Black and White TIps

I have always loved black and white photography.  Even before I was interested in photography, black and white images commanded my attention.  This past week I renewed this interest after reading a book about Ansel Adams and looking at old b/w images from other greats.

I did not go anywhere particularly interesting this week, but did take pictures around the neighborhood and house.  My goal was to create some interesting black and white images from otherwise mundane surroundings.  Obviously, converting images to b/w is as simple as a click on any post processing program.  However, after doing some research I did find a few great tips as to how to improve black and white conversion and provide more control.  The post processing tips are for Aperture 3, but I assume hold true for similar programs.  Obviously, Photoshop offers more control and options but if you are using it then you probably don't need these tips.  Some of these might be apparent and some might not be applicable to you and your equipment, but I found them helpful and maybe you will too...

1. Shoot in RAW (and by default color, if you shoot in jpeg shoot in color).
2. Shoot high color, high contrast shots for more dramatic b/w images.
3. Look for shots that have texture and/or patterns.
4. Use the lowest ISO setting possible.
5. In post processing, apply b/w adjustment and then tweak image by adjusting individual colors.
6. To apply more dramatic effect, turn the Definition adjustment way up.  Then add another Definition adjustment to further enhance the effect.

Below are a few shots.  Thank you as always and take care!