8 Tips For Striking Black & White Street Photography With iPhone

Would you like to capture stunning black and white street photos? Just follow these 8 iPhone street photography tips… and you’ll be taking incredible woebegone and white street photos with the only camera that’s unchangingly in your pocket!

1. Shoot In Woebegone & White

Did you know the iPhone camera lets you shoot in woebegone and white?

Most people shoot in verisimilitude and convert to woebegone and white later. But for the weightier results, you should shoot in woebegone and white.

(Don’t worry, you can unchangingly convert the photo when to verisimilitude later!)

So why shoot your street photos in woebegone and white?

Well, there are unrepealable elements that make a woebegone and white photo successful… light, shadows, patterns, shapes, lines, etc.

Removing the verisimilitude allows you to see these elements increasingly clearly.

Shapes, lines, and patterns will stand out. And you can instantly see whether a particular kind of light will work in woebegone and white.

So how do you shoot in woebegone and white on the iPhone?

It’s super easy!

Simply unshut the iPhone Camera app. Then swipe up on the screen (or tap the little thunderstroke at the top of the screen).

Swipe wideness the icons whilom the shutter sawed-off and tap the Filters icon (three circles). Then swipe wideness the filter styles and select Noir.

Now you can shoot your photos in woebegone and white!

Note that the iPhone camera filters are non-destructive. This ways you can transpiration them after taking a photo!

So if you decide you want your photo in color, just go to the Edit option in the Photos app and select a variegated filter.

2. Capture Minimalist Woebegone & White Street Photos

The weightier photos are often the simplest ones!

The fewer elements you have in your photos, the increasingly eye-catching they’ll be.

This is expressly true for woebegone and white street photography.

So if you want to capture striking woebegone and white street photos, you should aim for minimalist compositions.

And the weightier way to do that?

Include lots of empty “negative” space in your photos.

But how do you find empty space in an urban environment?

Well, it might sound challenging. But it’s easier than you think!

The weightier way to create minimalist street photos is to find an unshut space in the city. Squares, parks, and cultural sites are unconfined places for minimalist street photography.

If you’re not familiar with the city, you can hands find these kinds of spaces by exploring Google Maps.

Now, just wait for a single human subject to towards in the scene. Etch your shot so the person has a huge value of empty space virtually them.

The negative space allows you to tenancy the viewer’s attention. It guarantees the viewer’s eye will be drawn toward the subject.

When composing your photo, think well-nigh where you want the subject to towards in the frame.

I usually like to have my subject in the part-way of the photo as this often has the most impact. But you can experiment and take several photos with the subject in variegated positions.

Finally, make sure you stave any unnecessary visual distractions. You might need to retread your position or shoot from a variegated wile to stave unwanted elements in your frame.

Shooting from a low angle is a unconfined way to get increasingly sky in the frame and eliminate a distracting foreground.

3. Use Leading Lines In Your iPhone Street Photography

The most important goal for us as photographers is to tenancy the viewer’s attention…

And there’s no largest way to do that than using leading lines!

Leading lines literally lead the viewer’s eye to the subject. And they add wondrous depth to your images.

Cities are full of leading lines that you can use in your iPhone street photography.

Roads, paths, bridges, walls, fences, road markings, tunnels, underpasses, and other architectural elements can be used as leading lines.

Simply position yourself so the line leads from the foreground into the distance.

Ideally, you want your subject to be at the point where the lines converge in the distance.

For the most powerful visual impact, etch your shot with the lines starting from the corners of the frame.

This will add increasingly structure and completeness to your photo. And it draws the eye right from the foreground of the scene.

But don’t worry if you don’t get the lines perfectly positioned. You can unchangingly yield the photo later to create the perfect composition.

Most leading lines in cities are straight. But don’t forget to squint for curved leading lines, such as screw staircases. These will create truly magical images!

For the perfect shot, climb to the top of the staircase and shoot downwards to capture the trappy screw line.

If possible, capture a person somewhere withal the line or plane right at the marrow of the staircase.

But screw staircases squint unconfined by themselves, so unchangingly capture a few shots plane if there’s no person in the scene.

4. Squint For Patterns In The Urban Landscape

Patterns offer flipside way to make your woebegone and white street photography increasingly interesting.

I love patterns so much!

Repetitive patterns instantly reservation the eye. And they hold the viewer’s sustentation while they spend time examining the details.

In cities, you’ll find all sorts of patterns in modern buildings and architecture.

Many modern buildings have facades with repeating shapes or lines. Plane a row of windows, pillars, or arches can be used to create patterns in your photos.

If you’re not familiar with the city, use Google to search for images of modern buildings in the city. You can moreover use Instagram or Google Maps Street View to preview images from the area.

Once you start looking, you’ll find so many modern buildings with patterns you could photograph.

When you’ve found a scene with a repetitive pattern, decide which wile you want to shoot from.

I usually like to shoot straight toward the building, creating a symmetrical composition.

But shooting from a side-on wile can moreover work… as you’ll see in the photo below.

When you’ve well-balanced your shot, just wait for a person to enter the scene.

The pattern will create an wondrous backdrop. The person will add a strong focal point and requite meaning to the image.

5. Frame Your Subject With Architectural Elements

Here’s a unconfined technique to yank sustentation to your street photography subjects…

Frame your subject with architectural elements!

This technique works so well in woebegone and white street photography. The strong shape of the frame stands out increasingly unmistakably when you remove the verisimilitude from the scene.

There are many opportunities to use framing in the city. Archways, tunnels, doorways, and windows make unconfined frames for your photos.

