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The Rules Of Gray or The Ten Commandments of Good Black and White Photography
A black and white photography tutorial

SelfPortraitR

By Joel Tjintjelaar

Sneak Peek into the eBook From Basics to Fine Art, a book on Black and White
Architectural Photography and more by Julia Anna Gospodarou and Joel Tjintjelaar

eBook from basics to fine art

FROM BASICS TO FINE ART, a book on Black and White Architectural Photography & more
by Julia Anna Gospodarou and Joel Tjintjelaar

This is the first fragment of the book we are posting publicly: highlights from two
of the most important chapters of the book From Basics to Fine-art : �The Rule of
Grays� by Joel Tjintjelaar and �Practical Guide to Discovering Artistic Vision� by
Julia Anna Gospodarou. The book is the product of more than one year of intensive
work and also of many years of studying art, architecture and photography and has
been released in May 2014.

Rules of Gray or The 10 monochromatic commandments for good black and white
photography
So how to create a good black and white photograph, knowing that it�s all about
light, and light only? In other words, what makes a great Black and White
photograph? I�ve made up a set of principles that I will call the Rule of Grays or
the 10 Monochromatic Commandments that will help you understand what a good black
and white photograph is made of.

1.Gray rules. There�s just one color in black and white photography that really is
interesting: gray. Not black or white, no gray. Black is the complete absence of
light and white obviously the complete presence of light. When we�re talking about
black and white photographs we�re not really talking about a photograph consisting
only of a black or a white tone. They are the least interesting. No, we talk about
the gray tones. Black is the darkest gray tone, stripped of all light, white is the
lightest gray tone, exposed with too much light. In both cases we don�t see
anything, because it�s either too bright or there�s no light. Add a bit of light to
black and you have a dark gray tone, remove a bit of light from pure white and you
have a light gray tone. There�s only one pure black tone and there�s only one pure
white tone, but there are 253 shades of gray. Gray rules and should be dominating a
black and white photograph: the rule of grays.

2.Selective tonal contrast. Any good black and white photograph has contrast. The
eye is always drawn to the area in a photo that has the most contrast. If there�s
an area in the image that has pure black against pure white, then that area will
get all the attention. If you create an image with too much contrast that hasn�t
been carefully chosen then the eye will go all over the image and doesn�t know
where to look at. How to create contrast in a correct way? It�s not just a matter
of hitting the contrast button. It�s a matter of analyzing first where you want the
eye to look at. If you do it right then you start with creating contrast by getting
it right in-camera with your DSLR or any other camera.But even if you don�t do it
right in-camera because the light isn�t perfect, then you can always create more
contrast in post production in the areas in the images that you�ve selected as an
artist. That�s one of the benefits of converting color to black and white instead
of having the black and white in-camera. You can simply create contrast where there
was no contrast and remove where it once was. If you have a color photograph that
has a subject with a blue shirt against a blue background then the subject will
fade away against the background. But you can decide in post-production to
translate the blue background to different tonal values than the subject with the
blue shirt. The freedom of black and white conversion. Creating contrast or
enhancing contrast should be done carefully and very selectively and not by just
brightening the whites and darken the blacks. Selective use of tonal contrast is
one of the most important elements in any great black and white photograph.

3.Tonal separation. Opposite to color photos, different objects in black and white
photos that intersect or overlap each other are not separated by colors but by
shades of gray. If intersecting or overlapping objects have the same shade of gray
then this should be �corrected� by manipulating these tones until they have values
that are further away from each other. The more they differ in values, the better
the objects are separated, the more presence and depth they will have. An example
of that is the photo called Visual Acoustics IV � Silence and Light � Tour Total
where I separated the statue in the foreground from the building in the background
by manipulating the tonal values in and just around the statue to create subtle
contrasts and make the statue stand out more from the background.

