Tips and Techniques

ALTERING PHOTOGRAPHS FROM COLOUR TO BLACK AND WHITE

I know there are many different software programs that you can use to alter photographs from colour to black and white. For the photographs that I have modified I have used Picasa2®.
Something fun to do is to predetermine the specific topic for your layout (a focal point) and emphasize just that explicit item. For instance, in the example below I decided to accentuate the importance of my son’s birthday and his ‘coming of age’. I altered the entire photograph to black and white, except the glass of beer, to make his beverage stand out. Every time I look at the picture my mouth waters for an icy cold brew !!

In another layout I used a larger black and white photograph (5” x 7”) and I then took the exact same photo, but utilized a smaller size (4” x 6”). I like how this layout turned out, using the same shot, and I don’t think it looks like it’s been duplicated.

In this next layout I altered the entire photograph to black and white as I felt colour was dominating the layout. I also think that using black and white made the arrangement appear more formal, which suited the occasion.

Another example of using a black and white photograph is this layout. I altered the photograph to black and white so I could use fun bright colours without losing the intent of the photograph. I put a flower in my subject’s hair which I think stands out much better in a black and white photograph.

A few additional illustrations of using black and white photographs with my subjects left in colour are below ...

For me, a bonus in altering colour photographs has been varying photographs of my Grandson Ben. Ben has encountered bouts of eczema on his face and when I alter the photographs to black and white the rash magically disappears. Take a look ...

Final examples of when I have altered my photographs to black and white is when I have worked with a slightly out of focus photograph.
These next photographs were some of my favourites; but they were out of focus. I wanted to include them in my Scrapbook, and I found when I altered the photographs to black and white the clarity improved and I was able to use the altered photos to produce quality layouts.

In closing, I hope my examples have illustrated the successful outcome of altering colour photographs to black and white. By manipulating your photographs you can open doors to new and exciting layout scenarios. Altering colour photographs helps to emphasize your subject without using embellishments or other additions that take away from the actual purpose of your layout.
Remember - it's not just laundry that should be separated by colour !