Photoparents Black & White

The art of Black and white photography with Hilary Palmer

Black and white ARE the colours of photography - Robert Frank

3 week Photography course to help you explore the art of Black and White photography with our guest instructor Hilary Palmer

KEY COURSE INFO:

Course type: Instructor-led or self paced
Course duration: 3 weeks
Skill level: Intermediate learners - you should already have some basic photography and camera knowledge

what you learn:

This course will help you build your understanding of black and white photography from the ground up, giving you a practical, repeatable process for shooting and editing it with confidence. You'll learn:

How to see in black and white before you shoot: training your eye to read tone, light and shadow in a scene, so the decision to shoot black and white is intentional rather than a fallback
How to use tonal and luminosity range, contrast and the zone system to create impactful images
How to build a frame to guide the eye, using light, shadow, silhouette, texture and composition to tell a clear story

skills covered:

training your eye for Black and white
using composition for Black and white images

using light in Black and white photography
using tonal range with confidence

creating mood in Black and white photography
editing for black and white

YES, I WANT TO JOIN!

This is the course for you if :

You love the timeless, storytelling power of black and white images, but aren't sure how to create them intentionally
You want to stop treating black and white as a last-resort “fix” and start seeing it in-camera
You'd like a clear, repeatable process for editing black and white in Lightroom
You want to build your confidence working with contrast, tone, shadow and light
You're ready to explore a new creative direction in how you photograph your family

HERE IS WHAT YOU WILL LEARN in this course :

The course follows the arc of creating a compelling black and white image, from initial idea through to finished edit: concept, creation and realisation. Each week builds on the last, so that by the end you have both the eye and the editing skills to shoot and finish black and white images with real intention.

Concept: The Black and White Image ( module 1)

In this module we get started by training your eye to see the world in tone rather than colour and learning figure to ground, the art of separating your subject from its background. We start from exploring the beginnings of Black and White photography and then considering the tonal range, the zone system and the histogram, the tools that tell you what your camera is actually capturing before you commit to the shot.

Creation: A recipe for Compelling B&W images ( module 2)

Module two moves into the practicalities of composing black and white images built around a simple recipe: the base of light, the substance of composition, and the extras that give an image its soul. You'll learn to read hard and soft light, work with shadow and silhouette, and get to grips with tone, contrast and dynamic range to give your frame real structure, before we turn to mood, atmosphere, moment and emotion, the ingredients that make B&W images feel timeless

Editing for Black and white ( module 3)

The final week is all about editing. We start with the essentials of exposure before moving onto refining the image with light and creative editing tools. We finish with a full workflow, some hard-won tips, and a challenge to put it all into practice.

PhotoParents Black and White

Photoparents Black and White course is available as part of the Photoparents Membership - along with access to the full course library, weekly assignments, Camera Clubs, and a community of 200+ parent photographers at a similar stage to you as well as a standalone course

Purchase options:

Single course purchase

Access to a self paced Black and White course only - you keep it for life

Buy single course

Photoparents membership from

Per month

Access to Black and White course as well as 12 other courses
Self paced and instructor led classes
Photoparents Camera Club Membership with weekly and monthly tutorials, interest clubs, community hub, downloadable PDF materials and more

Get Membership

Frequently asked questions

What photographic knowledge do I need to start the course?

We would recommend that you are already familiar with core photography exposure fundamentals and basic composition concepts. You do not need to be shooting in manual but I wouldn't recommend starting this course if you are a complete beginner.

Can I buy the course without becoming a member?

Yes. This is a guest course created by the photographer Hilary Palmer and as such it is available on our platform free of charge to our members, but it can also be purchased as a standalone course if you prefer.

Do I need to already shoot in black and white to take this course?

Not at all. We start from first principles (the history and psychology of black and white) before moving into shooting and editing. Feel free to shoot in colour and convert as you go, or shoot directly in black and white mode, whichever you find most comfortable.

How do I choose between self-paced and instructor-led course?

You will have access to the self-paced version of the course immediately after you join as a member and log into our learning space. Beyond that, all our courses get regularily scheduled Live, instructor led runs. You can will be able to see available live run courses schedule for the upcoming months from your membership area but if you've only just missed out on a scheduled course or need help before the next one is run, we can help too - just get in touch.

What other courses will I have access to?

We currently have 13 courses in our range (with more on the way) and the cover a really wide range of core and additional photography skills:

Core Photography skills : Clickstarter ( free), Photoparents Fundamentals and Photoparents Advanced
Creative photography : Natural Light Photography, Flash Photography, Let's Play (creative photography techniques), Black and white Photography
Editing skills : Photo editing skills, Essential and Creative Photoshop
Photography FOR kids: Mini clickers - Photography course
Wait, there's more! - Video skills for Parents, Smartphone photography, Action Cam Photography (part1)

Beyond the straight up courses, you will also have access to our brilliant Camera club - with weekly tutorials and assignments, topical clubs, downloadable, printable materials and more!

Can I cancel the membership at any time or am I tied in for a period of time?

Cancel anytime directly from your own member's account. No fuss, no explaining your reasons. To be clear, we hope you won't want to cancel but if you do - it's easy. You just need to cancel before your next billing period and it'll be all done.