Black and white photos can look as stunning and captivating as their colored equivalents, if not more. At times, color does act as a distraction in a photograph. Hence, removing it can help re-focus the attention of the viewers on the intended subject. There are many experienced professionals like Bruce Weber Photographer who has a great love for black and white photography. While colors can definitely portray a lot of beauty, the art of black and white photography adds an inexplicable depth and symbolism to images that can charm almost any person.

Black and white photography is not always as easy as it looks. A photographer cannot simply add a noir filter to their photos and display them at a gallery. Understanding the important principles and elements of black and white photography is the key to clicking stunning images.

• Shape and form: After removing color from an image, one cannot depend on it to act as a focal point or provide interest to a scene. This is an obvious point that many photographers forget at times.  By doing away with color, one also shall remove one of the most potentially distracting elements in a photo. While looking for a great black and white shot, it is important to observe the shapes and forms in a scene, rather than the hues. An image must be composed in a manner to emphasize on the most interesting aspect of a shape, or even create intriguing composition with a variety of shapes.
• Contrast:  Without differences in colors to separate elements in a scene, on must try to introduce contrasting shades into their black and white photos instead. This contrast can help the main subject of the photos to stand out. For instance, photographing a light subject against a dark background can make the subject look more impactful. Doing so can also help in adding depth by including a range of shades and tones into the photo.
• Patterns: A lot of patterns, especially the subtle ones, commonly go unnoticed in color photos. The colors draw attention away from the patterns. On the other hand, black and white photography provides a much better chance of capturing interesting patterns and magnetizing the attention of the viewers on the shapes present in an image.
• Texture: Much like patterns, even textures can get lost in color photography. But in black and mind photos, textures look way more prominent and eye-catching.
• Lighting: Right lighting is the key to taking good black and white photos, as it impacts all elements mentioned above, shape, contrast, pattern and texture. While thinking about lighting, one must check how it will influence all these elements, and select a setup that can enhance as many elements as possible.  Side lighting is known to produce the most dramatic black and white photos.

Checking out the clicks of already established professionals like Bruce Weber Photographer on the web can help people to gain an even better understanding of the technique and approach to maintaining while clicking black and white photos.