Hello 365! Another year has come and gone. February is just about upon us and that means… it’s time to sink your teeth into 28 days of Black and White Photography- if you so choose!
Flash of Red February began as an on-line black and white book club here on 365 and eventually morphed into what we do now- delving into black and white photography with weekly themes/topics/assignments that feature different aspects of the black and white genre. These topics are meant to be a springboard or a guideline- whatever you choose. If you’re following the challenge in the traditional way, February 14th is the day to use selective coloring on your image featuring the color red. When your monthly calendar is done, you’ll have a nice flash of red on it in the “middle” of all that black and white. Sometimes this date falls in the center, but this year it does not. So, if you’re not a purist and want that flash in the center, you might want to post your flash on or about the 18th -the date is your choice. If you’re following a Monday to Saturday calendar, that date would be the 12th. Some folks also have an aversion to red and substitute a different color. That’s ok- your project, your rules- but considering that black, white and red are a “power color combination”, red really looks best!
I try to add a little assistance to you each week by finding relevant articles on black and white to support and inform your weekly photos, but this year (due to lots of demands at work) I found one article called The Beginners Guide to Black and White Photography that I’ll be breaking up into pieces and sharing as we proceed through the month. When the “middle of the month” rolls around, I’ll also include some step-by-step instruction for those of you who have never tried Selective Coloring before.
So, to start us off, here’s what format.com’s The Beginner’s Guide to Black and White Photography had to say about black and white with some tips to get you started:
Remove Distractions
By shooting in black and white, you can remove the distraction of color. That means there’s more focus put on other aspects of your photography. That can include things like the subject, shapes, textures, lighting, contrast, and composition.
This makes black and white photography ideal when you’re experimenting with different types of photography. It’s also useful when you want as much attention as possible on a particular element in your photo.
Expand Your Skills
Because shooting black and white photography can dramatically change the feel and focal point of your photos, it can push you to approach photography in a new way. It can train you to look at your subjects differently and force you to pay special attention to things like lighting and contrast. So, shooting in black and white is a great photography exercise to help expand your skills.
Evoke Emotions
Black and white photos tend to evoke certain emotions. For one, they can feel timeless. If you’re used to seeing black and white photos from bygone eras, it can make you associate black and white photography with those periods.
That doesn’t necessarily mean people are going to get confused about when your photos are from, but just that it can get people thinking about concepts like time, age, and history.
Another way shooting in black in white can change the feel of your photography is to make it feel more dramatic. There’s just something about a colorless photo that can make your composition more striking, cool, raw, or moody. For example, take a pleasant landscape photo and convert it to black and white to see how it changes the emotional impact of the image.
Tips for Shooting in Black and White
As mentioned above, black and white photography can put more emphasis on certain elements of your photos. That means it’s a good idea to spend more time on these elements.
As for the elements- here’s how we’ll explore them week by week-
February 1-7: Contrast
February 8-14: Shapes and Composition
February 14: Flash of Red- Selective Coloring
February 15-21: Textures
February 22-28: Tone and Mood
Two housekeeping items-
Flash of Red February runs from February 1 to February 28. Tag your photos FOR-2026
If you’d like to be tagged each week when the weekly theme is posted, please leave your @tag below (even if you’ve been on the tag list before- I do a new one each year). I try to put up the weekly post a few days in advance to give you advance notice. The post for February 1st will be forthcoming!
for your weekly Shoot list. I will tag you each week too.
@anniesue you're quite welcome- I love hosting it!
@northy I think you've been a part of every one of them- but I only started tagging people a few years ago. You've been on every list since I started doing this.
@ljmanning I know- seems like I just got into the rhythm of January! This does not bode well for year- haha!
I'm so excited!!!!!!!! this is my fav theme of the year, and then the cool down with my rainbow month after
I just can't believe we are this far thru Jan already!
I'm excited to try it. I need to know what the parameters are for the black and white portion of the challenge. Must it but shot in b and w or can it be switched in editing mode? I think I have figured out how to shoot in b & w with the iphone but the Minolta bridge camera can only be changed after the exposure.
@omabluebird Thanks for joining in Oma! It is up to you as to whether you shoot in black and white, or shoot in color and then convert. Whatever works best for you. I shoot in color and convert- but it does take a little know-how to see black and white through color. There will be a little info on this in the first installment which will be posted by the end of this week to help get you started. I'm glad you'll be giving it a try and I think you'll have fun with it.
had been thinking about this but so busy i just saw it now. looking forward to february, of course. include me in your tag, please, Ann. and thanks for your wonderful efforts.
Tweets ahoy!
Join the Group
Pin With Me
And thank you :-)
@anniesue
@ljmanning
for your weekly Shoot list. I will tag you each week too.
@anniesue you're quite welcome- I love hosting it!
@northy I think you've been a part of every one of them- but I only started tagging people a few years ago. You've been on every list since I started doing this.
@ljmanning I know- seems like I just got into the rhythm of January! This does not bode well for year- haha!
@amyK
Please include me @njmom3
I just can't believe we are this far thru Jan already!
Amy, Nada, Jackie, Dave, Kathryn, Marilyn and Katrina- I'm so glad you're all joining in!
@sewfree
YAY!
Thanks for joining in Marj and Annie!
Thanks.
@omabluebird
@pandorasecho @merrelyn @cristinaledesma33
Thank you Dixie, Merrelyn and Cristina- so good to see all of you enthusiastically joining in- you've been a big part of Flash of Red for many years!
@radiogirl
@johnfalconer
Thanks for playing along John and Vikki!
Can you believe how long this has been going on Vikki?!
Will do! Glad you're joining in!
Will do! Welcome aboard!