Photo’s: Colour or Black & White. Which do you prefer, and why.

[Magna-Carta]

Photo’s: Colour or Black & White. Which do you prefer, and why.

When it comes to photography, one of the most fundamental decisions you'll have to make is whether to shoot in colour or black and white. Both colour and black and white have their advantages and disadvantages, and the choice ultimately depends on the photographer's goals and intentions.

If you're looking to capture the mood and atmosphere of a scene, black and white photography can be a powerful tool. By removing colour from the equation, you're forced to focus on the other elements of the image, such as contrast, texture, and composition. Black and white photography can also evoke a sense of nostalgia and timelessness, making it ideal for capturing historical moments or landscapes.

 

[Magna-Carta]

Here is a colour photo of the Great Gate. I’ve taken this photo whilst standing on the base structure of the Taj Mahal, with the Taj Mahal behind me.




Here is a photo I took of the same Great Gate, but in black & white. Taken lower down in the complex to get reflections in the water.

 

[Pinky]

Black & White seems to have more clarity .. to my eyes.

 

[hollydolly]

Like you say it depends on the subject or the mood you wish to capture. Very if taking a B&W in an urban setting .. it often conveys a sense of poverty or vintage... as in your example above....this works particularly so with Images of people..

In a Rural setting Colour gives a sense of warm/sunshine .. and cosiness... whereas B&W in a rural setting gives a sense of depth.. and often vastness that might not be captured quite as well in a colour setting..

 

[Magna-Carta]

Taj Mahal from inside the Great Gate. For me I felt this would only work in black & white. Especially as the Taj Mahal itself is white. Well I say white – actually close up there is quite a lot of colour in the Taj Mahal.

I took this photo with a long lens. Standing well back but zooming in the make everything look closer to each other than it actually is.

 

[Magna-Carta]

Is a sunset ever going to work in black & white? I wonder, maybe there are circumstances where it would?

I took this colour photo whilst standing in the grounds of Killeen House Hotel near Killarney, Ireland.

 

[Michael Z]

For very old photos, I like black and white. I did family ancestor collages for my wife and myself - no color photos allowed!

 

[Gary O']

If you're looking to capture the mood and atmosphere of a scene, black and white photography can be a powerful tool.

It sure can

Especially when people are the subjects

 

[palides2021]

Here is a colour photo of the Great Gate. I’ve taken this photo whilst standing on the base structure of the Taj Mahal, with the Taj Mahal behind me.

View attachment 273361


Here is a photo I took of the same Great Gate, but in black & white. Taken lower down in the complex to get reflections in the water.

View attachment 273362

The color photo looked magnificent! The black-and-white, however, did not give me the same "Aww" feeling. Maybe it's just me.

 

[palides2021]

Is a sunset ever going to work in black & white? I wonder, maybe there are circumstances where it would?

I took this colour photo whilst standing in the grounds of Killeen House Hotel near Killarney, Ireland.

View attachment 273369

This is amazing!

 

[Magna-Carta]

I took this in the Lake District many years ago. I was at a campsite in the Naddle Valley. At the time I didn’t think there was much in that particular area of the Lake District to take a photo of. Then suddenly, a missed opportunity, two RAF Chinook helicopters came low down the valley. I heard the helicopters before I saw them, with their rotor blades beating loudly along the valley. I ran to my tent to get my camera but didn’t manage to get the photo of the helicopters.

Then 20 minutes later as the sun was starting to set, the colour in the area completely changed. Browns & oranges which weren’t there before suddenly popped out of the hillside and clouds, & lasted for about only 10 minutes. This is the photo.

 

[Gaer]

In my opinion, the black and white images have a "magic" about them.
I adore the old photos from Ansel Adams and Dorothea Lange.
I suppose it depends on the image. If you are photographing people,
I think black and white focuses the seer's vision on the emotions
whereas the above photo you took in the Naddle Valley, You would lose
the incredible hues and shades if you took it in black and white.

Please note: I don't know what I'm talking about. Just an opinion.

 

[mike4lorie]

I like both colours and black and white... I find colour just that, a picture... But when I see a picture in black and white, I feel it's telling me a story...Just my 2 cents...

 

[-Oy-]

I'm a fan of both. I tend to do Black & White when the photo is more about light, shape and texture. In general I just get an instant feel for which is more appropriate. Take this modern freight train I shot yesterday. This one is a definite colour job.

 

[Shalimar]

I prefer black and white. There seems to be a depth, a sort of honesty in them that coloured pictures lack.

 

[Trish]

I'm a fan of both. I tend to do Black & White when the photo is more about light, shape and texture. In general I just get an instant feel for which is more appropriate. Take this modern freight train I shot yesterday. This one is a definite colour job.

For me, it is usually about whether colour adds something to the image which would be lost in b/w. Had this ^^^^ image been b/w it would have lost the details which, I think, adds to the image.

@-Oy- Great photo, as always

 

[Trish]

Here is a colour photo of the Great Gate. I’ve taken this photo whilst standing on the base structure of the Taj Mahal, with the Taj Mahal behind me.

