Seeing in Black and White with Eileen Rafferty
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- čas přidán 6. 09. 2024
- Eileen explores a brief history of the use of black and white imagery and discuss why we might want to use black and white photography today. Also discussing learning to see our color world in black and white so that we can identify scenes that will ultimately provide the most dynamic grayscale tonal range. As well as explore techniques for converting to black and white and how to mimic old darkroom techniques with Adobe Photoshop.
Eileen Rafferty's Work
www.eileenraffe...
Kudos to B&H for engaging Eileen Rafferty as an instructor. She is exceptionally talented as a teacher: She is knowledgeable and experienced. Her preparation for this class is superb: Her images choices exemplify her teaching points unambiguously. Perfectly. Eileen is affable and engaging. Her rate of speech, tones of voice and presence are everything one wants and needs in a teacher. This is staggeringly effective teaching video and I have learned and benefitted more than I can express. Thank you!
Never thought I’d spend two hours watching a lecture like this, but this is very focused and well done, and Eileen is a fantastic teacher.
I may be late to the game, but this is a fantastic educational lecture that is exactly what I was looking for when considering exploring B&W photography in the digital age. What a pleasant surprise to find this quality of content available online. Eileen really shines here.
This is the best class I ever watched online. You are a wonderful teacher.
Thank you for the clearest, most engaging and informative class I have ever watched on a single aspect of photography.
One of the best videos, B&H. Eileen Rafferty is a great educator. Thank you!
This was so good. I learned a lot and am so grateful to have been introduced to Aaron Siskind and Nick Brandt, who have become my new favourite photographers. Thank you Eileen, thank you B&H 🙏🏾
One of the best lectures on photography I have heard. Clear, concise and structured. I just want to hear more like this.
Very, very well done. The most professional progression I've seen in a B&H video. Eileen is obviously a master teacher. Thanks!!
Nearly two years ago and still exciting to watch. One of the blessings from CZcams - Brilliant!
Half way through the video I recognise the different feel I get from the same picture in colour or black and white, and its not about shooting in black and white or colour. It's about the motive and the feel we see from watching - reality I guess. Some of the pictures are really great in colour and I like the feel. Turning them into black and white changes that completely and maybe the picture is emptied - it do not speak to me. But anyone else might have another experience with the same change in the same picture. So I guess its also about our state of mind or subconscious if you will. Thanks Eileen!
Nearly two hours of real classroom video. Not the type of "watch how nice are the 50 best photos I have ever shot out of my 300000 pictures taken". Of course all of it seems obvious, but it is demonstrated with exemples. Rationality being the base of the lesson. It feels like being back to photography class. Back to basics, but steadily useful. A good reminder. I'm looking forward for more from Eileen on light !
She is a skilled teacher. I often had hard times converting to b&w but now i know exactly why. Its actually changing my perpective on what a "good light" really is. Well done and thank you.
Probably the best B&W video I've come across. Lots of knowledge shared and theory shown in demonstration. Thanks Eileen for teaching, and B&H for sharing.
It didn't take away some of the guesswork in black and white photography, it took away ALL the guesswork. KAPOWWWW! Mind blown. Thank you so much.
I've not used film cameras for over 35 years and even then I only shot in colour. Now with time on my hands I've bought an old Olympus OM40 and some Ilford XP2. When I got my 1st two rolls back from develop/print I was really disappointed in the lack of tonal separation in my images. I realised straight away that it's because I can't "see in black and white". This tutorial has helped me immensely and I now see difference in brightness levels much more clearly and I am much happier with my prints.
What I've also found to be helpful is to carry my battered old Fuji x10 digital camera , with the film simulation set to b/w no filter and use the screen to preview the scene before committing myself to taking the shot with my film camera. Hopefully with more practice I'll no longer need this "crutch" , but for anyone struggling with black and white I highly recommend trying it out.
Having just started my B&W journey with a Leica M10 Monochrome, Eileen opened my eyes, literally, like never before to the magic possible. I have been shooting color for 50 years and have thoroughly enjoyed the transition to digital. Now, with this VERY well presented 2 hours, I feel like I may have a bit of a jump start toward more creativity in both color and B&W. Way to go B&H for putting this piece out there. Yet another reason you guys are the best in photo support and innovation.
