![]() ![]() He would expose for the shadows and recover the highlights in the darkroom. However whilst matrix metering modes are great, learning to expose using a zone system is a great learning tool.Īdams, split his system into 11 zones, ranging from pure black with no detail to pure, again with no detail. ![]() His zone metering system is the basis even for our own modern matrix metering modes. ![]() Metering The Ansel Adams WayĪnsel Adams was one of the greatest landscape photographers of all time. The reason for this is that when we put filters over the camera, the LCD/Viewfinder will not show us the true effect if we are in auto white balance. Whilst obviously RAW does not need a white balance setting, it is actually preferable to set a fixed preset closest to the light you are shooting in. This enables us to use the zone metering system. One thing we should set though is our metering mode to spot metering or as close to it as your camera will get. These are not vital, however, as from the early 80s film cameras had auto modes to cover these. The RAW will not have any sharpness, contrast, or saturation tweaks made to it, giving us the creative freedom to play with those in our digital darkroom.Īs for the rest of the settings, if you want to be a purist, then focus manually, and use manual exposure mode. To get as close as possible to the concept of shooting on film we really should be using a digital negative, aka the RAW file. The light and shade that define a black and white shot are as much about the color of the subject as the amount of light falling on it. AND, I hear you cry? Did film-based cameras have a monochrome viewfinder? Of course not, but there is another reason why we should be viewing out potential images in color. On most cameras, going into a black and white mode will turn both your LCD screen and viewfinder into monochrome. Wait, I hear you shout? We should not be using a black and white mode to shoot black and white, what planet are you on? Hear me out, however. If your camera has a black and white mode or picture style, DO NOT use it. By Pixabay on Pexels Black And White Camera Settings ![]() Let’s start by setting up our camera to shoot black and white. We can also learn to think in monochrome, to spot the subtle areas of light and shade, textures and geometry that can make a black and white shot so great. We can learn about tonal range, zone systems, and how the use of filters can affect the look of our black and white image. We can learn a lot about modern digital photography by applying a film mentality. We are shooting digital but applying a film-based mindset and there are good reasons to do that. The film is dead, isn’t it? Well not really, there are plenty of people shooting and processing film images. By Balazs Benjamin on Pexels Why Shoot In A Film Mindset? Shooting in a film mindset can be highly educational. Today we are going to look at how to shoot monochrome digital shots using a black and white film mindset. For that reason, many of our black and white images are actually just color images without color, not a truly well thought out monochrome. It does not require that we think like a monochrome photographer, nor does it require us even understand the monochrome thought process. We can convert any photo we have ever taken into monochrome with the click of a mouse button. The fact that black and white remains as relevant, in a highly colorized digital world, as it did in the days of wet plates is a testament to that power.Īs digital photographers, it is very easy for us to shoot black and white. There is an emotion to black and white that often cannot be replicated in color photography. Black and white, to this day, remains one of the most powerful creative tools we have as photographers. ![]()
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