Black & white |
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 Hints and tips by Philip Grosset If you'd like to submit photos for criticism, click here. |
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| Which of the two versions below do you prefer? |
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We can take either take pictures in black & white, or take them in color, then, with the aid of a photo editing program, subsequently change them to black and white. But why might we want to do this? It is often said that b&w offers more artistic control over the final result as there are no distracting colors. It is easier to combine different forms of lighting too, as there is no problem about matching color balance between, say, daylight and fluorescent or tungsten lighting. |
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| B&w can be good for bringing out contrasting tones and patterns, as with these very old stones in Cornwall. Shapes become more dominant, as there is no color to divert the attention. |
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| B&w can be very effective at communicating mood, so snow scenes (and misty landscapes) can turn out well. This particular photo is improved by the inclusion of the dark coated figure which provides an effective contrast with all the white, as well as a sense of scale. | |||||||||||||||||||||
I took the above picture in color, then, as there was little colour in it, decided to convert it to b &w to produce a more dramatic result. |
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| The view of Venice that everyone takes! It looks all right in color but perhaps you could say it has more "atmosphere" in b&w. |
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Move on to the NIGHT SCENES page. |
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NEXT PAGE PICKING THE BEST VIEWPOINT |
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B&w can be good, too, for producing interesting silhouettes (as in this picture by Ariane Schrinel from 
If you'd like a really helpful book on black & white photography by a real enthusiast, I'd recommend 