Here's a 911 I found on campus! 

"Anon" (tjsielsistneb) 01/14/2016 at 17:19 • Filed to: None

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Xyl0c41n3 > Anon 01/14/2016 at 17:42

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So, I wanted to try something because I’ve noticed your black & white work is consistently underexposed by at least one or two stops. This photo of a Porsche is a pretty good example of that, but also an excellent candidate for correction.

Hope you don’t mind, but I took the liberty of doing a quick and dirty edit on it so you can see what I mean. The top image is my edit, the bottom is your original.

Anon > Xyl0c41n3 01/14/2016 at 17:57

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I don’t really like the top one. It’s too bright. I really only do black and white whenever it is cloudy and dark outside. If I have the choice, I typically do color however whenever I do black and white I typically like to give it a darker grungier look.

bob and john > Anon 01/14/2016 at 18:04

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There is a difference betqeen darker and grundgier and not being able to tell where the tire ends and the bumper begins.

Xyl0c41n3 > Anon 01/14/2016 at 18:09

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There’s a difference between creating a grungy look and shooting with consistent technical issues in your frames. While a certain amount of underexposure can, indeed, be part of a personal style, there are other issues with your photographs, as well, which leads me to believe these issues are less about stylistic choices and more about an insufficient knowledge of your craft.

I’ll get to the color in a second, but first, let me address the B&W.

Aside from the consistent underexposure, your B&W work lacks good contrast range. Oftentimes, that leads to your images looking muddy, with detail in the blacks lost due to lack of tonal range. This makes the images look flat.

As for color: color photography can be a crutch in that it can hide mistakes and technical problems. Both the photographer and the viewer get distracted by the use of color and may not realize that issues in contrast, tonal range, and exposure still exist. To try and visualize what I’m saying, try taking a color photograph you like and hitting Shift+Ctrl+U in Photoshop (basically, Desaturate). If the resulting black and white image has the same technical issues as your other black and white work, then your color photograph is not as successful as it could be.

You have to understand the basics of your craft; you have to have a proper grasp of the rules that define it before you can successfully bend or break them. Good luck!