When color, when b&w?

[Dmitri]

You come home with a photo you like. How do YOU decide if it should remain in color, or if it is a good candidate for black & white?

 

[KmH]

The tonality and contrast in the image qualifies or disqualifies it for B&W.

A real trick is to go out looking for the real world scenes that will convert well into B&W.

Just like in the days of film, that may mean adding a colored filter to your lens.

 

[KenC]

No general rule, but one instance in which I would convert is if I think there is color that detracts from the image by focusing the viewer on something other than what I wanted to highlight. For example, if I think the image is about light and shadow and not the color of the light areas, or if I think it is about the way elements are equally important in a certain kind of composition, but one of the elements is a vivid color, then I will convert.

 

[AprilEye]

Dimitri - I always wonder the same thing too. These two photos (linked) I shot in color, and then coverted them to black and white post. I am still not sure if they look right. The one of my son seems a little washed out, but I do think it was better in BW than in color. I also think the mood can dictate the conversion too. His mood definitely said "black and white". The forest shot, I am not too sure about. Anyway, I hope that helped.

Go Away | Flickr - Photo Sharing!
Twilight Forest | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

 

[sobolik]

I am not being a smart guy. B&W is like washing your clothes in the stream on a rock compared to a modern washer. Why would someone prefer old ancient technology? Yet some people do!

I rarely do it on a certain wedding photos and then unbelievably I will hear that someone preferred it over the color.

I am going snowshoeing soon on a pair of old technology wood snowshoes so I guess I am guilty of what I scoff at.

I guess if you are inclined to do it then it is the thing to do. There is no other reason to use old technology than just because you want to. Kind of like owning a model T automobile for daily commutes. No reason besides the person just wants to.

 

[ann]

Black and white is all about seeing in grayscale (IMHO) , and some of us have spent a life time working in black and white and don't see it as a model T auto. Color is not so modern it has been around a long time .

Color is about reality and black and white is an interpretation of reality.

Black and white is about shape/form and lighting along with tonal contrast and textures.

Not everything converts well to black and white and it certainly can't make a bad color photo better. With the coming of age with digital everyone talks about which technique to use for coverting, it is rare to hear people discuss thinking in black and white and that happens before firing the shutter.

 

[KmH]

I am not being a smart guy......

As Ann pointed out, color photography has been around a long, long time.

The three-color method, which is the foundation of virtually all practical color photographic processes (chemical or electronic) was first suggested in an 1855 paper on color vision by the Scottish physicist James Clerk Maxwell.

By 1898 it was possible for anyone with the enough money to buy the required equipment, and ready-made supplies for doing color photography.

 

[reznap]

Get two 35mm film cameras and load one with black and white and the other with color. That might be an interesting exercise to help you really consider what would be an appropriate scene for black and white and what wouldn't.

Film (for me) has a tendency to slow you down and make you think about each shot - since the price of film and developing is kinda high. It's also pretty enjoyable to develop your own black and white negatives (even if you're just scanning them into a pc). It's also a little more rewarding (for me) when you get it right.

 

[flyingember]

Black and white is all about seeing in grayscale (IMHO) , and some of us have spent a life time working in black and white and don't see it as a model T auto. Color is not so modern it has been around a long time .

Color is about reality and black and white is an interpretation of reality.

Black and white is about shape/form and lighting along with tonal contrast and textures.

Not everything converts well to black and white and it certainly can't make a bad color photo better. With the coming of age with digital everyone talks about which technique to use for coverting, it is rare to hear people discuss thinking in black and white and that happens before firing the shutter.

because photography is more than just color. it's about detail too.

a black and white photo can bring out a lot of detail in a scene you'd miss because it's red and green

color photos have been around for more than 100 years

 

[orb9220]

Yep the best way I found is to go thru your library on a slow non-shooting day and looking for something to try. I had a color pic that was sitting there on the HD and was on my flickr account for awhile and people like it. But then I tried in B&W and posted that. Many seemed to like the B&W more.


Lady at Rest by orb9220, on Flickr


Lady at Rest B&W by orb9220, on Flickr

As people pointed out they like the mood of the B&W better.
Comes down to intent on capturing.

As for me If I go out looking for B&W will have more success capturing the dramatic or mood of subject.
Then just going out to capture an image. So comes I guess down to the photographers intent and what is important elements in the composition he is trying to convey.

I have got into the habit of keeping "in B&W" in back of my mind ready for consideration on any shot I am composing. And many times it is inappropriate for the composition. And other times is just right for the situation.
.

 

[Person]

Personally, I use B&W when (see above post) the woman would be wearing full hot pink or whatnot. The B&W completely changes the meaning and the mood sometimes when colour doesn't convey it correctly.

 

[white]

What ann said.

B&W - shape, texture, simplicity, tonality, contrast.

Color - contrasting color (red/green; yellow/violet), saturation, color also has an emotional association.