Visual Acoustics IV � Silence and Light � Tour Total

4.Presence and depth. What the human eye can see has a far greater dynamic range
than the most expensive camera can capture. Add to it, that what the mind can make
of what the eye can see and this results in perceiving a situation, an object or a
location, in a very different way than what a camera could ever do. The act of
perceiving is a human act and it�s a culmination of personal experience and
individual physical and emotional processes in combination with, and as a response
to, what the eyes see. The camera can only record and �see� but cannot perceive,
that is something reserved to the human mind only and it�s the citadel from where
art originates. There�s a very interesting article called �The Black and White
Master print� by George DeWolfe, that forms the foundation of what I do in black
and white photography post processing. It�s about the importance of creating
presence and the difference between luminance and luminosity by author George
deWolfe. Here�s an important quote from that article: �The basic physical
difference between the two states � Luminance and Luminosity � is largely one of
defining edges and altering contrast�. What any good black and white photographer
should aim for is to create presence by expressing in his photo what we as humans
and artists perceive � instead of expressing what we see only � by altering the
contrasts and tonal relationships and defining edges in such a way that it gives
luminosity to an object. In other words: that it gives volume and depth to that
object and hence to the entire image. On the next page a photograph is shown where
I altered the contrasts and tonal relationships and have defined the edges. It�s
the Salk Institute in La Jolla California. The color photo is the original version
and if you look closely you will see that in the black and white version the
translation of colors to black and white tones has no 1:1 relationship at all. It�s
purely focused on how to interpret light and darkness, not on how to interpret
colors. Again, the careful distribution of light in all its intensities is the main
objective in my black and white photographs. I used my artistic freedom to come up
with a different interpretation of colors, by looking at light, edges and volumes
for the sake of creating depth and volume. My view on artistic black and white
photography, is that we should never settle for whatever objective reality the
camera and the supporting editing software is providing us, only settle for the
image you saw in your mind and felt in your entire existence when you took the
photograph.

Salk Institute � Original color photograph

Salk Institute � Black and White photograph

5.Minimize the use of the darkest black and brightest white. Gray tones can be
separated between achromatic gray tones and chromatic gray tones. Achromatic gray
tones are tones whose red, green and blue values are exactly equal. Silver for
example has the color values (192,192,192) and Gray, not being Dark Gray, Medium or
Light Gray, has the values (128,128,128) and are exactly in the middle. Chromatic
gray tones or off-grays like Platinum are gray tones that don�t have equal red,
green and blue color values. There are 256 shades of achromatic grays varying from
(0,0,0) which is completely black to (255,255,255) which is completely white. So
when we talk about dark, low key photographs, we talk about using tones lighter
than (0,0,0) � only use these darkest values for just a few percent in the image
but not in those areas in the photo that contain details that should be visible.
Same applies to high key photographs: try to use tonal values that are darker than
(255,255,255) and when you do use the tonal values (255,255,255) then only use them
in areas where details shouldn�t be visible.

6.Use of adjacent tonal zones to zone 0 for low-key photographs. When you create a
black and white photograph then almost every black and white photographer knows how
important it is to cover a full tonal range, from zone 0 or (0,0,0) to zone 10
(255, 255, 255), that�s what Ansel Adams has been teaching us. This doesn�t mean
however that when you create a dark low-key image, which you can roughly describe
as an image with the emphasis on tonal zones 0 to 4, that you should use pure black
from tonal zone 0 to create black. No, always avoid the use of pure black as much
as possible because black is just complete absence of light, there will be no
definition at all. Instead use the tonal zone adjacent to zone 0: zone 1 and zone
2. And only use tonal zone 0 for just a few percent, to complete the tonal range
coverage. The result of that is that you would still have a very dark low-key image
but with a silky and very subtle effect to it that isn�t hard on the eyes and is
far more aesthetic. Simply because you can still see it and all the details that
are in it. Remember, pure black is absence of light, you can�t see without light.

