Nate Riggins
I've always turned the image to B&W in editing. I quit doing B&W images though after a few people (including my mom, lol) told me that they always prefer color.
Black and White Photography
Posted by Mark Thompson on the Big Photo Hunt community board.
I notice more and more uploads are black and white images.
A question for you.
Do you shoot a subject 1.) specifically for editing in black and white, 2.) shoot for colour and then later think that it may make a good black and white image or 3.) generally only turn to black and white when you cannot get the colours right?
In answer to my own question I would say that I always shoot in colour, using RAW to get the maximum available detail, but now know if I am intending to turn to b&w. Sometimes I will think an image I shot for colour might also work in b&w and occasionally will turn older colour images to b&w.
It would be interesting to find out what others think.
My Zebra image was always going to be a black and white image even though I shot it in colour
Replies
Ken Deckinger
Hey Mark - Great photo!
For me, when it comes to black and white photos, I shoot in color and then in editing turn them into black and white if I think it'll help the photo. I'm colorblind so I've really tried to understand black and white photography as an option for me. I've found (and learned) that black and white can be best for photos where taking away the color emphasizes the story - because for instance the color is distracting from it. Alternatively, color makes sense when it plays a role in telling the story.
And of course, it can be personal preference.
Coincidentally, I interviewed a photographer named Rebecca Kowalsky on the podcast about this issue. Some good nuggets there if you want to listen: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2178052/episodes/18678127 Maybe that could be helpful?
Dave Blanchard
I have only shot color in digital but every once in a while a photo just gas a look that I think would be cool in B&W. When I shot film I would shoot B&W from time to time. One of my best (imo) film shots was in B&W.
Mike Gunderloy
Usually I shoot in color and edit the RAW files. But...a week or two ago I went out for a day with an E-PM1 set to its "grainy film" mode which is pure B&W. Got some shots that I enjoyed that I probably wouldn't have taken otherwise - seeing things in B&W through the viewfinder was a different experience than shooting in color.
Nisah Cheatham
Yeah - that zebra image HAD to be in b&w! 💯
I'm always shooting in RAW color. Traditionally I wouldn't go b&w unless the color just wasn't working for me. Most of the time, in flat light or boring colors, or when the color is a distraction - I'll eventually come 'round to a b&w edit. But more recently, I've been trying to press that shutter with b&w in mind. I've had one recent case where I shot it planning for a B&W edit, but realized it worked better as color. It was the 1st time that happened.
Sarbajit Chakraborty
I always shoot in colour, and maybe turn things b&w afterwards (if I think it might work). For me, if I shoot in black and white, I always seem to struggle with imagining how the picture would look in colour. So doing that makes it difficult for me to change in post prod, even with RAW images.
Ralph Berrett
I have been shooting B&W for many years, starting in the 80s. So I tend to see images as B&W. I do shoot in color, but I already know if the image will be processed in B&W or color. I have really B&W for street photography because it has a timeless feel. Now, if it is for a client, it depends on their needs. I don't turn an image into B&W for image triage. Just my personal rule.
Matt Harvey
I always shoot in color, but almost every photo I switch to monochrome when editing to see if it has better potential as B&W. That said, some photos I just know are going to look better in B&W rather than color when I shoot them.
Josh Hoffman
I personally always shoot in color and then in post-processing will decide if the image is stronger as a Black and White image in my style or color. Although I will say in general, a lot of my photos, I really feel I prefer Black and White for my own images. There are definitely times, like when out shooting today, where I'll see the vision for the photo and know it will be stronger as a Black and White image than color, even before it gets into the post-processing process. So, I would say a lot of them I don't, but there are definitely ones where I have the intention of turning them to Black & White even before I get into editing them.
Amy Kauffman
I think it depends on the photo and at the time that I'm taking photos. I have saved some photos by turning them black and white, saw some later that looked better in black and white, and have shot some scenes specifically for black and white. I have not taken photos on digital only in black and white. Maybe some test photos at home, but not out for a photo shooting day. I'm too scared I'll miss something colorful and beautiful, so I stay safe in color.
Tony Kelts
Some good monochromes started as color photos. Sometimes I set the camera for RAW + mono jpg and it ends up being a color photo.
Lee Churchill
I normally shoot with Black and white in mind, I shoot in Raw so the images are colour initially but I can envisage what it’s roughly going to look like. There are times I will shoot for a colour in the the image but it will some times work better as a black and white if I find that the colour doesn’t have context or intention with in that shot when I process the image. Hope that makes some resemblance of sense lol lol
Ian Hops
i find most of my Architecture Photography just calls out to be Black and White, but mainly when i'm editing i like to see wether the shot looks better b and w i love the contrast really, i find myself drawn to Black and White lately i find it very Tranquil
Andrew Bailey
I often shoot in black and white, knowing that my camera will record the color. Then I'll bring some of it in, by degree, to see if it adds or distracts from the subject. I'm more interested in the light/shadow relation. The stronger the contrast there, the more inclined I find that I am to leave color out of it, though not always, of course. I don't have a hard rule for anything, beyond trying to capture the feeling a subject gives me. That's my story.
