Black & White Pictures

I always have some trouble deciding what to use for subjects in my pictures for each assignment, but this one took alittle more thinking. Any photo can be turned to B&W; however, I don't think just any picture looks good in B&W. There are some pictures that work better with color and some that work better in B&W. I have actually posted more than the three required because I chouldn't narrow it down any more.

Michael, my son, helped me out with this photo. He was very happy to jump rocks to get to where I wanted him to be. While worrying that he was going to fall in the water, I shot in program mode to get this picture. My ISO was set at 800 because it was getting close to sunset, and I was losing light. My shutter speed was 200 at f/8. I did have to use a slight adjustment of highlights and shadows and then did the B&W adjustment.

I switched gears in these next pictures to show the work that I did at the wedding we worked this weekend. I find myself trying harder to get better shots now that I am taking this class. However, I also find that I am too critical at times.


I took this picture after all the guests left the church. I did have to straighten this picture slightly. I also used the curves adjustment to brighten certain areas even though I used the program mode with flash. I chose to use to focus at an area further down the aisle to keep that in focus but blur the aisle decorations so the viewers attention would be drawn to the front of the aisle. After I did the B&W adjustment, I chose to use the auto button in the B&W panel.


This picture is my favorite. I am not fully convinced that this one is best in B&W, but I couldn't stop looking at this picture. I just love it. I was able to get the printed napkins in sharp focus while slightly blurring the side of the cake. I used AP mode with flash. The original picture had some dark areas in it because the reception area is quite dark. I used a curves adjustment and then decided that the highlights and shadows that I tried worked well too.


This young man was in the wedding party. I like the fact that he is unaware that I am taking his picture. This one seems like a very good choice to use the B&W adjustment on.


This picture and the next one are the same with only an adjustment change. The bride and her dad are seen here dancing the the father/daughter dance. I was able to capture this special moment and frame them in an archway that they used for their decorations. The curves adjustment helped again for this photo before I turned it B&W with auto adjustment.


I posted the first one of these pictures because our assignment was to do B&W pictures; however, I really feel that the tint option or antiqued works better for this picture.