture like f/16. Not only do you not need the small aperture, which costs you light, but you actually don’t want the deep depth of field that f/16 gives you. You’d rather have an extremely shallow depth of field to blur out the background. Secondly, a shutter speed of 1/40 is probably a too slow for this situation. This shutter speed could lead to a lack of sharpness due to the camera shaking slightly or your subject moving while the shutter is open.

The good news is that both your problems can be solved by making changes to the shutter speed and aperture. You can use a stop as the common currency to make sure they offset and your exposure stays the same. You decide to open up the aperture all the way to f/4. That’s a 4-stop increase. Check the chart above, and you’ll see it goes like this; you start at f/16> f/11 > f/8 > f/5.6, and the fourth stop takes you to f/4.0.

Now that you’ve made that change you have the depth of field situation fixed. If you made no other change, your picture would be quite overexposed though. But that’s okay, this just allows you to shorten your shutter speed which you wanted to do that anyway avoid any possible camera shake or subject movement. Now you know you can shorten the shutter speed by four stops to offset the change you just made to the aperture. Starting at 1/40, moving fours stop gets you: 1/40th > 1/80th > 1/160th > 1/320th, and finally to 1/640th. That’s much better.

Shot at 1/640th of a second with an aperture of f/4.0.

Using stops to master exposure controls

Hopefully you see the utility of the concept of stops. It acts as a common currency so that all changes in exposure equate. One click of the dial that controls your shutter speed equates to one click of the aperture control. And that equals one click of the control for your ISO settings (if you can adjust your ISO in 1/3 stops). It all works out, and that is extremely important in the exposure process.

So many times you want to change one exposure control but keep the overall exposure setting the same. You may want to stop down the aperture to increase the depth of field, lower the ISO to reduce digital noise, or shorten the shutter speed to avoid any camera shake. Using stops you can do this with confidence.

Why can’t you just rely on the camera to do all this for you? In other words, why couldn’t you just use Aperture Priority mode, set the aperture you want, and then watch as they camera sets the right shutter speed? You can just change the aperture and ISO settings until the camera sets the shutter speed you want. And, yes, you can do it that way. But even so, you should understand the process so that you know what is going on under the hood. In addition, if you ever use neutral density filters or find yourself in a situation where you camera cannot meter light properly, you’ll know how to do it for yourself.

The post What is a Stop? The Common Currency of Exposure Explained by Jim Hamel appeared first on Digital Photography School.

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Avoid These 5 Common Mistakes in Black and White Photography

Black and white photography has been around for nearly 180 years, ever since Louis Daguerre introduced the daguerreotype process to the world. It is still hugely popular despite the rise and ease of color photography. And yet, whenever I look at other people’s black and white photos, I see the same mistakes over and over. Are you making any of these? Let’s find out!

Mistake #1: Shooting in JPEG format

Ouch! This is a big one. It’s the single worse thing you could do.

The difference between RAW and JPEG

To understand why, you need to appreciate the difference between Raw files and JPEGs. Raw files contain all the information captured by your camera’s sensor. A Raw file is not a finished picture file. It has to be processed (using software like Lightroom or Adobe Camera Raw) and converted to a JPEG or TIFF file in order to be usable.

You can think of a Raw file as the equivalent of a negative (as in from film photography). You can’t send a Raw file to a photo library or a magazine any more than you could send a negative. You need to process the Raw file (or scan and process the negative) first.

JPEG files are created by the camera. It takes the information captured by the sensor, processes it (much like you would do with a Raw file in Lightroom, but according to the camera’s built-in parameters), compresses it, discards the unused information, and saves it as JPEG. They don’t necessarily need processing in software like Photoshop or Lightroom, although most can be improved by doing so.

Advantages of shooting RAW

Using the Raw format gives you the following advantages.

• Control: You process the file yourself, rather than letting the camera do it. You can process it to your taste from a stylistic point of view. Using Raw lets you interpret the file as many ways as you want. Using JPEG means the file gets interpreted one way only – the way the camera does it.
• More data: The Raw file contains much more information than a JPEG, especially in the highlights and shadows, that you can draw out when you process the file. The extra information helps prevent banding in areas of smooth continuous tone like clear skies.

