Digital Black and White

Our specialist black and white digital photography page

We’ve lots of articles on this site covering black and white digital photography and other monochrome issues.

If you are just starting out with digital black and white, then this particular article may be of interest. It’s a 2020 version of the original I wrote in 2004.

The basics of Black & White digital photography

This page is the reference point for all our digital black and white photography related articles and reviews.

It covers all aspects from taking photos for black and white use, processing and editing them (converting colour to b&w) and producing black and white prints.

Articles listed here are those with significant sections dealing with aspects of black and white photography. There are also some of my older Black and White Photos in the Gallery

^ All about making this image
…from idea to print

Other article index pages

• Keith’s photo blog
• Articles and Reviews
• Prints and printing
• Photography book reviews
• Colour Management

Why Black and White

Black and white photography still inspires me.

I’m reminded of this quote from someone who’s original work, and ability to explore new techniques I admire:

– Ansel Adams
forward to his book “the Negative”, published January, 1980

Black and White Photography

The image to the right is a special black and white printer test image.

Keith Cooper has created it to test the quality of black and white printing.

This is the current version of our standard black and white printer test image, first published in 2005.

The test image incorporates a number of features designed to make it useful in testing and then improving monochrome print output.

Many features are also directly copied from the old version so as to maintain compatibility with existing test prints.

It’s quite a harsh test, but covers most areas where printers have difficulties, such as shadow detail, colour casts, and linearity.

All the various parts are explained and an A4 300ppi sized version is freely available for download. There are versions with a 51 and 21 step greyscale ramp available for creating QTR ‘correction’ profiles. There are also numerous articles that include its use.

Black and White photography articles on this site

The articles and reviews are grouped into different categories. You can look through all the articles via the categories selection at there right, or use the search box.

Articles

• Black and white digital photography with Keith CooperAn extended version of a magazine interview with Keith Cooper, discussing different aspects of digital black and white photography. B&W photography tips and advice
• Digital Black and White – working in 16 bitHow converting 8 bit colour JPEG images images to 16 bit before converting to black and white gives up to 10 bit greyscale (B&W) images.
• QTR and PrintFIX PRO to get better black and white printsUsing the PrintFIX Pro colorimeter with QTR to make greyscale ICC profiles to improve linearity for black and white printing.
• Why don’t my prints match my screen?Why your prints often don't match your screen very well. Some explanations, solutions and ways of dealing with the problem
• Digital photography – two years onSome thoughts about aspects of digital photography - revisiting the issues and ideas, some two years after deciding to ditch film. A decision I've never remotely had second thoughts about
• A Black and White test imageSpecial test image designed for black and white print checking. Includes explanation of use for all features of the downloadable image.
• Black and White, the digital wayAn introduction to black and white photography in the digital age. An extended version of an article Keith Cooper wrote for Canon.
• A Digital only trip to ColoradoA look at some of the changes when moving from film photography to digital photography after a trip to Colorado by Keith Cooper. The same, but different and better...

• <<
• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• 5
• 6
• 7
• 8
• >>

—

Reviews

• SpyderX Studio reviewReview of the Spyder X Studio kit from Datacolor. Includes the Spyder X Elite monitor calibrator, SpyderCube white balance and exposure tool and SpyderPrint printer profiling kit for creating ICC printer profiles
• Review: DxO Nik Collection 2Nik Collection 2 image editing plugins - Updated Nik plugin collection from DxO with improved compatibility for modern apps. Links to Keith's detailed reviews and discussion of new functionality
• Fotospeed Fotospeed Smooth Cotton 300 paper reviewFotospeed Smooth cotton 300 paper review. Smooth matte surface surface, Cotton based 300gsm white paper. Takes a good ink load and for a matte paper gives solid colour and B&W tonality
• Fotospeed Legacy Gloss 325 paper reviewFotospeed Legacy Gloss 325 paper review. Smooth unglazed gloss surface, Cotton based 325gsm natural warm white paper. OBA free. Making large exhibition quality prints.
• Fotospeed Platinum Baryta 300 paper reviewFotospeed Platinum Baryta 300 paper review. Smooth unglazed gloss surface 300gsm natural white paper. Making large exhibition quality prints
• Nik plugins by DxO – review info.Looking at the Nik image editing plugins - The updated version of the Nik plugin collection is launched by DxO with improved compatibility for modern apps. Links to all of Keith's detailed reviews of the plugins
• Canon imagePROGRAF TX-3000 reviewTesting the Canon TX-3000 36" width printer. Keith Cooper reviews the Canon TX wide format printer and plotter for photo and graphics printing. Also covers the 24" TX-2000 printer and 44" TX-4000
• Fotospeed Matt art papers reviewFotospeed Platinum Cotton 305 and Cotton Etching 305 matt art papers review. Cotton acid free fine art paper. Natural white smooth and Etching finish bright white

• <<
• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• 5
• 6
• 7
...
• 10
• >>

Printing

• Do your prints have depth?What is 'Depth'? How do you describe your photo prints? Or, more to the point, how do I actually know what you mean and how can I be sure?
• Paper review: Innova Cold Press Rough Textured Natural WhiteFine art Paper review of Innova Cold Press Rough Textured Natural White (IFA-13) tested on an Canon iPF8300
• Printing greyscale images and removing unwanted colour tintsAddressing problems with black and white printing. Some subtle changes in print colour casts with lighting changes, and removing colour tints from monochrome prints.
• Paper review Innova Decor papersPaper review of Innova heavy matte textured double sided Decor papers IFA-24 and IFA-25, tested using the Canon iPF8300.
• Black and white photo printingKeith Cooper is interviewed about his approach to printing his black and white photography. Extended version with additional notes and information from a printed magazine article.
• BowHaus True Black and White reviewBowHaus True Black and White review. Black and white specialist printing software for Canon iPF large format printers. Offers full ink control and linearisation.
• Canon iPF6300 reviewCanon iPF6300 review, testing the imagePROGRAF iPF6300 24 inch large format printer, for colour and black and white fine art printing.
• Epson Stylus Pro 3880 reviewReview of the Epson Stylus Pro 3880 printer. Desktop printer is 17 inch print width and takes A2 sheets, photo and fine art papers. Colour and black and white printing

• <<
• 1
...
• 5
• 6
• 7
• 8
• 9
• 10
• 11
• 12
• 13
• >>

News

• Epson SureColor SC-P5000 STD Printer announcedLatest information about the new SureColor P5000 17" large format printer from Epson. The replacement for the SP4900 A2 sized desktop printer.
• Keith Cooper’s talks about printmakingKeith Cooper talks about making large prints at The Photography Show 2017 - Getting great looking big prints from your work. From camera to print, the complete workflow
• New Canon papers announcedCanon USA announce three new Premium Fine Art papers — Premium Fine Art Smooth, Premium Fine Art Bright White and Premium Polished Rag. Designed to produce, rich-color reproduction, and detailed expression of gradation. Keith has a roll of the Fine Art Smooth for an upcoming paper review

Never miss a new article or review - Sign up for our Newsletter (2-4 a month max.)

Enjoyed this article?

More print related information

For information about other printers, paper reviews and profiling (colour management) see the Printing section of the main Articles and Reviews page, or use the search box at the top of any page. There are also specific index pages for any articles connected with the following topics:

• Digital Black and White
• Tutorials and 'How to' articles
• Colour Management
• Printer test images
• Why do your prints look wrong?

More of Keith's articles/reviews (Google's picks to match this page)