Newbie....how is the quality of my b&w?

[Sugarbug2]

I wanted to play with the monochrome on my camera...so I took some pics of mailboxes in my neighborhood. Whats the good and bad? I know the subject and form of them aren't great, just a fast little shoot....what do you guys think?



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2.


3.


I added contrast to them with photoshop....

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[The_Traveler]

Don't expect the in-camera bw conversion to be as good as you can do with PPing software.

The camera doesn't know what colors that should be important.

[Sugarbug2]

ok, that makes sense thanks!

[The_Traveler]

Don't worry about BW until you get some of the other basic down.
BW conversion is easy to do but hard to do well.

Another hint.
If you have several similar photos, pick the one you think is best, post that and say why you think its good.
Exercise your critical skills and you'll develop faster.

Lew

[Sugarbug2]

I'm indecisive and can't decide which I like better lol...but from now on I'll do my best to pick one. Which is the best to you, and what in the bw needs to be different? Thanks for your replies by the way!

[tamz0r]

don't listen to them. post as many as you want - you could even post some more from that set if you want! those are all very cool pictures. i love how one of the mailboxes are tipped over. very cool composition! keep it up.

[The_Traveler]

Sugarbug,

That indecision is what you need to whittle down.
Deciding on the best one or two pictures out of a bunch helps you to develop your own critical eye. Those same faculties go towards making you a better photographer.

Additionally. if you post several similar pictures then people will be less likely to think about and make the specific comments about one picture that will be helpful to you.

As to which conversion is better, I have no idea. Doing a conversion, the photographer will manage how each color is shown in BW in order to get the result wanted and to make a specific impression - what should stand out and what should be in the shadows and so forth. In this picture, it's not clear what the point is and so I don't have an impression about the conversion.

[KenC]

The third is pretty well done in terms of contrast, exposure and subject matter. However, I think it's really a horizontal shot. All the really interesting stuff is in the top half of the frame, and there's more just outside the frame. Another benefit of a horizontal would be that you could eliminate the light background at the bottom of the frame, which is just a distraction. Cutting off part of the numbers on the posts wouldn't bother me.