Black and White, is it really necessary?

[Murph]

We see (with few exceptions) in color. A conversation with a fellow photographer started me thinking on this topic. Why shoot Black and White since we do not see in B&W? We see in color, cameras shoot in color, printers print in color. So, is B&W on the way out, or is it immortal due to things only it can show?

[venchka]

You are preaching to the choir Murph.

Poll question you forgot:
"My picture sucked in color so I converted it to black & white. What do you think of it?"

[midlight21]

B&W will never die. :) Not while I'm around. Love it!

[KJ Smith]

Well, it depends on your intention.

Are you trying to record the scene as it is?

Some of us would like to be able to interpret what we see.

For me, that means showing simple forms in simple images.

So I like to remove the distraction of color.

I once read a story about David Hume Kennerly.
G.Ford's official photographer. He refused to shoot color in Vietnam. He thought that the country was beautiful and that it would diminish the reality of the war.

Yes, B&W is necessary.

Sometimes it can show the reality of situations, other times it can show the simple beauty of form.

[KJ Smith]

Murph,

The question may be, is color necessary?

[dwilliams35]

That's one of the things I really enjoy about digital photography: I can make a choice to "shoot" something in B&W at any time in the process...

[Colyn]

I prefer b&w to color. The tonal range brings out more to the scene than color..

[jeffkohn]

Originally Posted by venchka

You are preaching to the choir Murph.

So you're saying B/W is unnecessary Wayne?

Murph you mention that we "see in color". But I don't think this means we should always photograph in color. On the contrary, that just means that B/W allows us to see things in a different way.

I'm finding myself preferring B/W to color more and more often. It's a form of abstraction, which gives you more creative room to interpret a scene or subject rather than just documenting it.

If you want to emphasize line, shape, texture and tone, color can end up just getting in the way. It can also prove distracting by adding contrast in areas you don't want.

B/W also allows you to de-emphasize the identity of objects, since our visual system makes heavy use of color information to recognize objects.

[janikphoto]

Originally Posted by Murph

We see (with few exceptions) in color. A conversation with a fellow photographer started me thinking on this topic. Why shoot Black and White since we do not see in B&W? We see in color, cameras shoot in color, printers print in color. So, is B&W on the way out, or is it immortal due to things only it can show?

This is just plain silly, or maybe absurd. Maybe both. If you pose this question, then you should also ask, "Why not only shoot 3D video, since it is the closest medium to how we see in real life?"

We don't see in still moments, so why carry a camera?!? And I perceive the world in three dimensions, but photos don't convey that very well. Time to toss my 5DmkII in the trash I guess.

Let me explain something about photography: First it is an art form. You will use certain techniques to emphasize things. Removing the color from an image will often help shift the focus away from an area you don't want the view to dwell on. You, as the artist, have artistic license to decide where, when and how the viewer digests the pieces of your image. Along with composition and depth of field, color (or lack of) will help guide this flow.

Also, people remember events in different ways. Some moments in time are razor sharp in my mind, but the colors aren't. It's like I have a b&w image stuck in my head to remember that moment. Other times, I don't recall the details so much as the colors and smells. It just depends on the memory I'm recalling, and some are stored differently than others. This variety of memories needs to be represented by a variety of mediums.

I think it is absurd to dismiss a useful tool that can help accurate represent what you are trying to share with your audience. It is one thing to be some pretentious high school art student who thinks all his images are better than Richard Avedon, just because the kid bought a Lieca and some T-Max film with his daddy's credit card. It's another story all together when you try to dismiss b&w all together.

[Murph]

I agree, I find for some subjects B&W just is the perfect and right way to go.

Originally Posted by jeffkohn

So you're saying B/W is unnecessary Wayne?

Murph you mention that we "see in color". But I don't think this means we should always photograph in color. On the contrary, that just means that B/W allows us to see things in a different way.

I'm finding myself preferring B/W to color more and more often. It's a form of abstraction, which gives you more creative room to interpret a scene or subject rather than just documenting it.

If you want to emphasize line, shape, texture and tone, color can end up just getting in the way. It can also prove distracting by adding contrast in areas you don't want.

It also allows you to de-emphasize the identity of objects, since our visual system makes heavy use of color information to recognize objects.

[babybluetx23]

i am a HUGE fan of lots of vibrant colors in my photos, thats the reason i love concert photography and night photography HOWEVER I LOVE black and white too! it can be VERY dramatic. i think it has its time and place and i dont think it is a dying breed by any means.

[wclavey]

Originally Posted by venchka

You are preaching to the choir Murph.

Poll question you forgot:
"My picture sucked in color so I converted it to black & white. What do you think of it?"

Wayne, I think you got the question wrong... in fact, is it usually an assertion: "My picture sucked in color so I converted it to black & white. Now I can call it art."

[venchka]

Ted Grant said it best. I am paraphrasing.

A portrait in color is a picture of a person's clothes.
A portrait in B&W is a picture of a person's soul.

The real quote:

TED GRANT
Canadian photographer
"When you photograph people in color, you are photographing their clothes. When you photograph them in B&W, you photograph their souls." - Ted Grant - a famous Canadian photographer as taken from the Sept 2002 Photographer's Forum magazine

Yes. We need B&W. Photography can and did exist without color.

[donlfaulkner]

I prefer color...I shoot everything in color...however...sometimes B&W works better so I convert in post processing. I don't yet know why it does but I'm still learning.

[donlfaulkner]

For example;

Color seemed to be distracting in this photo.