4 Tips for Creating Compelling Black and White Landscape Imagery

February 8, 2022

Color is everywhere around us! Nature’s color wows us with its vivid sunrises and sunsets, deep blue skies, forests of green, and rainbows of flowers. Landscape photographers seek golden hour light and the vibrant burn of the red setting sun for good reason. Our eyes are drawn to intense and contrasting colors. It can be hard to understand why one would want to strip that color out of a landscape photograph.

While color is a compelling element in many images, color can also draw the eye so strongly that other aspects of a photo are minimized or even lost to a viewer. Elements such as light, texture, pattern and shape take center stage when color no longer competes for attention. A black and white landscape will tell a different story than the very same image in color. There is a classic and timeless quality to black and white images as they draw focus to the mix of light and shadow, contrast and texture in a scene.

1) Learning to see in Black & White To create compelling black and white landscape images, we must find scenes with compositional elements and light that tell a strong story without the use of color. When color is no longer a focal point or supporting element, we are forced to find the other components of a scene that make it interesting.

When we previsualize in black and white we have to learn to see tonality in terms of shades of gray. Black and white is not only black and white but all the values of gray between true black and true white. A wide range of tones throughout the histogram will create the strongest images. This means having tones that are bright white, various shades of gray, and black. When an image has too many of the same tones, the image will lack depth and distinction because everything blends together.

Learning to understand and see how the colors and areas of a landscape will translate into shades of gray comes from practice and experience. For example, deep blues and forest green colors will translate to darker gray or near black while yellow and light greens will be lighter shades of gray. These tonalities will also be influenced by the exposure you choose at capture and how you adjust them in post processing.

2 ) LOOK FOR THE LIGHT:

Compelling black and white landscape imagery can be created in varying lighting situations. Dramatic light and scenes with a high dynamic range including bright highlights and dark shadows will naturally introduce strong contrast. I love to look for scenes where there are pockets of light across the landscape. Choosing black and white in a scene like this creates a story all about the dance of light and shadow.

Harsh daytime light is often considered unfavorable for color landscape photography but this kind of light can work well in black and white imagery. Bright sunlight is extremely effective in bringing out the detail of various textures by emphasizing the various tones across a surface. Deep blue skies turn dark in a black and white conversion and highlight lighter toned subjects. Stormy skies are a great opportunity for grand black and white landscapes as they create a dramatic and foreboding mood.

3) Find the Contrast:

Contrast is important in black and white landscapes both for tonal range and visual balance. The main subject must stand out amongst its surroundings. A dark subject needs to be set against a lighter background or a light subject against a darker background to be successful. For example, a bright waterfall flowing over dark rocks, or dark trees amidst light misty clouds. Through the frame, also look for areas of micro-contrast where light and dark tones contrast to highlight textures and patterns, such as in layers of rocks or in the movement of waves. The mix of tonality works to bring attention to these textures and shapes and creates depth.

With the way that black and white imagery emphasizes texture and form so beautifully, one way to elevate and balance the visual interest in an image is to use the contrast between various textures of the landscape. Using post processing tools to enhance these contrasting details will elevate an image from average to outstanding.

Contrast areas of detailed and rough textures with soft and smooth creates layers and depth. For example, consider an image with several layers including rocks in the foreground of smooth water, jagged mountains, and then soft wispy clouds in the sky. Using neutral density filters and slow shutter speeds is a great technique to use for creating the softness in the water or sky.

4) Emphasize Lines, Texture, and Patterns

Black and white landscape and nature photographs are a great way to emphasize lines, textures and patterns in a scene. The stripping of light brings out the beauty of these elements. Look for repetitive lines or shapes naturally occurring in the landscape. Notice how the light can bring out micro contrast in textures such as rock, sand and trees. And as mentioned above, look for those texture contrasts between smooth and rough as this creates visual interest and depth.

Next time you’re out photographing, give a little thought to black and white! I hope these tips help you out!

Kristen Ryan is an award winning and published landscape photographer and educator residing in the Midwest suburbs of Chicago. All images are available for purchase in the Fine Art Store or by request. Kristen leads ladies landscape photography retreats in the Tetons, Glacier NP, Hilton Head, Chicago, and the Canadian Rockies, offers private mentoring . New online educational materials are coming soon!

