For me, black and white feels quite comfortable - and colour - not so much... however, there have been a few discussions recently about giving up colour for lent, or shooting black and white for a month, which make me think some see black and white as a challenge... and i've also seen some commentary about how shooting colour is actually more challenging...
This leaves me wondering how others feel and if there is a general consensus on this... or if there is some view that different subjects demand different approaches...
For me... BW is harder... you need a different eye for it. Colour is my comfort. I did a bit of BW the other week and really enjoyed it. It's more about forms and shapes and lines. You need to capture something different. I'm sure you understand what I'm saying :)
Mmm. I'm just snapping away with colour photo's as an automatic result. I have only a few B&W's in my album, in all cases because they just had to be B&W :-) Probably doing Miley's @miley89 B&W challenge next month. Ask again in April :-)
It depends on one's individual "eye", I think. Combining complementary colours and tonalities into a solid composition takes a different skill set than composing in the more shape-centric world of b&w photography. I'd actually be curious to know if a connection could be made regarding colour photography being more right-brained, with b&w being more left-brained, or vice versa...
I love both but don't do nearly enough b&w. Good for you...I think I'd get bored doing one thing for a month!
For me, I seem to want to turn every portrait high key b&w. It's a sickness.
I think they both have their difficult and easy traits.
To me it is not a matter of just b&w or colour it is looking at the photo, the light, the contrast and making a decision.
Colour can be hard because of correct WB and getting particularly skin tones correct (for me anyway) but sometime a picture needs colour, can look great in colour but look flat and grey in b&w.
I love depth and contrasty light in b&w's...true black and white not just shades of grey.
i have photos that I would have deleted in colour but playing in b&w are keepers and vise versa.
So all that rambling is for me no preference depends on the photo :)
Yeah that's the thing. I did it for a month last year and missed some great colour photo opportunities. It got tedious. I think they both have their place, I find black and white makes more atmosphere sometimes and particularly good when the weather is grey and miserable @shutterbugger
I always shoot in colour and in postprocessing phase I consider whether I should try to convert the shot to b&w. Depends on the subject or the mood I want to convey... but colour is more natural to me.
I love both color and black and white, but I think that it takes the right image to make B&W work. I personally feel more connected to B&W photos. I think that without the distraction of color, you can really focus on the essence of the photo.
@mummarazzii@janim@miley89 The other week, I shot in BW, mainly to force my POV and what I was seeing so that I could see it differently. Made a huge difference! Usually I shoot in colour but don't generally think of converting it. I guess cos when I shoot in colour, I shoot what I do with colour being part of my final product.
@miley89 no argument, that is what works for you so it is right for you :)
I just don't like shooting a whole shoot in b&w and love the option...I do shoot colour with conversion in mind so yep get the feeling it...just to lazy to keep swapping ;) and I LOVE playing with my photos ;p
Someone said that color is the main texture in a color photo. No matter what the photo is, color is the first thing we focus on. It can be used to really pull the eyes away from something or towards something. With b&w, the color is not there so we look at the texture. They are both very different and are used for very different reasons. Hmmmm .... maybe they are both hard for me. ;-)
I really didn't investigate b&w until I was made to do it for a challenge last month. Now I can't stop! I'm so in love with my cardboard shot. LoL
Now that you ask, I honestly don't know why I never used it more before.
Maybe because I saw b&w mainly for portraits and cityscapes - which I barely shoot (will need to change that soon)!
Since I do a lot of macro/nature landscape I tend to go for colour. My landscape workshop shots back in September are the perfect example of needing colour. But I've been playing with more b&w with my winter shots (which easily lends itself to this medium since it lacks colour already!
I've been shooting more B&W this year. For me, it is teaching me a disciplined way to see light, shadows, form, texture, lines, etc. I find it very different than color because I'm looking for the above. That's not to say I wouldn't look for some of this in color...B&W is training my eyes to see differently. I typically shoot in RAW. For my learning experience (and immediate gratification) I'm shooting both RAW and jpeg in monochrome so I can see if my subject matter, lighting, exposure, etc are going to be appropriate for B&W. I convert in post which has given me more perspective in editing to get the contrast I'm after. I still have a lot to learn!
So...for me, both have their challenges and rewards. I'm finding B&W more challenging to get everything right in camera and easier to edit my vision in post and the opposite in color.
I grew up with a film slr and a darkroom in the basement that I used to do black and white so I see images in black and white more easily. I have grown to really love digital slr's and post editing. For me the image dictates witch one to use and I really do not have a preference.
I need to do more of shooting in B&W rather than converting colour shots...currently most of my B&W images are so because they were an epic fail in colour!! Reminds me, I still need to do that camera settings challenge of B&W...I love B&W but need to develop my eye to do the settings shift pre shoot rather than in post processing
I LOVE black and white photography. LOVE IT! However, it seems that the only way to use it with my camera is on manual mode, which still scares me even though this is my 3rd year doing 365. So, for that reason I'd say black and white is more difficult.
