Black and White Composition
The famous black and white photographer Ansel Adams (recognized particularly for his zone system and landscape photography) coined the term visualization in the world of photography. To understand black and white composition (or color for that matter) it is extremely important to be aware of what visualization truly means. To put it simply, visualization refers to imagining the final print of the photograph in your mind, before you even press the shutter or plan on your exposure for that matter. It is not as simple as one may believe it to be. The fact is, it is not merely a reproduction of the scene in front of you that you always want on your photographs. You would want to get creative with your depth of field, you may want a certain shade to appear darker than what you see etc. Add to that the fact that you will need to visualize the scene (in fact the print of the final image) in black and white, and that is not something every one of us will be able to do with ease. It is imperative that a black and white photographer learn to see or visualize his or her images in shades of gray rather than in color. Some may find it easy to do so, and some may need time to hone their skills of visualizing. But do remember - visualization is much more important with black and white, although it is required in professional color photography as well.
So, when you compose your image, we see that the first thing you need to do is visualize the final print. Next, you will want to get your exposure readings. While it may seem that exposure is more to do with lighting that with composition, it is not so in black and white photography. The point from where you take your exposure readings can make all the difference to your final print, and you have more of a latitude with black and white film than with color film or digital cameras. Another great plus point while shooting in black and white (film) is the fact that color filters have an effect of darkening out complimentary colors and lightening the same color(as the filter).
In the simpler sense of the word composition, try and find subjects where you have extremes in brightness levels (NOT complimentary color). For example, a scene with strong lighting from one side, and strong shadow on the other would make a very special black and white print. Try shooting portraits against window light and you will see exactly what we mean.
When you begin to play with light and shade on black and white, you will soon see that it has much more of an effect on monotone than on color. A ‘good’ black and white print, it is often said, will have both the extremes of the gray tone - black and white - and a good deal in between. More on the tones later.
