Tips for Shooting Street Photography with B&W Film by Alec Pain

Written by Alec Pain (Alastair Place)

Following up my article for Shoot It With Film on using the Minolta CLE with color film for street photography, I thought I’d show its versatility with black and white film on various trips around London and share some tips on shooting street photography with b&w film.

Capturing Reflections

First up, some CineStill BwXX around the King Cross/St. Pancras area of London. CineStill BwXX is rated at 250 ISO, and it needed a good sunny day in London to really bring out the contrast.

There’s been a lot of development in that area of London in the last few years with plenty of interesting things to photograph. I like to take a lot of self-portraits when I am around shopping centers, but also looking into glass can produce some lovely alternative takes and reflections – almost like double exposures.

See below:

Fred Perry’s window was also too much of a temptation:

Walking around the scenes helps you familiarise yourself with the surroundings. I’d also say that if you’re not happy with a scan from the lab, there’s nothing wrong with bringing back some of the highlights in Photoshop or re-scanning it yourself. If it doesn’t work still, then you’ve lost say ten minutes.

Here’s the same shot in three different versions. I love the darkness of the lab scan and the contrast with the sky, but I think I prefer the second shot best.

Which do you prefer?

Looking for a Sense of Scale

Looking for a sense of scale in a scene can also really add a wow factor to your images especially in black and white.

The incredible office building tower over the space and make the people become silhouettes. Here, for example, you can see the people in the office above are almost like ants.

Could I have centered the two buildings a little? Working with a rangefinder camera like the Minolta CLE can of course be tricky to get this kind of exactitude as you are taking a picture of what you see through the rangefinder and translating that in your head to the few inches to your right where the lens sits:

The shopping center gave me plenty of opportunity to get up higher and look down, either from steps onto steps:

Or onto people drinking coffee below, riding or running past:

Leading Lines and Texture

Finding angles, leading lines, and people deep in thought is a favorite pastime of mine.

Always keep an eye out for someone wearing a flashy coat and a bike and have your camera ready (I’d have preferred him slightly closer to me):

Searching for texture in black and white is, I think, key to getting a great picture. I already like the composition here of the wet floor with the dry floor and how it creates a line to the girl wearing the long coat.

I moved over to where the rain reflected the railings perfectly:

And it’s almost as if I was teeing up my favorite shot of the day as the girl in the coat from earlier walked past the camera, and, instinctively, I took the next shot.

I just love those folds in her jacket, and, conversely, how you can’t see her face:

As you may have noticed in a previous shot, there’s a canal that runs through the development.

Shots of canal life away from the hustle and bustle of the shopping center, but also juxtaposition of the boats and the railway line convey an unusual beauty:

And there was time for one last selfie before I headed off home.

Capturing Light and Contrast

I took some Ilford Delta 3200 at Paddington station on a fairly sunny day, setting the ISO at 800.

I often shoot into the sun when I’m using a Holga. This doesn’t always work with a “normal” camera, and some of these are less successful.

Again, what you get back from the lab doesn’t have to be the final image. There’s usually more detail than you think, and picking out the gent in the hat with the bag really helps to make this image better:

I had more success when I let the light stream into the station concourse:

Getting onto the train, I found some lovely light coming through the windows:

I found similar light on the District & Circle line as it weaved in and out of underground and overground.

This was at East Putney station waiting for the train to depart:

The area around Tottenham Court Road is also well worth a visit.

I even managed a strange double in which my wife appears in the scene (I think from having rewound a film that I’d barely started as the CLE doesn’t do double exposures):

Then, it’s a case of finding light and shade:

Capturing Silhouettes

If you have an hour or possibly longer, a stroll from Westminster Bridge to Tower Bridge is a lovely way to people watch – to take in the tourists, the Londoners, and the buildings.

Starting near Horse Guard’s Parade before crossing the Thames, I spotted this chap:

And these silhouettes (another example of shooting straight into the sun and editing the scan from the lab):

For a comparison, here’s a couple of digital images taken with a Nikon Z6.

With digital you have almost unlimited exposures to play with, but it’s still impressive to see how the analogue shots capture a little more mystery:

Crossing Westminster Bridge, it’s important to look around you:, there’s so much going on:

Finding Interesting Angles

The National Theatre deserves a whole roll of Brutalist shapes, but the lady framed in the triangle of light was well worth waiting an extra minute:

The Millennium Bridge has plenty of options for photography. Walking around the scene to find an unusual angle can really pay dividends:

In Conclusion

As you can see, there are plenty of places to explore on a trip into London that are excellent for street photography. I live in Oxfordshire and commute into the city when I have a work engagement or meet up with fellow street photographers, finding an hour here and there to take some photos.

I’ll leave you with a late night shot I took near the South Bank Centre:

Thank you so much, Alec! Alec is a regular contributor here at Shoot It With Film, and be sure to check out his other articles, like Street Photography with the Minolta CLE 35mm Film Camera and Street Photography with the Holga.

You can also check out more of his work on Instagram.

Leave your questions about shooting street photography in black and white film below in the comments.

Related Posts:

Alec Pain

Alec Pain (AKA Alastair Place) is a pinhole and experimental photographer and a regular contributor for Shoot It With Film. Find his other articles here, such as How to Shoot Holgaramas and Finding Photography Inspiration Where You Live.

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