Hi Eileen: thank you very much for this video. I watched it last night with my 15 year old daughter who is also into photography and we both learned a lot. We all so very much appreciated you're open and non-judgmental stance towards photography.
Absolute great value here. Thanks for sharing, it’s a beautiful lecture. I’ve been into photography for over 10 years and today I’m learning ❤
Thanks for watching!
Outstanding video. Thank you Eileen and B & H.
Thank you very much Eileen for making this presentation.
As I'm a beginner in a world of photography I've already discover that I have a passion toward black-white style.
I'm so aspired by this presentation so that I consider it truly "TIMELESSNESS" . Definitely the best one I found on this subject.
1:17:10. Dddyyaaaaahhh!!! Snowboaders! I laughed out loud. Eileen is simply amazing. Her talent, candor, and ability to break these subjects down to meaningful and relevant point is highly effective and much appreciated. I love how she is not selling anything. Thank you B&H and Eileen!
Hi Eileen, thank you for a super tutorial! I've learned so much! I've done a lot of short courses in photography, but your style of teaching is exemplary in that it's well presented and easy to understand. And thank you B&H for making it possible!
Is there any way I can find list of other tutorials done by Eileen?
Many thanks!
+keith plunkett Hi Keith,
Please check out Eileen Rafferty's Work here:
www.eileenrafferty.com
Looking forward to B&H having you back to teach zone system and light characteristics
Great methodology at introducing the concepts of conversion into B & W.
Please, please ,please come to Australia. We need Master Teachers like you here. That was the best 2 hrs of CZcams ive seen.
A very enlightening talk . Pretty much covered the entire depth of black and white photography through great examples.
trying to say something unique here but what's been said already expresses my thoughts...one of the best videos/lessons I've seen. Will follow all of her work!
It was tough sitting through almost 2 hours of the class but it was all worthwhile. Your presentation is excellent and has given me something interesting to experience. Thanks.
Love Eileen's lectures. Seriously, thanks so much for sharing them with us all B and H
Eileen was so clear with her seminar concept on B&W.. truly up there among thd best guides .. thks so much to the entire team for putting out this excellent video.. cheers, vernon_alvares, Mumbai India
Wonderful presentation. Appreciated the variety of images shared to illustrate concepts shared. You were able to merge composition principles, technique and content into a well presented lecture. The examples of master works was also very eye opening and inspirational. I look forward to more presentations by Eileen and will view her other videos from B&H soon.
Exploring black and white photography and came across this - just Magic! Many thanks!
Wow ! loved that. Learned so much. If you're thinking "Do I want to spend two hours here?" The answer is, very much, "Yes" Off to look for more. Thank you.
+Anderson Alves (andersoncmalves) Thanks for your comment. That is a great suggestion but unfortunately at this time we don't have the resources necessary to translate our videos. However, we will definitely take your request under advisement. Thanks again!
+B and H thanks for sharing, just a feedback to Eileen, not all people who is seen this class are English native, names could be written in the slides to facilitate search. Thank you again.
Nicely done! I got into b&w when I saw Ansel Adams' images and I learned to see what b&w could actually look like. Never was a good wet darkroom printer (that is quite a skill!) but have enjoyed what I can do in the digital world. While I convert images to b&w for printing it is to showcase the subjects (documentary/street photographer) that I photograph. I want the viewer to see the expressions and/or light that caught my attention.
Das klarste und informatorisch beste Video über die "Grundlagen" zum Verständnis der Schwarz/weiss Fotografie, das ich je in verschiedenen Foren gesehen habe. Vielen Dank Eileen. Eine klar und logisch aufgebaute Präsentation mit didaktischem know how. Great.
Excellent teaching on B&W and beyond. Very well worth the time. Thank you Eileen!
What an excellent and comprehensive lesson. Thank you.
Love this one, Eileen's class always great...
This tutorial it's amazing and Eileen is a great teacher! Very clear to understand and really helpful for develop an B/W eye!
Hue is actually important when you used coloured filters (either actual filters in front of the lens, or their digital equivalent). So her mantra that "hue is not important when converting to black&white" is not entirely true (unless the only thing you do is desaturate the image). For example, you could create more contrast in the thumbnail image of this video by applying a red or an orange filter (the rocks will become brighter and the sky will become darker).
Most important photography question I think Eileen asks is: What do you want the eye to see? Most visually compelling part of the video was her presentation of famous B&W photos (in the last third of the video) which underscores her point that B&W photography can achieve things that color photography may not be able to achieve. Very nice.