5 Tips for Capturing Beautiful Reflections

April 15, 2020

One of the most compelling elements you can include in landscape imagery is a strong reflection. Reflections add interest, often create symmetry and help to add depth in a simple scene. Reflections are a great way to capture a more intriguing image when the skies are uncooperative, such as full overcast or completely clear.

Calm waters in Emerald Lake in Yoho National Park as the sun sets and moon rises.

You can find reflections in any water source that is still such as a pond, lake, calm area of a river, a puddle, or even the wet sand along the shore. Reflections of mountains, trees, city buildings and skies are all compelling subjects to find reflections of in your scenery.

Some tips for finding and capturing the best reflections and most compelling images:

1) Find Calm Water ~Calm water is a necessity for the clearest reflections. Smaller and shallower bodies of water will often be easiest to find calm water though even larger and deeper lakes can be calm enough for clear reflections if you catch them at the right times. Early morning or later evening will often be the best times for finding calm water. Check your weather forecast and choose days and times with low wind.

Pretty calm waters at Oxbow Bend in Grand Teton National Park. The 10 second exposure smoothed the water a bit.

2) Consider the light ~ The best reflections will be captured when the light is behind you and a bit to the right or left. With that in mind, be aware of how the sun can cast a shadow of your body into the scene. Unless you are going for a shadow self portrait, then go right ahead 😊

Calm waters in the Snake River with the sunrise light behind me.

Calm morning waters at Lake Marmo at Morton Arboretum with the sun behind me.

3) Find the best perspective ~ Sometimes the the reflection is obvious in the scene but other times the best reflection can take a little exploring angle and perspective. Get low and see if you can get more reflection than at eye level. It’s also important to consider how you are composing the scene to avoid chopping your main subject AND its reflection in an awkward way. Be sure to leave comfortable space above the subject and below its reflection.

The reflection of the sky and clouds in the wet sand and very shallow waters at Cannon Beach in Oregon is enhanced by my low perspective very close to the sand. Getting low also helps to add depth in the image.

4) Consider using a Graduated Neutral Density filter - The reflection is often much darker than the subject above. A graduated neutral density filter can reduce the exposure of the top of the frame to neutralize the dynamic range so you can better expose the shadowed reflection. This is especially the true in a situation where the sun is setting behind your subject and not illuminating the reflection such as in the Teton images above.

5) Experiment with long exposures ~ If the water is a bit rippled and the reflection is lacking, shooting a long exposure will smooth the water and sometimes bring out a hint of reflection as well.

This sunset at Oxbow Bend had an incredibly beautiful reflection for evening. The water was nice and calm. This is a situation where a GND could help to decrease exposure on the sky a few stops and allow the foreground to be exposed brighter without… — This sunset at Oxbow Bend had an incredibly beautiful reflection for evening. The water was nice and calm. This is a situation where a GND could help to decrease exposure on the sky a few stops and allow the foreground to be exposed brighter without overexposing the sky.

In this scene, the water was extremely choppy from the wind in the late afternoon on a blustery November day. The 30 second exposure brought out some reflection of the mountain in Bow Lake.

I hope these tips help you capture stunning reflections in your local scenery and in your travels. If you’re looking to purchase filters for creative effects including long exposures, my go to filters are from Breakthrough Photography *. They are great quality and do not add a color cast.

Kristen Ryan is an award winning and published landscape and fine art photographer and educator residing in the Midwest suburbs of Chicago. All images are available for purchase in the Fine Art Store or by request. Kristen leads ladies landscape photography retreats in the Tetons, Chicago, and the Canadian Rockies, offers private mentoring and teaches an online landscape photography workshop, The World Around You.

*Affiliate Link

7 Tips for Shooting on Clear Days

November 15, 2019

In my last blog post, I shared tips for those overcast days when so many clouds come in that the sky becomes gray and blah. But what do you do when the sky is clear and there is not a cloud in sight? The sun is shining and it is a beautiful day but there are no clouds to add interest to the scenery in front of you. All is not lost. There are many approaches you can take to capture beauty on those bluebird sky days! Here are a few tips to take with you.

