This exercise explores the effect of removing the element of colour on processing of black and white and colour images, and the implications of reproducing reality.
For this exercise I selected two images that would benefit from increase in contrast: one is of a tree shot against the sky and the other one is of a seaside scene. Both images were shot in raw format.
I opened the image in Adobe Lightroom and converted it into black and white. I then made all necessary general adjustments, including increasing contrast, until I felt the image looked right: the sky, the clouds and the grass looked darker, the shadow and the tree were black and the circle of the sun was more clearly visible through the foliage.
I switched to the colour version of the image and compared the two versions side by side: the black and white, and the colour. It was clear that the black and white image looked much more realistic than the colour image.
A number of colours in the colour version of the image were not represented correctly: the grass was too dark and developed an unnatural rich tone; the clouds looked overexposed with unnaturally dark shadows.
The black and white image has definitely developed a dramatic note but this has only helped to make the image more interesting. The shadow and the trunk of the tree are totally black and so stand out really well against the sky. The clouds developed a darker shade in the middle and a lighter edge which indicates the direction of the sun rays. Overall, the black and white picture is exposed well with a good balance of tones. This can’t be said about the colour image which is too dark, high contrast and displays unrealistic colours.
Image 1: Colour image post-adjustments
Image 1: Black and white image post-adjustments