Once you find a good “frame,” etch your shot and wait for a person to walk into the scene.

Use burst mode to capture multiple shots as the person walks through the frame. You can then segregate the weightier photo with the subject in the perfect position and pose.

To vivify splash mode, stilt the shutter sawed-off to the left. Or hold lanugo the volume-up sawed-off on the side of your iPhone.

I love to create symmetrical compositions with the subject in the part-way of the photo. But having the subject nearer the whet of the frame can moreover work.

If you’re shooting from inside looking out toward the light, you might need to retread exposure (image brightness).

Often, you’ll need to reduce exposure to ensure the unexceptionable areas don’t lose their detail.

I usually start by reducing exposure to -1. But sometimes you’ll need to waif it further, e.g. to -2.

To retread exposure in the iPhone Camera app, swipe up (or printing the thunderstroke at the top of the screen). Tap the /- icon near the marrow of the screen. Then use the slider to retread the exposure.

Once you’ve set the exposure value, you can alimony taking photos and the exposure will remain at that setting. Just remember to set it when to zero after!

Note that older iPhones don’t have this exposure value setting. But you can moreover retread exposure by tapping on the screen to set focus and then swiping up or down.

When you reduce exposure, alimony in mind that the shadows will wilt darker – sometimes plane pure black. And while you will lose some detail in the shadows, it can unquestionably squint really great.

You’ll see exactly what I midpoint in the next tip!

6. Shoot Striking Silhouette Street Photos

Have you overly tried capturing silhouettes in your photos?

Silhouettes are perfect for creative street photography. And they squint wondrous in woebegone and white!

The visionless outline of your subject will grab the viewer’s attention. And the lack of detail adds a sense of mystery and intrigue!

So how do you shoot silhouette photos with the iPhone?

First, you need to shoot toward the light… with your subject in front of the unexceptionable background.

The golden hours of sunrise and sunset are perfect for silhouette photography. When the sun is tropical to the horizon, it’s easy to get the unexceptionable light overdue your subject.

But a unexceptionable sky at other times of the day can work. Or try using other light sources, such as street lights, illuminated shop windows, or plane a brightly-lit wall.

If you’re shooting versus the sky, try shooting from a lower wile to get increasingly unexceptionable sky overdue your subject.

When you’ve well-balanced your shot, reduce exposure to make the image darker. Remember, the goal is to have the subject as a visionless outline versus the brighter background.

To reduce exposure, you can tap the screen where you want to set focus, then swipe lanugo to make the image darker.

On newer iPhones, you can moreover swipe up on the screen (or printing the thunderstroke at the top of the screen) and tap the /- icon. Then use the slider to retread exposure.

7. Use Shadows For Increasingly Unique Street Photos

Do you want to shoot increasingly unique woebegone and white street photos?

Then try using shadows in your images!

This technique isn’t used by many people. So your photos will definitely stand out!

Shadows add mystery and drama to your image. And they really grab the viewer’s attention.

Now, you won’t get shadows on an overcast day. So you’ll need to shoot when there’s direct sunlight in the scene.

The weightier time of day to shoot shadows is during golden hour (just without sunrise or just surpassing sunset). When the sun is low on the horizon, you’ll get wondrous long shadows.

Just like silhouette photography, you’ll need to reduce exposure to make the shadows visionless and dramatic.

Don’t worry well-nigh losing detail in the shadows. This can unquestionably create a really powerful image!

When photographing shadows, remember the vital elements that make a unconfined woebegone and white street photo… leading lines, patterns, frames, etc.

The only difference is that you’re capturing the shadows of subjects instead of the subjects themselves.

And of course, this is a unconfined opportunity to include yourself (well, your shadow) in the photo!

8. Clean Up Your Street Photos In Editing

Shooting with the iPhone Noir filter is a unconfined start for your woebegone and white street photos. But you can modernize your photos plane remoter in post-processing.

There are plenty of iPhone photo editing apps you can use.

I like to use Lightroom. But the built-in Photos app has a unconfined set of editing tools which are perfect for beginners.

Simple adjustments to brightness, contrast, shadows, and highlights can make a big difference to the final image.

[Drag the slider to compare the original and edited images]

When it comes to woebegone and white photography, increasing the unrelatedness (or adjusting shadows and highlights) is a unconfined place to start. A simple welding can add drama to your image and really make it stand out!

Cropping is flipside simple, yet powerful, way to modernize your images.

Why? Because it can be nonflexible to unzip perfect sonnet at the time of shooting.

Perhaps you shot too wide and want to yield in to make your subject stand out. Or maybe you didn’t notice distracting elements at the edges of the frame.

Perhaps the horizon appears slightly tilted. Or maybe you didn’t get your leading lines starting right in the corners of the frame.

All of these issues can be stock-still with the Yield tool.

Remember, the most powerful photos are usually the simplest ones. For stunning minimalist street photos, you’ll need to remove distracting objects from images.

The cleaner the better!

Luckily, there are several apps that make it easy to remove objects (or people) from your photos. Adobe Lightroom and TouchRetouch both have tools for cleaning up your photos.

In the example above, I used the Healing tool in Lightroom to simply skim over the sign and make it disappear!

About The Author
Maksim Kyshtymov is the founder of a diamond studio specializing in designing websites. His photography journey started in 2009, and he has wits shooting with DSLR and mirrorless cameras. But three years ago, Maksim realized he prefers to shoot with the iPhone due to its portability. He loves the self-rule of going for a long walk in a new location with just his iPhone to capture photos. Those are moments of true happiness for him.

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