Color vs. B&W
with Jo Martindale and Lorna Gamble
Have you ever wondered whether a photo would be stronger in black and white or color? As it turns out, there is concrete process to figure that out – and specific techniques you should be using depending on the direction you take.
Go behind the scenes with Lorna and Jo to see their entire process (shoot to edit!) to creating images with impact...in black & white AND color!
COURSE TYPE
SELF PACED
SKILL TYPE
SHOOTING, EDITING, CREATIVITY
SKILL LEVEL
BEGINNER, INTERMEDIATE
let's talk about
What you'll get
A comprehensive list of factors you need to consider when deciding when and why to convert (or not!)
The keys to evaluating tone – and why they will change the way you approach every image after this
Principles and theories that drive the most impactful color and monochrome images
New power techniques for shooting & editing with the final image in mind
Tools for converting to black-and-white (that will take your work to the next level!)
Editing tricks to bring the most out of both your monochrome and color images
Do you struggle to decide when to keep an image in color or convert it to black and white? Learn Jo and Lorna's process for making an informed choice to create the image with the greatest impact!
check out what's in your classroom
5 Shooting videos
Go behind the scenes on a number of shoots with Jo and Lorna to see how they approach shooting for color and black & white
6 Editing Videos
Watch Jo and Lorna edit color and b&w images from straight out of camera to final edit (plus you'll receive a bonus B&W preset!)
A Comprehensive Guide + Essential Extras!
A guidebook on shooting and editing for color and black & white Photography, a Figure to Ground video, and 2 image study videos
NEW HERE? See how our self-paced courses work
BY THE END OF THIS COURSE,
you will learn how AND why to convert images to black & white...or enhance/keep them in color!
meet your instructors
Jo Martindale and Lorna Gamble
Jo Martindale is a Click Pro and a published photographer who documents her family’s adventures and everyday life. She has a strong focus on storytelling and environmental portraiture, and she often incorporates bold compositions and hard/directional light into her work.
Lorna Gamble loves nothing more than getting out in nature and exploring the wonderful country she calls home, documenting her children's lives on all their adventures. A lot of her inspiration for shooting and her love for muted tones come from the stunning countryside all around. She loves to create images full of depth and emotion that tell the story of their childhood.
I bought this class to help with seeing in black and white, as I have primarily been a color photographer for the past 15 years. I was blown away by the content in both categories of this class and Jo and Lorna are amazing at explaining their processes. I have started using more black and white film, so for me, seeing how both photographers envision their end results while shooting really helps me take better black and white images. I loved watching the behind the scenes videos as they each described how they would use the light and color in a given setting to capture their subjects and watching their editing processes is also really educational.
I highly recommend this course; you can’t go wrong with any class at CPS, and this one lives up to the hype.
This course has definitely helped my photography step up another level. The course gives a scientific understanding of colour theory and how this works in practice to portray different emotions and narratives in a photo.
The course has helped me analyse and understand why some images work and other don’t and helped me to get the most out of an image either with a B&W conversion or editing the colour version. The shooting videos are a great insight into the preplanning for a shoot and the editing videos have given me a better understanding of the subtle changes which can really enhance an image and bring focus on the intended subject. It is fascinating to see how Jo and Lorna achieve their beautiful styles of photography. I have learnt about many other aspects which I had not previously considered when taking photos. I highly recommend this course.
I love this course! There was a huge amount of content, which far exceeded my expectations for the price. I found it really valuable to have 2 instructors, with different styles as it gives a really rounded perspective and adds so much more. There were a few a-ha moments along the way and I can really see how to incorporate these learnings into my work. Jo and Lorna have also been so generous in how much more knowledge they have shared with participants during the live run. A really great course!
I really enjoyed this breakout, even though I came to it late. I am still unsure about my editing style and where I am with it. I particularly enjoyed the edits and videos around colour images to help me decide what my style is, and what colours I find most attractive and why. I really valued looking at two different artists and how they both edit and shoot in different ways with different lenses. The videos are really comprehensive and the feedback. generous. This is breakout for those who are still feeling their way with editing to help you hone what types of edits and shooting style you are most drawn to. Well worth the money.
There is always something new to learn. And in this course, even if you think you know everything about B&W vs color photography, I think you will come away with something new. The PDF is very thorough and full of great thought provoking information. The videos are very helpful in helping us understand the thought process behind why something was turned into a B&W photo as well as showing you how to do that in post processing. AND not only do you get one instructor, but two!!! Overall, this is a great class to learn something new and inspire you to get out and make some art.
This course has inspired me to pick up my camera and look at the familiar with fresh eyes! The tips for shooting are concrete and the videos illustrate the concepts so well! I’ve just begun with one of the shooting exercises and I can’t wait to try others—I can already tell I’m going to have some new favorite images from this course!
Color vs. black and white is long something I’ve struggled with. How and why do you choose? Well, the mystery is solved in Jo and Lorna’s great course. And, really, this feels like TWO courses in one. It’s not just about black and white. It’s also very much about creating impactful images in color (yes, I will be buying my kids some new shirt colors, ha!). The discussion of contrast, color theory, and using these in composition is great. Plus, you get TWO instructors, with quite different styles. I LOVE seeing each instructors’ shooting and editing videos. They have different approaches, but both use color and b&w in cool ways. I’m SO excited to take photos more intentionally as I think about everything I learned!
Don’t be fooled into thinking you already know how to successfully shoot in colour or convert your images to b&w without reading this fabulous course. I thought I already knew how to use the colour wheel and that I should just convert to b&w when I was feeling too lazy to check the skin tones, couldn’t fix the colour casts or when one of my daughters has insisted on wearing a neon pink top again. How wrong I was! There is SO much more to learn.
Lorna and Jo have packed this self-paced course with huge amounts of information, tips and stunning examples. They explain the differences between tones, shades and hues and how to successfully manage them in colour and b&w. Before reading their PDF I had never really thought about how the quality and colour of light impacts the mood and the tones of the final image. They also cover how to use light when shooting for b&w and they share incredibly useful editing tips on things to watch out for when converting to b&w.
Not many courses give me the original buzz of excitement I felt when I started learning about photography. This one most certainly did.
Big thanks to Jo and Lorna for sharing their vast experience in such an easy to understand and inspiring way.