Black and white photography tip: Choose hard light

Sunday 7 July 2024, 14:07 by Nando Harmsen | 2,624 views | 2 comments

This article was translated from Dutch with the help of AI. Read the original.

Hard light is often avoided. But the strong contrast between shadow and sunlit areas adds extra dimension to your black and white photography.

So see the dark shadows as part of your composition. Don't try to make everything in those shadows recognisable or light. Not everything needs to be perfectly recognisable, give the viewer's imagination a chance.

The walking cyclist (Saint-Antonin Noble-Val, France - 50mm - ISO100 - f/5,6 - 1/320s)
Light areas always catch the eye immediately. That's what you look at first. Let these light areas form a line of sight. Place your subject in the light area, which makes the photo even more interesting. That could be a person walking in the light area, or another subject.

By choosing hard light for your black and white photography, you get many unusual possibilities. Give it a try and don't be afraid of shadows.

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About the author

Nando Harmsen has been photographing for more than 40 years. He specialises in wedding photography and landscape photography. Nando also gives talks, workshops, masterclasses and photo trips, and regularly reviews new and interesting equipment.

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2 comments

Donald Willemsen wrote on Sunday 7 July 2024 at 14:03 | reply
I completely agree with you, Nando. Especially with b/w photography, hard light works very well. I wouldn't do that in color. Street photography is one of the types of photography where b/w with hard contrasts is very applicable. I like that. That way, even in the middle of the day, you still have moments when you can take beautiful atmospheric photos
Translated from Dutch.

Katja wrote on Friday 12 July 2024 at 21:17 | reply
Beautiful photo Nando, very atmospheric! And now we just have to wait for that sun...
Translated from Dutch.

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