Black and White or Colour? With Ian Howard

IHave you ever stood in front of a scene, or sat looking at an image on your computer screen, and found yourself split on whether it would look better in vibrant colour or classic monochrome? For many of us, making that final decision often comes down to guesswork or clicking a conversion button during editing just to see what happens.

We are delighted to welcome back community favourite Ian Howard for a practical presentation designed to change all of that. Ian is a skilled street and architectural photographer who is a valued, long-term member of our Camversation community. He is a regular contributor to our group who has won several large magazine photography competitions and regularly exhibits his prints.

Ian is a self-taught, passionate photographer who approaches the medium with a down-to-earth perspective, which is precisely why his talks are so helpful and popular, because he speaks our language as a fellow enthusiast. Some people even tell him that he takes uncomfortable pictures, which shows how much his work makes viewers think! In this session, he is pulling back the curtain on the underlying science, structural guidelines and visual patterns that dictate whether an image belongs in colour or black and white.

What Ian Will Share

Ian has put together a comprehensive session to help you move past guesswork and start making deliberate, confident creative choices before you even press the shutter button:

• The Foundations of Colour: Understand the essential relationships between Hue, Saturation and Luminance and how the human eye judges visual brightness across different colours.  

• The Tonal Range Spectrum: Explore the greyscale matrix from deep shadows to highlights, including why true black grounds a composition while pure white behaves quite differently in digital photography.  

• The Mechanics of Conversion: Learn how camera sensors translate colour data into grey values based strictly on luminosity rather than the hue itself. You will see exactly how completely different, vibrant colours can accidentally convert into an identical, muddy grey tone if their luminosity matches and how to prevent this from ruining a monochrome shot.  

• Utilising Dynamic Tension: Discover how placing opposite aspects of the colour wheel against each other creates a positive, energetic tension that naturally demands a full colour treatment, such as a sunset over the sea.  

• A Structured Decision Checklist: Gain an understanding to grade your images using key markers like texture, contrast, mood, digital noise, colour casts, and aged looks to clarify your true focal point.  

• The Mix of the Two: Look at techniques for merging both processing styles, including using a selective colour pop to emphasize key subjects.  

• In-Camera Visualisation Solutions: Master clear camera configurations using RAW formats, dual JPEG options, and monochrome styles to preview tonal layouts live on your rear screen without discarding your colour data.  

• Global Real-World Examples: Study side-by-side comparative street and architectural images from Ian's travels through London, Vienna, Budapest, Bratislava, Barcelona, Brussels, Canada, Helsinki, Vancouver, Berlin, Dover, Suffolk, and Bath.  

Why We Love Ian's Presentations

Ian always takes inspiration from master storytellers like Martin Munkacsi and Vivian Maier to constantly challenge himself to become a better photographer. That dedicated approach to learning is exactly what makes his presentations so rewarding for our community.  

Bring a drink, pull up a comfortable chair and let us dive into a night of community discussion and excellent photography. As an extra bonus for our community, Ian has also kindly provided a 15% discount code for any DXO software for everyone who attends the talk! We look forward to seeing you there!  

A Note on the Price (And Supporting The British Heart Foundation):

Ian has generously requested that his entire fee for this presentation be donated to his chosen charity, the British Heart Foundation.

This is a wonderful gesture from a great supporter of our community. To make supporting this even easier, you have two options when booking:

• Standard Ticket: Select the standard £6 ticket. Your ticket includes the live session and access to the recording for FOUR weeks after the event.

• Pay What You Want: If you'd like to add an extra donation, you can use the Pay What You Want option to set your own price above £6.

Ian Howard has been part of Camversation since the beginning! His wonderful presentations helped to kick off this community almost 6 years ago and he has remained an active member of the Facebook group since. I hold Ian in the highest regard as a photographer and presenter. It is a real pleasure to invite him back - Mark