Canon EOS 6D: From Snapshots to Great Shots

The Elegance of Black and White

Many photographers convert a color image to black and white only when they have exhausted all the possibilities for working with it in color. Needless to say, this is not what I recommend. Black and white photography is all about tonal contrast. The fact that a scene contains reds, greens, or blues is not as important as the tones of those reds, greens, or blues (Figure 8.22).

Figure 8.22. This image of Yosemite Falls was taken with the intention of converting it to black and white. The contrasting tones of the rock, trees, and sky make it work.

When I capture an image, I know before I press the shutter release ...