Are black and white photos considered more artistic? Why?

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The OP didn't elaborate on the theme of the competition, or who was judging (a panel or a single judge). Difficult to generalise, but having recently seen the work of a top record photographer, most 'record' shots - e.g. church interiors, architecture etc - are often printed as mono. Sometimes its down to personal preference, but in a competition of open subject, it does seem a little biased to find more b/w than color.
 
joxby said:
You don't have to worry about colour balance or casts with b/w, but is it really that difficult to get right ?
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May be not in the taking, but how many 'mono' prints have I seen with a color cast? Loads! Unless you have a good printer, magenta color casts seem almost 'normal'.
 
Photodiva said:
The OP didn't elaborate on the theme of the competition, or who was judging (a panel or a single judge). Difficult to generalise, but having recently seen the work of a top record photographer, most 'record' shots - e.g. church interiors, architecture etc - are often printed as mono. Sometimes its down to personal preference, but in a competition of open subject, it does seem a little biased to find more b/w than color.
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There was no theme. We were free to submit any photo. We had to submit five. There was a panel of judges.
 
I work in Black and White with most of my images. I worked in the darkroom only doing B&W for many years and it has become my personal preference. Now working with digital I am forced to see the initial image in color which is a little bit of distraction. I have set my picture style on my camera LCD screen to review in B&W and that helps when in the field. It really comes down to what you relate to, and what holds you interest. Color or B&W can both be very creative if done with passion.
 
Jad said:
Now working with digital I am forced to see the initial image in color which is a little bit of distraction.
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Turn image review off on your camera and shoot like you did with film. Then set an import preset with a basic mono conversion on whatever software you use. And never see another colour image again. :thumbs:
 
PhotographyBuff said:
There was no theme. We were free to submit any photo. We had to submit five. There was a panel of judges.
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Not knowing any more, I'd venture that 'perhaps' they felt the standard of the black/white pics exceeded that of many others, or that there were a lot of mono pics submitted. Hard to know. If there was a panel of judges is less likely that there was 'favoritism' by a judge favoring mono prints.
 
Jad said:
Color or B&W can both be very creative if done with passion.
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Great pictures in your blog. I think that first one at "Rock Art" might be less impressive, if it had colours.

Some objects need colour, some don't, but I think it's more difficult to create impressive pictures in B&W.
 
I don't think it's arty by default. Unless the image itself is 'arty' or trying to be. I think B&W done right is very slick, and can be more dramatic than colour versions of same.
 
I think that it's possible that some people may subconsciously feel B&W is more "arty" simply because a B&W photo is different to how a human would see the same scene in real life - eyes and brain perceive colour. You have an inherent level of abstraction that removes the image from reality - so maybe without realising it the viewer tries to fill in the gaps and thinks that's because it's "art".....

I also think that there are very differing opinions between the "creators" and the "viewers" - by viewers I mean people that don't seriously engage in the creative process. Many of those that I'm thinking of as viewers will be impressed by an image simply because it IS removed from reality - the number of times I've heard my non-photography friends ooh and aah over a HDR pic that I regard as an overcooked mess.....

Move a photo away from reality and you have the potential for people to try interpret the difference as something artistic...
 
horrocks said:
If you run through the winning images of "The Landscape Photographer of the Year" awards, very few are in B&W.
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And I wonder how many of the winning works count as being art?
 
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