1) Minimize the sky ~ Make the land the story of your image by composing with the horizon higher in the frame. Use a longer lens and focus on a smaller segment of the scene rather than a wider angle. Get low and look for foreground interest to add depth to the frame.

2) Look for Reflections ~ Reflections captures can be a dynamic and interesting scene all on their own by creating layers in the foreground. Sunny days really bring out the colors and clarity of a reflection. Clear skies can allow mountain reflections to stand out. There is beauty in the simplicity.

3) Capture a Starburst ~ When the sun is in the scene, take advantage of those clear skies by closing down your aperture and adding a sunburst to the frame. See this blog post for 7 Tips for a Great Sunburst..

4) Focus on Color & Texture ~ Brilliant sunshine enhances the colors and textures of the scenery around us. The blue sky reflecting in water will bring out the beautiful blues of glacial waters. Colorful trees, foliage and flowers are enhanced by the sunlight. Textures of rocks, trees, and mountains are highlighted as well. Look for these features in the landscape. Capture the gorgeous blue of the sky in contrast with the colors or focus in on the details and eliminate the sky from the frame completely.

5) Play with Abstract Shooting ~ Grab your 6 stop Neutral Density filter and capture some abstract shots of trees or water. See this article for tips on Seascape Panning. Look for vertical panning tips to be shared on the blog soon!

6) Explore the Forest ~ Walking through the forest, our focus is on the trees, lines and details of the land. Look for the light shining down through the trees or capture a sunburst coming through.

7) Stay out for the Stars ~ While the clear blue skies of the day may not be as intriguing as a sky filled with dramatic clouds, a clear night sky is filled with magic. Don’t pack up with the sun, stay out and capture the incredible starry night! Head over here for 9 Tips for Astrophotography Part 1, and then scroll up the blog for Part 2.

Next time Mother Nature offers full sun and clear nights, I hope you find these tips helpful!!

Sunrise on the North Shore of Oahu, Hawaii

4 Ingredients to Impactful Landscape Photography

May 14, 2019

I often reflect on why I spend a lot of my time with landscape photography, both shooting and processing as well as educating others. The reasons why are a topic all their own. But all the time I spend shooting, studying, practicing, educating and encouraging others has made me reflect on what it is that creates stunning landscape photographs. I think about how to take my photographs to that next level and of new ways to teach and encourage others in my retreats and online workshop.

In my mind, it comes down to 4 ingredients. There are exceptions to every rule, of course, but there are 4 ingredients that must come together to create exceptional landscape and nature imagery. Several of which we can control, and one in which we cannot, at least for the most part.

1. CRAFT

The first ingredient in creating amazing landscape images is knowing your craft. And when I say craft, I am referring to the technical settings and techniques involved in mastering your camera and in shooting landscape photography more specifically. It is important to put in the time to learn the basics of photography, including the exposure triangle, white balance, focus and metering modes. Learn how to use filters such as polarizers, graduated neutral density filters and regular neutral density filters. Honing your craft including learning to read your histogram and how to bracket images to capture the entire dynamic range of the scene. Develop an understanding of depth of field and learn to use a tripod and intervalometer with ease. Learn the rule of thirds and other composition elements that will add depth and strength to your frame. Take a class on post processing or study on your own how to use the tools of these programs. This is all about learning the techniques and tools you may need to capture a well exposed and focused image and edit it in Lightroom or Photoshop.

2. VISION

The second ingredient in creating amazing landscape images is vision. Learning the tools and techniques is just half the equation. Beyond understanding the technicals, we have to learn to see in our minds what we want to create with these techniques. The two go hand in hand, as the stronger understanding of the technicals and the more we hone our craft, the stronger and more creative our vision grows. Vision helps us find that unique perspective or puts an artistic polish on the image through post processing. Craft is the skill while vision allows us to express ourselves with that skill. The more we practice the various techniques, in shooting and processing, the more creative possibilities open up to us. We learn to see what we might not have seen before. For me, this vision comes from framing images in my mind as I drive or hike, and from reflecting on past clicks of the shutter that fall short of impressing me. Just like our craft, our vision grows from practice and is integral to creating unique and impactful landscape images.

