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

• Is your printer OK for black and white photography?Choosing a good printer for black and white photography is nowhere as easy as it is for colour. Keith looks over some of the options, including getting better black and white out of your existing printer.
• Using Nik Silver Efex Pro 2 for dull colour imagesContrast boosting by using Nik Silver Efex Pro 2 for dull colour images. Using software designed for producing black and white images to adjust image luminosity
• What paper should I use?With a massive range of different papers available, how should you go about seeing which papers work best for your photos. Some of the choices you can consider when looking at paper types and brands for printing your photographs
• 3×3 quick tips for improving your black and white photographyA collection of quick tips that can help improve the quality of your black and white photography. Simple steps to better monochrome pictures
• Sea of stepsA chance to see how a modern ultra wide shift lens performs on a familiar view of Wells Cathedral. Sea of steps - photography inspired by the work of FH Evans in 1903
• A personal health warning about paper reviewsWhy you should be wary of paper reviews. Reviews for specialist inkjet photo printing papers may contain lots of measurement data, but paper choice is about so much more than that. There are so many other aspects of your photographic workflow that need looking at too.
• 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?
• 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.

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Reviews

• Canon iPF8300 review and notesOngoing Canon iPF8300 review and notes about using the imagePROGRAF iPF8300 44 inch large format printer, by Keith Cooper. Notes date back to setting up the printer in November 2010
• Review – Aurora HDRMacphun Aurora HDR. Software plugin and standalone app for building high dynamic range (HDR) images from one or more photos
• Epson SureColor SC-P800 printer reviewDetailed review of the Epson SureColor P800 printer. A2 sheet paper (17" width) and roll paper support. Tested with a variety of paper types, colour and B&W
• Review update – Tonality Pro v1.2Review update - Tonality Pro 1.2 Improved functionality and performance for MacPhun's specialist image editing plugin and app for B&W photography
• Epson SureColor P600 printer reviewDetailed Epson SureColor P600 review. The SC-P600 is an A3 plus (13" width) pigment ink printer tested with different papers for colour and black & white. It supports borderless printing, roll paper and CD/DVD printing
• Epson V850 film scanner reviewReview of the Epson Perfection V850 flatbed scanner. 6400dpi scanning for transparencies, 4800 dpi for photographs. Film and slide holders included
• Canon Pixma PRO-100 printer reviewDetailed review of the Canon Pixma PRO-100 printer. A 13" width (A3+ paper size) dye ink based printer for colour and black and white.
• Museo Silver Rag reviewLooking at Museo Silver Rag 300gsm semi-gloss cotton rag paper, tested on a Canon iPF8300. Paper supplied under the Canon Oce brand.

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Printing

• Custom media for the PRO-300Creating custom media settings for the Canon PRO-300 printer with the MCT software. Using the free Media Configuration Tool software for the PRO300 A3+ (13")printer
• Canon PRO-300 printer reviewDetailed Canon imagePROGRAF PRO-300 printer review. Keith tests the PRO-300 pigment ink printer with a range of glossy and fine-art media, including panoramic prints up to 990mm (~39") long
• Black and white printing with the PRO-300Printing black and white on the Canon PRO-300 A3+ pigment ink printer. Different types of paper and optimising the reproduction of your photos.
• PermaJet FB Gold Silk 315 reviewReview: PermaJet FB Gold Silk 315 glossy baryta paper. The 315gsm Gold Silk paper has been reformulated with a smoother surface finish and improved coatings.
• Keith Cooper’s paper reviewsKeith's photo paper reviews - collected data from all the papers for printing photos that we've tested over the years. Helpful if you can't get them where you live. Matt, satin, lustre and glossy. Regularly updated for new papers tested
• Digital black and white photographyExploring black and white photography and image editing. Methods of converting colour to B&W. How to get the monochrome image you want from a colour photo.
• Choosing the best paper for your photo printsWhat photo paper is best for printing your photos? What paper is best to use with your printer? Why when choosing a paper for your prints needs, you need to start with the basics
• SpyderPrint black and white print refinementBlack and white printer test image for use with the Datacolor SpyderPrint spectrocolorimeter. Check linearity and black and white print performance with Photoshop & Affinity Photo

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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

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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)