View attachment 273361


Here is a photo I took of the same Great Gate, but in black & white. Taken lower down in the complex to get reflections in the water.

View attachment 273362

B/W adds drama to this image but, also, this is a study of how composition can turn a good photo into a great photo. The b/w is a much tighter composition, I think, than the colour version which does not have that lovely reflection. Very nice

 

[Gary O']

Is a sunset ever going to work in black & white? I wonder, maybe there are circumstances where it would?

I think the starkness of certain skys give credence to 'black and white'

I took this pic the first few weeks after moving to our mountain cabin
It was right after a huge storm, high winds, knocking down trees, horizontal snow
Made that evening quite uneasy
Wind gusts of 80mph gave the cabin walls a shudder
Gave me a second thought about the decision to move there

But that next morning, the breaking of the sky, giving way to an eerie calm
settled me some
I knew it was a right decision
Nature has a way of romancing the soul

Took what became a favorite photo
I call it After The Storm
Pretty much like life's experiences

It was a color shot, but creation dictated other

 

[Trish]

If it's okay to jump in with a couple of questions:

1. Do you convert your colour images to b/w on your computer? I ask because I was talking to a guy recently who has set his camera to take only b/w images. I prefer to have a colour option and, if I want b/w convert it in an editing program.

2. Also do you take RAW images? I do if I am taking photos I intend to edit afterwards but, otherwise, JPEG is fine.

 

[-Oy-]

If it's okay to jump in with a couple of questions:

1. Do you convert your colour images to b/w on your computer? I ask because I was talking to a guy recently who has set his camera to take only b/w images. I prefer to have a colour option and, if I want b/w convert it in an editing program.

2. Also do you take RAW images? I do if I am taking photos I intend to edit afterwards but, otherwise, JPEG is fine.

1. I shoot in colour and convert to mono when needed. There are so many options in doing so using digital versions of colour filters. I often apply different conversions to different parts of an image. I had a friend years ago who only shot in black and white. He took a really nice photo in Llandudno - and was contacted by a magazine who wanted to pay him quite a lot of money for the colour version. I believe the term is DOH!

2. I shoot RAW and only RAW. I got in the habit yeras ago at work when RAW was rightly considered a "Digital Negative" as it cannot be edited - only exported into another format such as JPG or TIF. It also gives me the ability to get the best out of each image rather than have a tiny computer inside the camera do it for me. Even on my iPhone I shoot RAW unless it's just a general record shot of something.

 

[Gaer]

Oy, Are you putting your images in book form?
Are they already in a photography book of only your work?

 

[Trish]

1. I shoot in colour and convert to mono when needed. There are so many options in doing so using digital versions of colour filters. I often apply different conversions to different parts of an image. I had a friend years ago who only shot in black and white. He took a really nice photo in Llandudno - and was contacted by a magazine who wanted to pay him quite a lot of money for the colour version. I believe the term is DOH!

2. I shoot RAW and only RAW. I got in the habit yeras ago at work when RAW was rightly considered a "Digital Negative" as it cannot be edited - only exported into another format such as JPG or TIF. It also gives me the ability to get the best out of each image rather than have a tiny computer inside the camera do it for me. Even on my iPhone I shoot RAW unless it's just a general record shot of something.

Thank you. Your friend must have kicked himself!

I think I will keep my camera on RAW in future, I like the process of working on RAW images

 

[David777]

Black and White film or now digital properly printed at high resolutions and exquisitely framed make exceptional small to medium sized fine art hung on walls when viewed at close range.

For decades lurking in public shadows, have been a serious color landscape and nature photographer. Began with 35mm Kodachrome film SLRs in 1970s then, 6x7, then 4x5 film view cameras, and since 2013 digital. Have been creating large multi column row stitched and focus stacked blended pixel images for eventual public exhibition close immersive viewing on soon to be available large 8k UHD pc monitor color displays.

 

[Trish]

Black and White film or now digital properly printed at high resolutions and exquisitely framed make exceptional small to medium sized fine art hung on walls when viewed at close range.

For decades lurking in public shadows, have been a serious color landscape and nature photographer. Began with 35mm Kodachrome film SLRs in 1970s then, 6x7, then 4x5 film view cameras, and since 2013 digital. Have been creating large multi column row stitched and focus stacked blended pixel images for eventual public exhibition close immersive viewing on soon to be available large 8k UHD pc monitor color displays.

Wow! sounds serious stuff. Do you still use film or do you shoot entirely with digital?

 

[Magna-Carta]

If it's okay to jump in with a couple of questions:

1. Do you convert your colour images to b/w on your computer? I ask because I was talking to a guy recently who has set his camera to take only b/w images. I prefer to have a colour option and, if I want b/w convert it in an editing program.

2. Also do you take RAW images? I do if I am taking photos I intend to edit afterwards but, otherwise, JPEG is fine.

1, I did shoot in B&W for a short while, but then thought what’s the point. Then quickly went back to shooting in colour only, usually converting to B&W in Adobe Lightroom.

2, I shoot in RAW, mostly. One of my bodies has two slots, CF & SD. I have the body configured to save RAW to the CF, & a copy of the same image to the SD as JPEG.