Black/white versus colour pictures

Quote from Azz

" However, please feel free to start a thread discussing B&W versus colour if you like" Unquote

So I will

Having seen on another thread some remarkable black and white photos also some in colour elsewhere it lead to thinking, via above quote, as to which members prefer, why? and when would one medium be preferred to the other.

I have to say I prefer colour but defeat that by taking this in colour



on a horribly misty day a couple of years ago.

Bazza

I think as with most things, there's a time and place.

Sometimes colour is the way to go, sometimes mono. It all depends on what the person taking the photo feels is right for that particular picture.

Of course people (viewing) will have their own opinions and some might prefer the opposite - but wouldn't it be a boring world if we all thought the same

Totally agree with Azz

I personally think Black and White portraits when done well, have so much more power and beauty to them, done badly ,and they are unflattering.
There is something timeless and iconic about a good black and white shot. Colour just doesn't have the same impact for me.

I am not good at Black and White, yet, but hope to be one day

A whole mood of a picture can be changed just by getting rid of the colour.
I think landscapes can also work really well in black and white.

Having said all this, I love colourand a lot of the still lifes and flowers I take would not work so well in Black and White. But, benches do
Same as I think animals look better in colour as a rule.

Everybody, sees things differently

Agree about portraits, don’t know why but there are few colour portraits that I really like. May be few really catch the correct skin tones or may be we are unaware of what correct skin tone is. When we see people in life we do not pay attention to one particular factor, like skin, we interact to the whole person. We accept a monotone image as an image and accept it on it’s decorative and/or artistic value.

As to other subjects I think that is the choice of the creator, whether or not it appeals to the viewer is not really the problem of the creator unless they only take or make images to appeal to others, perhaps there are some but would think most make images to please themselves.

So I do not think it is a mono verses colour there is room for both and to use colour or not is just another decision of the artist producing the work. Do think perhaps that historical and news images should be in colour as those images are for an entirely different purpose. Not sure if the same applies to the recording of family matters (holiday snaps and the like) and look forward to hearing the opinions of others.

Mono and Colour obviously both have their disadvantages and advantages.

A sunny day, the shine of a sunflower, the inviting beauty of a tropical beach, the flash of fireworks, a street parade - all of these things would be difficult to represent in mono (not impossible). These topics are generally bursting with colour, and it's the colour that gives them their appeal.

Inversly, tragedy, destruction, war, poverty, greed, anger etc, these can all be well represented with mono, and often are.

Then you get your in-betweens. Portraits are a great example of something that works in both Mono and Colour, depending on the location, the subject and most importantly, what you are trying to relay to your viewer. A portrait ins't just a photo of someone, it's saying something about them, at that particular moment in time. So the portrait can be relaying joy, dispair, beauty, wealth/poverty, anger etc.

Lanscapes also benefit from the advantage of working in either mono or colour, again depending on what you are trying to relay to your viewer.

A mono shot of a smiling baby in mono can have a classic look and feel, but would the same shot in colour just give it that extra edge?

I guess that is what is comes down to, what it is your image has to say to the viewer.

It's always fun to try both, and even though a shot you are doing might end up as a mono, it's probably worth shooting in colour (if you are digital of course) using RAW so you can always chose after the shot.

Alan.

For me, it depends on the photograph. The charactor, emotion and impact of the photo is enhanced by which ever colour process works for that particular shot.

The general public tend to see BW as "arty" and amature photographers tend to subconsiously pick up on this and over use the process - might i add poorly. BW photography needs a good eye for colour, contrast and tone, otherwise it will not work.

Take an example of a portrait. Many BW conversion are just done by the click of the button, with no thought for any of the above. These are the shots that come out dull and lifeless - alot of grey (midetones) and no depth of shadows or any highlights. But a shot that was done for BW in mind - WOW!

Is is possible that so many of these attempts at BW have tarred the art of the process making it difficult to accept a good shot?

I think as everyone say it depends on the shot.

The shots that work in mono for me are the ones that are about texture, mono cave give a much better contrast in the textures than colour can. Shots that have a mono look to them before the conversion, also tend to work well. In that I mean that there are few colours in the shot so nothing is lost in the conversion.

As kk says far too many people think that the mere loss of colour from a pic makes it "arty" and use it to save an otherwise average shot. The conversion to black and whire in the digital medium is an intricate process if it is done well.

Agreed, add to that the people who go sepia mad (which is a mono at the end of the day). A sepia shot with a Ford Mondeo in the background just doesn't work (although in 50 years it will lol)

Alan.

Am I correct in assuming it is better to take the image in B & W if that is what you are wanting and then adjust as required later rather than take in colour and leave everything to post production. If you are going to take a shot that you think you may need both B & W and colour would you take the shot in RAW or Jpeg?

If you are shooting film then yep shoot in B&W

For digital I'd say shoot colour and do the conversion in PP, gives more control over the final tones of the image. I don't believe in shooting RAW, so I'd say jpeg