7.Use of adjacent tonal zones to zone 10 for high-key photographs. The same applies
to creating a high-key image which can roughly be described as an image with the
emphasis on tonal zones 7 to 10. If you want to create brightness, eye-catching
bright highlights, then use the zones adjacent to tonal zone 10: zones 9 and 8. And
just like in low-key images use tonal zone 10 to complete the tonal range coverage.
Zone 10 is complete presence of light, eliminating every shadow, every detail, just
like the complete absence of light does.

An analysis of a black and white photograph in tonal zone areas and contrasting
areas

8.Subtle tonal transitions. Looking at how light behaves on an object, on a surface

and if you would look closely, very closely with a discerning eye, then you will
see that light transitions from dark to light and from light to dark in very subtle
ways, sometimes even so subtle that the untrained eye doesn�t see it. Light never
has the same intensity on all areas of a surface: it fades from dark to light and
vice versa all the time. It�s this aspect of light that gives an object its
substance, that gives an object its dimensions and depth, that determines the
shapes and lines in an object. Understanding how light makes this subtle
transitions from dark to light and from light to dark and how to create this in a
very subtle way in a black and white photograph is the key to great black and white
photography. But transitions always need to be very subtle since nature doesn�t
know a harsh transition from light to dark or vice versa on an uninterrupted
surface, unless we�re looking at shadows, or at corners and edges. Subtle tonal
transitions can be created by using my iSGM2.0 method of black and white
photography conversion.

9.Mid grey magic. Another important aspect that is related to having a complete
tonal range and the right amount of contrasts on the right places, is to have
enough mid-gray tones in your photo to make it visually pleasing and to not be
overpowered by contrasts. There are many theories why mid-gray tones play an
important role in a good black and white photograph, but personally I think you
need some neutral ground where the eye can �relax� inside of the frame, instead of
looking for a refuge outside of the frame. And I think the silvery mid-gray tones
add a lot to the richness of a good black and white photograph. If you would look
at the great black and white photographs then just look how many of them have those
silvery mid-gray tones to compensate for the drama and contrasts in a black and
white photo. I consider anything between tonal zones 4 and 8 the mid-gray area and
I would recommend adding them to your portfolio of black and white photographs, in
such a way it doesn�t take away from the effect you wanted to achieve.

10.Personal signature style and tonality. A great black and white photographer
always knows to leave something of his personality, his unique signature style, in
his photograph. A signature style can consist of a specific subject matter, style
of composition and style of black and white photography treatment and approach, a
story telling theme or a specific mood that has been created and is easily
recognizable. Very often it�s a combination of these individual elements, but
always try to make a difference with as many of these elements as possible to
create a highly individual style. One of the elements where you can separate
yourself is by trying to create a �signature tonality�. Personally, when I create a
low-key black and white photograph or something between low-key and high-key in,
let�s say mid-key, then there are some tones I like the most: it�s the richness and
darkness, yet with a glimpse of light on it from the tonal zones 2 and 3 mixed
together. These tonal zones have such a richness in tones that can make an image
stand out. I�m not sure why that is, and of course it�s highly subjective, but my
guess is that one of the rule of grays state that pure black from tonal zone 0
shouldn�t be used because it is complete absence of light. While tonal zone 1
should primarily be used to create the blackness in an image with just a few
touches of tonal zone 0. The first tonal zone after 1 that isn�t used to create the
blackness in an image is tonal zone 2: it has the darkness of 1 with a promise of
light. Same goes for tonal zone 3 to a similar extent. It�s the dawn of grays, the
dawn of what will finally be revealed in your black and white image. That�s why I
probably like it so much and you will see these tonal values a lot in my images and
they form a substantial part of my signature style.

Related
Book: From Basics to Fine-art
Book: From Basics to Fine-art
22 Feb �14

In "Blog"

"From Basics to Fine Art� by Joel Tjintjelaar & Julia Anna Gospodarou
21 Jul �13

In "Tutorials"
Book reviews for From Basics to Fine Art
Book reviews for From Basics to Fine Art
5 Jun �14

In "Blog"

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