Great class, you explained so much about what makes a great image that so many do not touch on! Thank you for your work on this class I learned so much!
This lecture is absolutely fantastic. Thank you so much!!
Glad you enjoyed!
Fabulous presentation. Thank you. Of course don't forget the power of color filters to distinguish things that are otherwise similar tone.
Thanks - this is a great series！ B and H should invite Eileen to give more tutorials！
This is an awesome study. I stumbled on it today and I've watched the whole thing. I haven't really shot anything in 2 years except with my phone but this was definitely inspiring. Thank you.
Here rewatching this video in 2022. Watched this a few yrs back. Good to learn things again.
That really did not feel like a 2h video... Very interesting and informative presentation
She talks about pre visualizing black and white as compared to shooting in digital color and then later seeing the image and turning it to black and white. I use my Olympus Pen F in the black and white mode and it is true that I can see what I am shooting in black and white since it is mirrorless camera and I think it does help. I also shoot B&W medium format film every week doing landscapes and you do start to see it after shooting for some time in black and white.
That's really cool! I've recently started shooting black and white film and I hope to be able to see what I'm shooting in black and white soon as well
Never learned so much in one class: amazing!
Eileen is understated and knowledgeable.
i think it's the first time i really see a video this long, lot's of information, it as very useful!
This lecture was great! It cleared out questions I had and learned a few things along the way.
I just had flashbacks of my Photography classes in Daytona when we were studying The Zone System LOL I think people would understand B&W more by reading some of Ansel Adams old books :-) I guess now it's all about how to read your histogram.
the best books on photography I have red are Ansel Adams' books "The Camera" , "The Negative" and "The Print". Still very relevant even in today's digital age.
One nice thing with b&w film photography is that hue and saturation actually matters, because different film stock has different sensibility to different wavelenghts of light. But when this lecture was made film photography was declared dead so its ok.
It is a master class. I really love how she explained it. Thanks a lot
Such an interesting presentation. Thank you very much for it. I love B&W too.
Thank you so much; two wonderful hours of photographic mastery,
The image at 32:59 of the yellow and gray flowers when taken into photoshop and turned to grayscale clearly shows that the yellow flower is indeed brighter than the gray one when all the color information is taken away. It's weird that you would say the opposite in this video just to prove a point.
@Justin McAleece: I totally agree. I'm a teacher, too, and used to be a rep for Durst color enlargers, demonstrating and lecturing on color theory and color printing. To say that "[color] saturation and hue are *absolutely irrevelevant* [when we convert to black and white], and that "they have *absolutely* no bearing on what tone of gray they will become [when converted to black and white] strikes me as being *absolutely* incorrect. Her adamancy even made me question what is, in my head, a known truth to the contrary. So, to be sure, I tested. Now I *am* sure.
With all due respect to Ellen -and while giving her the benefit of the doubt that she perhaps mis-communicated- but, putting out this sort of information is really a disservice. Perhaps she can clarify in a future video and post a comment here.
Ellen, maybe I'm misunderstanding something. Could you explain more clearly what you mean?
sorry, what do you mean?
Dario, it's a longer discussion than I have time to write here (it would be much easier to explain and discuss by phone), but the short answer is: photograph a color chart in black and white and see for yourself.
Best regards,
Chris
But why when they converted two different colours to b&w they looked the same? In the part with the geometrical shapes I mean.
@@gomezdn_ Dario the gray values of any color also have to do with the conversion system (eye, sensor, algorithm in camera or image processing software). Different systems have different sensitivities to the same wavelength (color) as a result the same color (same hue, same saturation, same density) can be rendered into different grays depending on the system used.
Absolutely great video. I'm learning a lot about black and white photography.
Very educational! Thank you for sharing.
So u must LOVE the fuji mirrorless system in which u can see the b/w (or better: acros) result in the viewfinder while making the picture. Helps recognizing scenes that look good in b/w very much so.. :)
Any mirrorless (except Leica while using the rangefinder) or simply using live-view on a DSLR does that by the way once you have set the JPGs on BW.
I watched the video from the beginning to the end. I believe I learned a lot😀. Thank you.
Thank you, the best tutorial on black and white photography. please can we have more of this, just loved it. Thank you.
