BLACK AND WHITE .OR. COLOUR?

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Sam Trevor

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Hi,
I just wanted to ask you all what you think generally works better, Black and White or Colour.
Also why you like using B&W or colour.
I personally feel B&W doesn’t distract the viewer from the meaning of the photo as much colour as it sometimes can be distracting.
If any of you have any other feelings or thoughts it would be interesting to see what people think.
Cheers,
Sam.
:)
 
For me it depends entirely on the shot. Some look better mono and some dont.
 
I prefer colour mainly because i just love a good sunset with all its vivd colours that would never be picked up on in a black and white.

both have their place though! :)
 
I'm a huge fan of Black and White. There's something about that, if done correctly, really makes a photo 'pop'. I agree with Paulie though, it does depend on the shot.
 
I don't think that there's any golden rules to it. Some people think that a photo should only be in colour if there's a reason for it being in colour. I think that's a bit extreme. Personally I convert photos to B&W when the photo feels right in B&W. Don't know what the ground rules are, it's about instinct.
 
It certainly does depend on the subject. Personally, I love black & white and I'd say about 90% of my photography is landscapes and architecture, and these are subjects which suit both colour and b&w. It's down to preference really. The advantage I have with b&w as well is that I can process them myself whilst colour I can't.
 
ok, but what makes B&W work so well?
Why would you think of doing the photo in B&W?
:)
 
People/portraits, and some strong architecture work for me in B&W. I just convert to mono when i think it might look pretty good, and if it does i keep it as a "save as", no the original is always there should i change my mind.
 
i just seem to naturally work better in bw, compared to colour everything just seems to click in to place in my pp'ing, must be the way my brain works, that doesnt mean i dont like colour, but i find it harder to get right
 
It all depends on the subect, and the medium it's presented on.

IMHO traditional film B&W shots printed to a high standard on top quality paper are far better than B&W printed via digital means - sorry if you think I'm a dinosaur or you don't agree with me, but that's the way it is. However that's not always the case with non-projected colour, often colour is better presented through digital media.

I think you have to decide what you want before you go out - go out with your 'B&W head' on and look for shots that will work in monochrome. Forget colour entirely and just think B&W and you will find your results improve no end. Equally when you want colour think in terms of colour when you go out looking for shots, that way you will get better shots than usual.

This really works, trust me. A pal and I put many, many hours into proving this many years ago when we were doing our 'A' level photography practicals.

Rob
 
As has been said, it depends what you are doing.

I do most of my black and white on film and colour on digital.
 
ok, good ideas.
so when you have your 'B&W heads' on, what do you look for?
high contrast, detail?
 
I find the best way to see a black and white pic is to have a filter on your lens. I like to shot with a red filter as it gives really good contrast.

Looking though the filter gives you that mono image before you take it if that makes sense.
 
I think there was a picture of a Harley on the forum recently which asked for opinions. It was very mixed, but for me, it depends on the image.
 
colour has certain natural boundaries
black to white being monotone cant bely the original colours
so is more photogenic and open to creativity
 
I have heard photographers say that film produces a better black & white image than digital conversions, but I'm not qualified to answer that honestly because I'm still a film user myself. A correctly exposed and developed film is capable of delivering stunning images, but I'm sure digital technology is getting better and better all the time.
 
Sam Trevor said:
works works best nowadays to create a B&W photo, Film or digital convertion?
Click to expand...

:popcorn:

I think it depends on the subject like a lot of people on here have said. Mind you if you 'put your black and white head' on then any subject works well.
I think on of the chaps in the film section took loads of images in black and white at a carnival and they worked just as well as the colour ones.

Which works best? for me Film definitely. It has feel and look that is totally unique to it and while digital with cleaver processing can mimic it, it can't match it. Especially when done to a high quality in a darkroom.
 
It depends a lot on the image.

But when I see streams of wedding photos taken in b/w I thing they all look very bland and flat.
 
Another vote here for it being subject dependent. Some things look better in one or the other.
 
ok i know its completely subject dependent, but what does B&W bring to a photo
 
How about putting it this way, would schindler's list look as good in colour?

Maybe an odd comparison but it's hard to explain!
 
It really depends on the shot. I really like the effect selective colour can give as well.
 
personally i think it depends on the photo some are nice in colour but when the same shot is done in b&w it doesnt work also it is down to each invidual imho
 
I often do a version of each and see which I like better.
 
I always shoot in RAW so I can use channel mixing to create my black and whites. This also means that I still have the colour option open to me. Sometimes shots you think would work really well in black and white actually work better in colour and vice versa. It is all personal taste at the end of the day. If you have a mac I have done a tip about turning the screen to black and white (see my sig) so I can actually step through light room and view each picture that way. Doing this I have been surprised at what looks better.

(mac tip - goto Apple :: System preferences... :: Universal Access then select the "SEEING" tab and click on "use greyscale")
 
Well I like black & white in pretty much most subjects, but it is really down to personal choice. What works for one person won't necessarily do anything for somebody else. I'm assuming you're using digital so you could try taking a range of photographs in colour of different subjects, such as landscapes, portraits, architecture, night-time shots, etc, and then convert them to b&w and see what you think. You'll get an idea then of what works best for you.
 
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