My vision here called for an 8 minute exposure. Mt. Rundle in Banff National Park. Alberta, Canada

3. OPPORTUNITY

To practice and develop both craft and vision, there must be opportunity. Sometimes these opportunities may fall in your lap and other times you must create opportunities. You have to sacrifice sleep or time with family to get out when the light is good or to travel to a place which inspires you. This can be easier said than done. Unless photography is your full-time job, you may have another job that restricts your time or perhaps you take care of kids full time and getting out or away requires finding childcare. If you live close to incredible scenery, you may have many great opportunities close by. If you don’t, you may have to work a little harder.

The opportunity factor can be a little complicated because in many ways you have control. You can decide (to an extent) where you live but if you are married, you have only some control. You can decide to get up early for sunrise, but you may have kids who have to get to school and your spouse is already off to work, such as my situation. You may love photography but your career is another profession and it demands a lot of your time. You may dream of traveling off to Norway, New Zealand, Bora Bora or Patagonia, and maybe you could, but your 3 young and adoring kids are at home needing care. You may want to go shooting at night in the city or in the middle of nowhere to find dark skies, but venturing out alone as a woman feels scary or unsafe.

It can be challenging to combat the things that work against you, and in some cases you COULD make more opportunities but then other aspects of life may suffer. I feel this often as I long to live near the mountains and to travel to those places like Norway and New Zealand. However, my life is outside Chicago, where my husband’s job supports myself and my 4 kids in a way for which I am so grateful. I steal my opportunities to shoot at sunrise when we travel as a family, though I don’t explore in the same way I would as a photographer. I am finding ways to travel as a landscape photographer but going too far or being gone too long is not something I am comfortable with right now. My creative heart is pulled in one direction but my mama heart is pulled in another. I may not be ‘less’ of a photographer for lacking some of these opportunities, but it means some of the images I dream of are for another day, another season of life perhaps.

The trouble with having (and to some extent choosing) limited opportunities leads me to the fourth ingredient over which we have little to no control….

4. LUCK

The fourth ingredient is luck. And when I say luck I am referring to the luck of Mother Nature. We have absolutely no control over the weather! Where we sometimes, but not always, have a little control is that we can make an effort to go out to shoot when we see an optimistic forecast. You can head out for sunset when the forecast is for partly cloudy or head out to shoot the Milky Way during the New Moon and a clear forecast. But you cannot control when that beautiful puffy cloud filled sky in the afternoon suddenly decides to become clear with no sunset color whatsoever. If you head out to shoot those stars and the clouds come earlier than expected, you cannot just blow them away. If you plan a trip to the mountains in the autumn when it is usually peak color and peak comes the next week, there is nothing you can do about it. You can get up every morning of a vacation, but if you get a week of clear skies, your sunrise will look mostly the same. Only a landscape photographer gets sad to see a weekly forecast of full sun after full sun! There is nothing you can do to change the weather when Mother Nature foils your plans.

When Sunset is Stormy in the Tetons. Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming

There are two things you can do, however. The first is to look for the beauty that IS in front of you, because if you are open to the idea that there is always SOMETHING beautiful to photograph, you can usually find it. It may not be what you were hoping for, but if your mind is open to creativity and possiblities, you might just find it. Maybe the photographs won’t be as epic as what you hoped for, or maybe they will be, just in a different way. If all fails, the other option is to try again another day. Create another opportunity. It may take some time but keep trying, and you will find the jaw dropping sunrises, the star filled skies and the rainbows through the clouds.

So hone your craft, let your vision and creativity run wild often, create and seize the opportunities you get! You may find Mother Nature rewards you with what you hope for, or perhaps something else entirely. And when you get drenching rain while your photographer peer gets a gorgeous rainbow, congratulate them on a beautiful capture, knowing yours is out there for another day :)

And lastly, get out for the experience of being in nature. In the end, isn’t that what draws us out there as much as the images? It does for me anyway.

Happy shooting my friends!

Kristen Ryan is a landscape and fine art photographer residing in the Midwest suburbs of Chicago. All images can be purchased in the Fine Art Store. Kristen leads ladies landscape photography retreats in the Tetons, Chicago, and the Canadian Rockies, offers private mentoring and teaches an online landscape photography workshop twice a year.