Mark Gladding
I shoot a lot of b&w with the film cameras. Trying to learn to see in mono. That said, for digital, I just shoot color and convert in post. These days I do look at the colors in some scenes before I shoot. Certain colors together bring a good look in b&w, so I try to anticipate what might make for a good conversion.
Will Pratney
I shot on and developed b&w film in the '90s. Now that I'm shooting digital, on a Fujifilm camera where baked-in JPEG and HEIF customized digital film "recipes" are super easy to create in-camera, as long as I get my exposure and settings right in frame prior to clicking the shutter, I don't even NEED to do any editing in post! I just create the "recipe" I want, select it in-camera, start shooting and voila! Gorgeous JPEGs or HEIFs straight out of camera. So for me, I usually make the choice up front now to shoot in either color or b&w. Only if I originally shot in color and later wanted to experiment with the image in b&w, or (as you said) couldn't get the colors right would I look to decolorizing the image or turning it to sepia. I find that when shooting in JPEG (only), choosing a specific b&w setting UP FRONT usually renders a FAR MORE pleasing b&w image than shooting in color and later decolorizing it in post. Of course, RAW image shooting and editing is another animal. If I wasn't using a Fujifilm camera, I'm sure I'd be playing around A LOT more with raw image editing. At this point though, I seem to be on a personal quest to find the perfect in-camera settings for shooting in b&w and in color - perfect, that is, for my purposes. If I could have just one ultimate color setting (with white balance and exposure always adjustable), and one ultimate b&w setting (with exposure always adjustable), I think I would be happy to stick with those and get on with simply shooting and documenting life!
Kristian Pal
Since I shoot RAW, I always have both options. When it comes to intention, I'd say it is 10:80:10.
10 % are shot with B&W clearly in mind.
80 % are images where I consider B&W as an option in editing, similar to choosing a preset.
10 % are photos where the colors are just bad, and B&W saves the image.
But in general, most of my photos are in color, although, now that I'm thinking about it, many of my favorites are B&W. Maybe I should consider B&W more often.
Hayley Flint-ahern
I usually shoot everything raw and get creative on the editing process but sometimes I will see a shot and I’ll know it needs to be black and white. Maybe I’ll experiment shooting in black and white now though as that might be interesting.
My best example is this old barn window that was old and weathered with no light inside and cobwebs hanging all over. Black and white was the only option. I entered it a while back now.
Mark Thompson
Thanks Ken
Nisah Cheatham
@[Ken Deckinger](c3048578-7544-410e-a042-d00e6ec6333e) Great thoughts, Ken! Its about the story for me. Have you ever done any selective color editing?
Ken Deckinger
@[Nisah Cheatham](cf53a09d-1eb6-45e0-b529-06e3bf21aaf4) not really. I have a hard time getting too selective because of my colorblindness. It's hard for me to get into that without causing more problems than it's worth. 😂
Nisah Cheatham
@[Tony Kelts](05e3dfe8-455d-4b9a-a08d-8a6b97e33ed4) That's an interesting combo. 🤔 I don't like all of the extra files from shooting RAW + jpg, but this intrigues me enough to give it a go!
Nisah Cheatham
@[Ken Deckinger](c3048578-7544-410e-a042-d00e6ec6333e) Makes sense. I've toyed with it when the scene had a very limited pallette to start.
Tony Kelts
@[Nisah Cheatham](cf53a09d-1eb6-45e0-b529-06e3bf21aaf4) I have plenty of storage for the files. I trust my camera half the time to make a good jpg but I can only trust me to make a better jpg.
Nisah Cheatham
@[Will Pratney](403c4019-f334-4e7b-8a59-eac48a4324bc) 👏👏
Josh Hoffman
@[Mike Gunderloy](65b6b973-f22d-4907-add6-f0148bb9ddc7) I'm interested, in how you felt the experience was different? I know in general, black and white usually allows us to naturally focus more on the details, lighting and shadows, and shapes in an image instead of how colors interact with each other. I'm interested in how the experience went in more detail.
Josh Hoffman
@[Nate Riggins](9b83f1a3-a802-40bd-b214-d2f84c0bdb22) Yeah, I feel a lot of people who aren't Photographers do in general, prefer color photos over black and white images. While I think a lot of Photographers and probably other artists like Painters can appreciate the art of Black & White photographs.