What does it take to create an award-winning black and white image? To find out, we asked a selection of both our current and previous Mono Awards judges for their tips on creating compelling black and white imagery.
Covering everything from understanding tone, to asking ourselves what it is we are trying to say with our image-making, these tips should put you in good stead for a winning entry in the 2026 edition of The Mono Awards presented by Synology.
2025 Places category Winner, Will Eades, The heights of Akron. Will Eades’ Places category winning image The Heights of Akron was captured on the U.S. Plains during a storm chase through eastern Colorado. “As the storm structure matured, a violent tornado dropped in front of us, casting dramatic shadows and creating a surreal interplay of light and dust,” he says.“I knew it would be a strong image due to the sheer scale, movement, and the balance between chaos and form — all of which translate powerfully in black and white.”
Matt Palmer
The Black and White images that rise to the top for me are those that have a strong story or point of view, and where the use of black and white and absence of colour amplifies that message, rather than muting it.
Highlights give energy to black and white images, so it's important to use them to move the viewer the way the photographer wants them to. Whether it's to draw their eye to the most important aspect of a photograph, or to help distract from and build mystery within the shadows.
It can be tempting to convert an amazing colour image to black and white and leave as is. However, shifting to black and white requires a ground-up approach, a different mindset, and a renewed focus on strong forms and tone. Try editing the file as a colour image and then converting to black and white, then restarting from scratch and editing purely in black and white and comparing for yourself.
2025 People Category Winner, Amy Hughes, In the shearing sheds. Amy Hughes’ People category winning image In the shearing sheds depicts her eight-year old son Kahu. For Hughes, the image tells a layered, authentic story. “The image speaks to rural life, generational roles, and the connection between humans and animals,” she says.
Helen Whittle
No one likes a murky grey image, so make sure the whites are white and the blacks are black. This can be easily achieved using the tone curve in your post processing.
Look for textures to create atmosphere and the help enhance the contrast in your images.
Keep the background in your black and white images simple. This will help the viewer to focus on the main subject.
Alex Cearns OAM
Careful composition and thoughtful use of contrast in a black and white images creates striking visual impact and allows the viewer's eye to be drawn directly to the subject.
The absence of colour in black and white images forces the photographer to focus on textures, shapes, and patterns, adding depth and dimension to the image.
An impressive black and white photograph often evokes a timeless and nostalgic feeling, emphasising the power of capturing emotions and storytelling through monochromatic tones.
2025 Animals category winner, George Dian Balan, When mammoths ruled the earth. The climax of over 50 million years of elephant evolution, Dian Balan’s Animals category winning image of an Asian Super Tusker sports tusks of the relative size and shape of the southern mammoth, the ancestor of the woolly mammoth. “Very few people know that Asian elephants can grow such amazing ivory, as the African big tusked elephants are better known by the public,” explains Dian Balan. It is thought that just 40 big tusked bulls from each of the two species of African and Asian elephants are left today, out of which just a handful can be considered Super Tuskers, blessed with the largest and longest ivory tusks.
Mike Langford
Keep your image simple, and try to identify the main subject of your image and make it obvious - correctly exposed for what it is and sharp.
Assess if your image is best suited for black and white or colour, as not all subjects look best in black and white.
Look for greater separation of your subject by placing a light toned subject against something dark, and visa versa.
It helps to also ask yourself two important questions - does your image have character or intrigue, as these are the elements that make one stand out, and is the image truly original? As it really needs to be in order to win an award.
2023 Mono Awards People category runner-up, Jessica Hromas. Polly Cutmore. I first met Gomerio elder, leader and activist Maria Polly Cutmore in 2020, (affectionately called Polly) when I went to Moree to do a story on the Moree Baths and Swimming Pool for Guardian Australia. This image was taken at the back door of Polly's house. She was standing just inside and the light was soft and natural. I remember thinking her hair looked a bit like Marilyn Monroe's or a 50's beauty queen. Her beautiful dark skin contrasted so exquisitely with her fine light hair.
William Long
Learn to see in B&W. One particular neat trick in today’s digital age is to set your camera’s picture control to Monochrome, so in both playback and preview you’ll see your image in B&W, and if you’re shooting RAW and JPEG, the RAW will contain all of the image’s information and the JPEG will be B&W.
The best part of course is seeing the preview in B&W. Personally though, I would always capture in RAW so you have all the possible digital information available for post production.
Jackie Ranken
Make sure your subject is the focal point of the image, and use techniques like selective focus, contrast, and composition to highlight it. Look for “light against dark” or “dark against light” options to bring the eye to your subject.
Use filters and post processing software to enhance your black and white photographs.
Use red, green, or yellow filters to emphasize different aspects of your scene. To darken a blue sky choose the red filter (my favourite for landscapes) or a yellow filter to soften skin tones, the green filter will lighten green tones and perhaps help separate foliage tones out from one another.
In post-processing, adjust the contrast, brightness, and levels to fine-tune the tonal range of your image. Experiment with dodging and burning to selectively lighten or darken areas, enhancing the overall impact of the photo and bring attention to your subject.
Silver Efex Pro by DxO is one of my favourite software programs for this.
Change the picture style in your camera at the time of shooting to monochrome. This will help you to see how colours are rendered as tones.
You will be able to see the importance of contrast, textures and lighting in your compositions. Filters, such as red, green, orange and yellow can also be applied in the camera picture style.
Chris Budgeon
In the Animals category, I loved images that projected a graceful and whimsical side to animals, which contrasted nicely with those projecting power and majesty within the animal kingdom.
In the Places category I was drawn to images that evoked within me a visceral impression of what it might actually feel like to be present at that very moment.
In the People category, it's a hard sensation to explain, but I try to let images speak to me in an unfiltered way, allowing my reponses to be genuinely open to authenticity, emotion, connection and beauty.
2023 Mono Awards Places category, runner-up, Janusz Molinski, Sunset silhouettes at Noosa Main Beach. My photograph of the silhouettes at sunset was captured whilst on holiday this year on the Sunshine Coast near Noosa Heads.Whilst approaching the Main Beach at Noosa late one afternoon, I was inspired by the filtered light streaming through the pandanus trees but more significantly, light sea mist forming over the beach that helped create an impressive layered back-lit visual snapshot of Australian beach life. There was an incredible array of people engaged with each other to the point that one can almost see the intensity of conversations people were having. Whilst the original colour version was already a lovely photograph, the black and white conversion accentuated the drama in the image creating the beautiful layered multi-toned silhouettes.
Dan Rule and Justine Ellis
Capturing mood and atmosphere is more important than accuracy.
Think hard about what you’re photograph is saying about the world, and about your position in the world as the photographer.
Avoid cliche and pastiche. If you’re making a replica of an image you’ve seen before, make sure you’re doing it consciously and with critical intent.
Meg Hewitt
In order to capture the most amount of detail you need to first make a flat image and then increase the contrast.
A great portrait is about the connection with the subject beyond anything else.
When editing down your selection, use your feelings, don’t question what makes you feel something in your body.
If you feel like you are too close to your images, imagine someone else took them and this is the first time you have encountered the subject.
