Last Updated on November 25, 2024
Seeing in Black and White: How Colors Reflect Light
Call me a purist.
Once I shoot in color (film or digital) it’s hard for me to desaturate or convert to grayscale. Losing all that visual information after being recorded first mentally and then on film, just seems like a waste of color.
But don’t get me wrong, shooting in black and white has its benefits.
I learned photography using Ilford black and white film on a used Pentax K1000. The light meter was broken, so there was a lot of trial and error with the exposure settings at the time! But eventually, I developed a better understanding of lighting conditions and sensitivity to contrast in the environment, recognizing when the lighting either worked well or didn’t work out at all when images were developed as black and white photographs.
I began to see when shadows were too deep, too many shades away from neutral, and when highlights teetered on the edge of detail. This temporary color blindness opened up, however, new dimensions of tonal nuance.
With time, I started to see in black and white: my eyes began to ‘erase’ color when scouting a scene or landscape. However, colored areas obviously didn’t magically disappear, instead, the light reflected by certain colors became more apparent.
Most people know or have heard that black ‘absorbs’ color, meaning that the light rays which bounce off black or dark surfaces are less reflected into the eyes of the viewer or lens of a camera.
This is because white reflects all the color rays and with it all the energy in those wavelengths. Contrastingly, black reflects the least amount of color, giving off also little energy in the image. But have you really ever taken the time to observe this?
A light meter will measure this instantly. If you point your light meter, with a spot reading function, on a black object and then point it at a white object in the same scene with the same lighting, you will get two different exposure readings even though all the other conditions are the same.
Similarly, colors of different hues and intensities can translate into varying shades of gray in a scene. Try taking a picture of a color swatch in black and white or try converting the image to black and white and notice how different colors translate to different shades of gray.
Notice how the yellow seems to reflect almost as strongly as the white. Likewise, check out how close the cyan and green are to pure gray.
Removing color here shows the play of light which is happening beneath the surface. Learning to distinguish color and tone will help you translate your inner shutter in your mind’s eye to your images. In other words, knowing how colors reflect light, while seeing and utilizing this observation, will not only boost your black and white photography but deepen your appreciation of tone and contrast even when shooting in color!
Why Learning How Colors Reflect Light is Key
Learning to see in black and white is one of the first steps in deep seeing. This might sound counterintuitive, but focusing on black-and-white imagery can teach you to pay attention to several fundamental aspects of visual perception that are crucial for working with color. Here’s why:
- Value and Contrast: When you remove color from the equation, what you’re left with is the value—the lightness or darkness of a color. By practicing in black and white, you learn to recognize and manipulate these values more accurately. Good control over value allows an artist to create depth, define form, and direct the viewer’s attention even before color is considered.
- Textures and Details: Without color to draw the eye, texture and detail become more prominent. This can help you to better appreciate how these elements contribute to the overall composition of an image. Understanding how to use texture effectively in black and white can translate into more nuanced use of these elements when color is reintroduced.
- Composition and Balance: Black and white imagery forces you to focus on the composition’s structural elements—shapes, lines, and the distribution of light and shadow. This can lead to a stronger composition in color work, as you become more attuned to how these elements interact without the influence of color.
- Emotional Impact: Black and white can convey a strong emotional tone that is sometimes more challenging to achieve with color because color can be distracting or can evoke specific cultural or personal associations. Learning how these tones impact an image can help you understand how to use color to evoke emotions effectively.
- Simplification and Focus: Working in black and white simplifies a scene and can help you focus on the essential elements of your composition. This clarity can be crucial when you return to color, helping you to avoid overcomplicating a piece with unnecessary color, which can detract from the main focus.
By learning how colors reflect light, artists enhance their ability to work with color in a more controlled and thoughtful way. Thus, training your eye to see in black and white can be a powerful tool for deepening your understanding of how to use color effectively in your artwork and photographs.
