Shooting in Black and White

With a digital camera, you can switch from full color to black and white with ease. There’s no need to shoot a whole roll of film—you can simply change the camera mode on a shot-by- shot basis. Some models may even offer other monochrome modes, such as sepia.  Black-and-white photography has a timeless quality that is particularly suited to some subjects. A lack of color simplifies
a scene, accentuating other elements, such as form. It is especially popular with both portrait and landscape photographers.

Surprisingly, though, it is usually best to shoot the image
in color and then convert to mono on your computer later. Of course, this gives you the choice to use the image in color, as
well as in black and white. But more importantly, the color information can be used to give you precise control over what shades of gray specific colors are converted to. The blues of a sky can be tweaked, for instance, to make dramatic, dark tones; and dark foliage greens can be made a lighter shade of gray than a straight conversion would have made them.