Black and White Photography ??

[Sarahbane]

Hey everyone, im new to photography and getting into black and white photography... for many reasons. I feel when your looking at a black and white photo, your eye focuses more to whats in the photo... its really cool
anyone else interested in black and white?

 

[alexanderdel]

Yeah I agree.
Also I feel that it makes for a more dramatic shot.
If you're trying to portray a more negative emotion, use black and white with strong contrast.

 

[Sarahbane]

Yea its amazing. U see much more of the picture, and much more interesting to look at.

 

[Randall Ellis]

Black and white abstracts what we are used to so that we can see the line, the form, the shape. It reveals what lies behind the initial impression, or at least it does for me. I can see far more deeply when there is no color to distract my eye. I work almost exclusively in black and white because what really pulls me, draws me in deep, is those things. I love the details, which tend to get lost in the rush of the world, that black and white reveals. It's very rewarding...

- Randy

 

[Sarahbane]

Black and white abstracts what we are used to so that we can see the line, the form, the shape. It reveals what lies behind the initial impression, or at least it does for me. I can see far more deeply when there is no color to distract my eye. I work almost exclusively in black and white because what really pulls me, draws me in deep, is those things. I love the details, which tend to get lost in the rush of the world, that black and white reveals. It's very rewarding...

- Randy

Randall, this is words right out of my mind...

 

[alliseeisyou]

What about the black and white with the little element of color in it?

Do you like that or just find it distracting?

 

[SavannahBC]

What about the black and white with the little element of color in it?

Do you like that or just find it distracting?

I love that
So its like you have the subject of the picture in colour, then it people focus on the subject more. Sometimes its just nice to have it in black and white with a bit of colour without having a subject. For example, I had a picture taken of me wearing a white dress with a pink stripe round it and its now in black and white with just the pink bit showing and it looks quite alright
I like black and white photography of winter stuff, like say a tree with snow on, or something like that, I think it looks better in black and white rather than in colour.

 

[Randall Ellis]

What about the black and white with the little element of color in it?

Do you like that or just find it distracting?

For me this is very distracting, and smacks of gimmick, but that's just my personal opinion, not to be considered a judgment against the opinions of others. The bit of color, no matter how small, always draws my eye like a magnet and holds it there in that spot - overriding the strength of all other values so strongly that it prevents me from being able to appreciate the rest of what is being presented. I see it somewhat like presenting a large block of text, but having something in bold. Does that not tug at your eye as you read the rest of the text here? That's how I feel when I look at an image that uses this technique. A more photographically oriented example might be how a large patch of pure white sky pulls the eye in a landscape image.

I suppose that in some cases this technique might be a good choice, but I have to admit that I can't come up with one right off the top of my head.

- Randy

 

[alexanderdel]

What about the black and white with the little element of color in it?

Do you like that or just find it distracting?

For me this is very distracting, and smacks of gimmick, but that's just my personal opinion, not to be considered a judgment against the opinions of others. The bit of color, no matter how small, always draws my eye like a magnet and holds it there in that spot - overriding the strength of all other values so strongly that it prevents me from being able to appreciate the rest of what is being presented. I see it somewhat like presenting a large block of text, but having something in bold. Does that not tug at your eye as you read the rest of the text here? That's how I feel when I look at an image that uses this technique. A more photographically oriented example might be how a large patch of pure white sky pulls the eye in a landscape image.

I suppose that in some cases this technique might be a good choice, but I have to admit that I can't come up with one right off the top of my head.

- Randy

I agree with you on this one Randy.
I think this "technique" is WAY over used and I find it annoying in all cases. I was browsing through the recent senior pictures taken and I was surprised to see that PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHERS were using it.. :thumbdown:

 

[c.cloudwalker]

What about the black and white with the little element of color in it?

Do you like that or just find it distracting?

For me this is very distracting, and smacks of gimmick...

It is a gimmick but I still used it. I have to say however that hand-tinting as we called it when we worked from negatives looked a lot better than most of what I see being done today with selective coloring. Overall I think it works better when it is very subdued.

But it may partly be that I have not yet got my brain wrapped around the idea of looking at photos on a monitor rather than a piece of paper

 

[CW Jones]

Every since I took a college black and white photography class I have been very into black and whites. It was also a film class, which was even better seeing as now I have a little dark room set up haha

 

[Sarahbane]

Yeaa... its nice to use in some cases... i have a great pic of a river and snow all around, i left the river in colour and everything else black and white.. looks well.. but i still prefer full black and white.. its amazing when your looking to take a black and white picture.. u have to look past the colour... and as an end result you get a much better picture...