I agre with Tamara @tamaralaraphotography; The use of B&W or colour depends on the image, B&W does require the suitable image, more than colour. I prefer B&W, the most beautiful photos I remember from great photographers are in B&W. I often shoot in monochrome (both RAW & JPG); if it is the right image to me, I see it in B&W instinctively.
I love B&W but with the blue skies we get around here I tend to keep a lot of photos in colour as I'm pulled towards the colours! But as has been said above it really depends on the shot for me :)
@northy I am thinking of giving up cake for lent, not! But seriously why not try giving up digital for lent. Colour and b&w can both be difficult in film. A real challenge is to successfully use redscale or to cross process.
For me its black and white for strong composition strong contrasts, colour for vivid colours, sunsets etc. But I prefer the black and white, often I only have black and white film and I can cheaply develop it.
@peterdegraaff Funny you mention cross processing. I was thinking of doing some C-41 to D-76...just because I can. I also read that Rodinal will bring out some hints of color. May have to give it a try!
@peterdegraaff i knew someone would toss cake into it! ;p
i'm not sure i could give up digital entirely for a month, altho' i might be convinced to spend more time with film... developing at home will not happen anytime soon for any number of reasons...
@davidchrtrans interesting question! i can never remember which is right brain and which is left, and regardless, last time i checked i didn't fall squarely into one or the other category... but very very interesting question
Depends what kind of mood I'm in. I like both for different reasons and different moods and different types of shots. I don't necessarily find one more challenging than the other. Black and white can be done badly and grey out; color can be a distraction. Often I switch back and forth between color and monochrome modes and pick the one I like better after the fact. (Except currently...I'm one of the "colorless Lent" people, and having fun shooting everything in B&W currently). :)
I shoot in color, but will convert to B/W (Camera Raw 7.0 has the best, most flexible and when needed most subtle tools that a camera can't match) when color becomes a distraction. Which it can on a flat, unintelligent photograph. the eye, on the other hand, has this wonderful ability we are not even consciously aware of, at least those of us that are color-sighted, to disregard color distractions when they overpower.
I would be interested to hear from anyone who is color blind, partially or completely, about their experiences of not seeing "color."
For me, color is seductive and was my default when I started. But after shooting black and white film for about a year and very little digital, I see differently and now am drawn more to light than color. Understanding black and white "in the can" rather than post-processing has made me a better photographer overall, whether analog or digital, color or black and white. But when shooting digital, I always RAW as *I* want to make the choices for making a monochrome image, not let my camera do it.
It's black and white for me! Although I shoot color and convert to b&w in processing I am shooting with the intention of the photo being black and white. I guess I do this because I want the option, every now and then I prefer the color. That being said, I do enjoy looking at other people's color photographs.
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For me, I seem to want to turn every portrait high key b&w. It's a sickness.
To me it is not a matter of just b&w or colour it is looking at the photo, the light, the contrast and making a decision.
Colour can be hard because of correct WB and getting particularly skin tones correct (for me anyway) but sometime a picture needs colour, can look great in colour but look flat and grey in b&w.
I love depth and contrasty light in b&w's...true black and white not just shades of grey.
i have photos that I would have deleted in colour but playing in b&w are keepers and vise versa.
So all that rambling is for me no preference depends on the photo :)
@mummarazzii
I just don't like shooting a whole shoot in b&w and love the option...I do shoot colour with conversion in mind so yep get the feeling it...just to lazy to keep swapping ;) and I LOVE playing with my photos ;p
Now that you ask, I honestly don't know why I never used it more before.
Maybe because I saw b&w mainly for portraits and cityscapes - which I barely shoot (will need to change that soon)!
Since I do a lot of macro/nature landscape I tend to go for colour. My landscape workshop shots back in September are the perfect example of needing colour. But I've been playing with more b&w with my winter shots (which easily lends itself to this medium since it lacks colour already!
So...for me, both have their challenges and rewards. I'm finding B&W more challenging to get everything right in camera and easier to edit my vision in post and the opposite in color.
For me its black and white for strong composition strong contrasts, colour for vivid colours, sunsets etc. But I prefer the black and white, often I only have black and white film and I can cheaply develop it.
i'm not sure i could give up digital entirely for a month, altho' i might be convinced to spend more time with film... developing at home will not happen anytime soon for any number of reasons...
@davidchrtrans interesting question! i can never remember which is right brain and which is left, and regardless, last time i checked i didn't fall squarely into one or the other category... but very very interesting question
;)
I would be interested to hear from anyone who is color blind, partially or completely, about their experiences of not seeing "color."