Monochrome photography

A monochrome photograph, Doris Ulmann's Laborer's hands

Monochrome photography is photography where the image produced has a single hue, rather than recording the colours of the object that was photographed. It includes all forms of black-and-white photography, which produce images containing tones of grey ranging from black to white.^[1] Most modern black-and-white films, called panchromatic films, record the entire visible spectrum.^[1]:157 Some films are orthochromatic, recording visible light wavelengths shorter than 590 nanometres.^[1]:158

Black-and-white photography is considered more subtle and interpretive, and less realistic than colour photography.^[1] Monochrome images are not direct renditions of their subjects, but are abstractions from reality, representing colours in shades of grey. In computer terms, this is often called greyscale.^{[citation needed]}

Monochrome images may be produced using black-and-white film or paper, or by manipulating colour images using computer software.^{[citation needed]}

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d} Langford, Michael (2000). Basic Photography (7th ed.). Oxford: Focal Press. ISBN 0 240 51592 7. 

External links

• Black and White Film Information and Comparisons Chart