Don't waste 2 hours of your time just to know this lady's conclusion: "colour doesn't matter in Black and White". What a genius!
Impressive and extremely interesting presentation, Eileen...I learnt a lot...:-) Thank you very much. Olaf
Thank you for the very informative and illustrative presentation on this subject.
I actually never knew saturation had no effect. I usually play around with the b&w HSL sliders in camera raw to darken and lighten colours anyway, usually to darken blue skies etc.
Fascintating thank you, Ive often wondered how you know when something will work well in B&W. This knowledge just gives more options to my photography.
Eileen is a wonderful teacher!
Hey Eileen,
thank you very much for this outstanding presentation.
absolutely fantastic you‘re awesome!
Regards from cologne
nicely presented! Well done!!! Thank you Eileen Rafferty and B and H!
Fascinating and inspiring presentation. Thank you for posting.
Great lecture. Thanks to B&H and Eileen!
Excellent. Wanna see more from Eileen.
Loved this video - It taught me a lot on Black and White.
amazing content - I learned so much, thanks for uploading
Thanks. I learned the subtleties of black and white.
One of the best I've watched. Thank you.
Sorry, but the information given in this video on brightness values is incorrect. It will appear correct if you judge using HSB values, but these do not accurately reflect human (or camera) perception. What you need instead are Munsell values, which do accurately reflect what both your eyes and the camera see. The Munsell brightness values for the red, blue, and yellow shapes shown at 24:58 are respectively 5, 3, and 8. You can test this by simply setting your camera to monochrome mode. The yellow shape will come out very clearly brighter than the red and blue shapes, with the red being the brighter of the other two.
How does Peter Lindberg get those deep quality black and white colors in BW ?
Rlv reflected light value is what's she's talking about with the yellow flower.
Thank you Eileen, amazing presentation!
I loved it. Fantastic lecture 👌
the 4 forms shape, line, texture and colour... the colour gets replaced with tones instead
Eileen, what an awesome intro into B&W photography. I have really become more into taking B&W pics then ever before, they seem to give the world a whole different look. But I do have a question, what kind of lens(es) do you use or recommend and what are your thoughts on using different color lens filters when taking b&w photos.
Very informative. What are your thoughts about shooting in B&W when using digital?
Wow I have learn so much intersting thing, what a teacher !
Great video. Very informative, the tutor is amazing. Thank you
Excellent! Great presentation and content.
Outstanding session!!!
Wonderful, really enlightening! :) A top educator
I really, really liked this video..... thank you so much for sharing!
Outstanding video. Tons of VERY good info, all to the point and very well communicated, fantastic teacher - my fav. line "I love photoshop so much it is crazy" - I can definitely relate to that. Those dark room composites 1:18:30 - just insane.
She is incorrect on the DR of digital. Now digital eats film alive in terms of DR. Sony a7 over 14 stops back in 2013.
Depends what sort of film you mean. Black and white traditional film still outperforms the sony a7 at DR if all it can produce is a measly 14 stops. You do know that darkroom printers have been burning in highlight detail since before the advent of digital cameras? In fact they were doing hdr long before it was called "hdr". It was just a layered kind of burning in process. And we are talking about pulling 16/17 stops of range out of a scene onto print. So, since this lecture was about "b&w photography", ... er actually film eats digital alive in terms of DR, even the a7.
Keith Roberts
that was 2013 mate, we have a7rii and that is old too, plus you cannot do with film what you can do with raw
Well, not being able to do with film what you can do with raw has been valid for ... forever! My boiled eggs are getting cold. Anyhoo, if you're a hdr advocate in the digital realm, cameras like the ones you mention will be important, no doubt about that.
Keith Roberts
Ah you know hdr is great for things like night photography, but even if i do it I am all about manual digital blending anyways. Nothing worse than overcooked hdr. I rarely create hdr now, I am more into photoshop manipulations, digital art and 3D hence why I prefer raw over film. There are things you cannot reproduce with digital however, the same way as CD's will never beat vinyls.
@@PonteRyuurui and vice versa. So what is your point?
Thank your for helping me understand. But to soak it in, I will have to re read and think a few time
Thanks
Such an amazing class! Definitely learned a lot.
Thank you this is a most enjoyable listen, peace stay safe
Brilliant content and teaching!
this was a very informative video, thank you for posting it
Thanks - this is a great series.