Learning Library / Seeing in black and white
Photography lesson · 5 min
Make texture the main character
Use light, scale, and focus so the viewer can almost feel the photograph.
Texture is not decoration. Sometimes it is the whole reason I make the photograph. The useful question is simple: can the viewer almost feel this surface? Rope gives me fibers, tension, repetition, and wear, but the same idea works with bark, cloth, skin, rust, or stone.
What I’m looking for
In the field.
- Choose a surface with a directional pattern rather than texture scattered evenly everywhere.
- Find light that crosses the surface and creates small shadows between raised details.
- Move close enough that the material becomes unmistakable without losing the shape that holds it together.
- Place focus where the pattern changes, overlaps, frays, or catches the strongest light.
- Use contrast to separate fibers and grooves, then back away before the surface becomes harsh.
Keep this close
What makes it work.
- Raking light
- Low-angle light makes shallow relief visible through tiny highlights and shadows.
- Scale clue
- A knot, edge, hand, or post helps the viewer understand the material’s size.
- Pattern break
- The eye often lands where repetition changes.
At your own pace
Try it.
Photograph three textures—soft, rough, and reflective—using only side light.
Watch for
Do not rely on texture everywhere. A calmer area gives the busy surface something to push against.
Photography lesson and photograph by Tony Shepherd (pixbyshep).