Processing black & whites

[BananaRepublic]

I have a question regarding post processing of black and whites. I have been searching for threads on this but can' t seem to find any.

I have an example here of a guy on his tractor, originally taken in RAW colour converted to black and white and I have done no modification to it otherwise.

How much should be done to improve this, if at all, by that I mean contrast, brightness etc I have entered two Black & whites at club competitions and the little feedback I get seems to be that I slightly over egg it.

I'm sure this picture has it's flaws, the reflective thing in the background is a fence, but I'm just taking it as an example.


Thanks

 

[Browncoat]

Tonal range is very important in B&W photography. You need 100% pure black and 100% pure white in each image, otherwise they just look flat and boring. Here, you've got almost black and almost white, so with some additional tweaking, this one can have a bit more pop. There are some other issues here (rule of thirds) that need addressed, but it would be more dynamic if there were a bit more punch. Dialing up the clarity a little can help that.

You're heading in the right direction, though. Definitely shoot in color and convert later. Some people find it helpful to shoot RAW+JPEG in B&W so that immediate B&W preview is available.

 

[Derrel]

 

[BananaRepublic]

Thanks for your help guys I'll keep pushing

 

[binga63]

here is what I thought may help

 

[bianni]

 

[BananaRepublic]

I asked a few weeks ago about processing black & whites I was at a vintage show yesterday and I got a few nice shots. So as to follow up on the thread I have posted one which I like in B&W, should I ?.

This time I have modified pre posting here and I would be interested in opinions, re original post.

 

[KmH]

That photo is grossly under exposed - about 1.5 stops.

+1.5 EV, no other edits.

 

[vintagesnaps]

I think you'd probably just have to try to adjust the best you can for the exposure being off. I like the idea of it in B&W, maybe try adjusting the contrast, or it might be better if you brightened it.

When I'm shooting B&W I usually think about the subject or scene and whether or not I think it will work well in B&W, if there's some nice contrast of light and dark. If I'm shooting film I bracket shots so I make sure I've got one that's a decent exposure (a negative that's not too dark/dense or too light/thin). Even if I'm shooting color film or digital it just depends on the scene and the weather but and what I'm photographing but if my meter readings are fluctuating or if my instinct is that the light seems tricky I may take more than one shot to make sure I'm getting a decent exposure (which I find minimizes adjustments).

I like the photo, I'd probably spend some time adjusting and see what could be done with it.

 

[Niner]

Everybody has to do what he feels is the photo in his own head and what story he wants his photo to tell. But.. this is what I'd do. And I'm not professional in the least. Up the contrast. Then I'd straighten up the tractor and crop out the unnecessary part of the photo background...unnecessary to me of course.

 

[AlanKlein]

It's just a guy on a tractor. Changing curves isn't going to change the content. You need something more exciting or interesting.

 

[BananaRepublic]

In my last post I wanted people to focus more on the text of the original post with reference to the new image.
Forget about the guy on his tractor that was only intend as an example.

I have now posted two pictures the first was after I read KmH's post, the other before.
My impression was that the foreground in 1 is to bright but I don't know.
In colour the tractor is dark red, is there too much of a shine on the left hand side of the tractor?
Also I would like to hear impressions of the image in general, as I sometimes struggle with composition at the time of shooting.