Using Raw helps you get from the before image shown above to the processed version here. With Raw, you can increase contrast and make the sky darker without introducing banding in the sky or halos along the edges of buildings. You can’t do this with JPEG files.

More advantages of shooting RAW

• Adjust sharpness: JPEG files created by your camera are sharpened. The sharpening limits the amount you can change tonal values before introducing halos and artefacts. Yes, you can turn JPEG sharpening off in-camera – but how many people bother?
• RAW format keeps the color info: Raw files contain all the color information captured by the sensor, so you can create a color version of the photo in Lightroom, Photoshop, etc., as well.

Using Raw let me create both a color and black and white version of the same image in Lightroom, without any loss of image quality.

• Improvements: The software gets better every year. The version of Lightroom or Photoshop you use in five or 10 years time will be much better than the current one. With Raw, you can take advantage of these new improved tools and reprocess your images in the future.

So please, don’t use the JPEG format any more for black and white photography. There are, however, advantages to using your camera’s monochrome mode, as discussed in my article Mastering Monochrome Mode.

Mistake #2: Trying to save photos by making them black and white

Black and white is not a method for rescuing poorly crafted color photos. If your photo is bad in color, it will be bad in black and white too (although there are always photos that work better in black and white for compositional reasons).

There is nowhere to hide in black and white. In color, if the lighting or composition isn’t as good as it could be, the emotional impact of the colors in the photo may rescue the image (or, depending on how you look at it, cover up its shortcomings). Black and white images rely on factors like tonal contrast, textural detail, line and strong composition to work.

That’s why some photographers consider black and white to be a kind of higher art form than color photography.

The texture in this photo is essential to make it work in black and white.

Mistake #3: Not processing the photos properly

Before digital cameras and Lightroom came along, many pro photographers used a professional printer to print their images. Creating top quality black and white prints in the darkroom is hard, and it was often outsourced to professionals.

This was a beneficial arrangement that let photographers concentrate full-time on photography and left printing to the specialists. Perhaps the best known pro printer in the UK is Robin Bell, who has worked with big names such as David Bailey, Terry O’Neil, and Eve Arnold.

Nowadays it is much easier to create beautiful black and white images in programs like Lightroom, Photoshop, or Silver Efex Pro 2, than it is to master the chemical darkroom process. But, sadly, many photographers don’t get to grips with the basics. The result is that their black and white photos are not nearly as good as they could be.

Take the time to learn how to use your software properly and your photos will get better.

This before and after example shows the photo how it looked straight out of the camera compared to the final version, processed in Lightroom. Learn how to get from one to the other in order to get the most out of your black and white images.

Mistake #4: Not shooting in the best light

One of the advantages of black and white is that you can often shoot in lighting conditions not suitable for color photography. For example, on a cloudy day you can create beautiful black and white seascapes with a tripod and neutral density filters (this is called long exposure photography). Yet, in color, you would really need to shoot close to dawn or sunset to make the most of the scene.

But what some people do is use black and white to shoot in lighting conditions that are simply unsuitable for the subject. Using black and white isn’t the solution. The important skill is in matching the light to the subject. This takes a while to learn but it’s very important. Don’t be lazy just because it’s black and white.

A long exposure photo made on a cloudy day. The light suits the subject – it wouldn’t have worked in sunny weather.

Mistake #5: Not having a strong composition

Black and white is a true test of your compositional skills. The best monochrome images use visual elements like tonal contrast, texture, line, shape, pattern, and negative space. The emotional power of color can mask poor composition. But in black and white there is nowhere to hide. You have to learn how to use these building blocks of composition effectively.

That starts with learning how to see them. For example, you can’t use lines in your compositions if you haven’t trained yourself to see straight, diagonal, or curved lines in the scene.

The good news is that once you understand the fundamentals of composition in black and white, you will instinctively apply them to your color photos as well.

I took a lot of care with the composition of this landscape photo. It has foreground interest and plenty of texture – important elements in black and white landscapes.

Have you made any of these mistakes?

Can you think of any other mistakes that photographers make when working in black and white? Please share your thoughts in the comments below.

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If you’d like to learn more about black and white photography then please check out my ebook Mastering Lightroom: Book Three – Black & White.

The post Avoid These 5 Common Mistakes in Black and White Photography by Andrew S. Gibson appeared first on Digital Photography School.

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