Today, I’ve got a new Photo-Recipe for Black and White vs Color photography. If you want to go straight to the “shop talk” scroll down. Let’s start with a FAQ!
People often email me and ask how I decide whether a photo should stay color or be black and white. It’s such a great question. How do you decide? My answer has evolved over time.
The Beginning: When I first started portrait photography (basically bought my first DSLR and started taking photos for friends and family in Auto :)), I told everyone I was a “Sepia Specialist”. This was back in the day when we shot film. Sepia is similar to black and white but is more brown toned. I LOVED the look. It also made everyone and anyone look better than real life! And, since I was a “very green” beginner, I felt like Sepia helped me out (Big Time)! Also, I must add that my color photos were blah–nothing to write home about. So the “Sepia Specialist” was born and available for family photo shoots!
Somewhere in the Middle: During the third year of business, I set a new goal. (Rest assured, I was no longer in auto mode. :)) I wanted to improve my color photos. I felt frustrated with color. Since most of us see in color, how do you get an expression to pop like black and white or sepia images do? I dove in to this process so intensely that I think it’s still with me. I have come to LOVE color. Most my photos tend to be color these days vs. black and white (or Sepia!).
But when is black and white appropriate?
Nowadays: I love how black and white draws attention to the emotion or a single expression. Everything else in the world fades away, and all we see is that little guy’s eyes.
Do you think the expression is more powerful in black and white vs color?
There isn’t a right or wrong answer really. It seems like the decision is based on preference more than anything.
However, I do notice that when I’m working with newborns, I tend to stick with black and white images because it hides all their rashes and/or sudden skin blemishes. There is nothing worse than having a skin rash appear the “day” of your long awaited photo shoot, only to disappear by that evening. The option of black and white becomes the hero for all of us involved.
But back to you. How do you decide if a photo should be black and white vs color?
Photo-Recipe below!
xoxo,
m
Photo-Recipe for Hudson!
Hudson is a toddler, and if you’ve spent much time with toddlers, you know they are “on the move”. Finding something that grabs their attention, whether it’s a simple activity of letting them sip from Dad’s BIG glass (since that NEVER happens) or playing on the playground, will give you moments where the toddler becomes so focused on their activity that he stops and–wait–oh!–CLICK!–you get a precious picture! But to ensure this happens, you want to technically be ready too.
Point-and-Shoot Users: Since you don’t have as much flexibility with camera settings, make sure you have plenty of light. If your goal is to freeze the action, try setting your PS to the Running Man icon. Your camera will automatically pick a faster shutter speed for freezing action. But if you want a blurry background, you will want to choose the Lady’s Head icon. This will automatically soften your background…but your little one may not be as sharp. Upgrading at some point to a DSLR will give you the freedom to get both the blurred background and sharp action.
DSLR Users / My DSLR Settings:
ISO: 400 (I couldn’t get away with a lower ISO for two reasons. It was an overcast day, and Hudson was on the move. Since he was a fast mover, I needed to make sure my Shutter Speed was fast enough to freeze his action. The higher ISO gave me freedom to have a faster Shutter Speed.
Aperture: f/2.8 A low aperture/f-stop for those buttery, blurry backgrounds that I “oh-so-love!”
Shutter Speed: 1/800th of a sec (or displayed as 800). The fast Shutter Speed allowed me to catch this little guy when he paused.
Questions on the recipe or black and white vs color? Post em up, and we’ll chat in the comments!
I love this discussion of black and white versus color. (So glad that we don’t necessarily have to choose, with the low cost of print production and our digital “darkrooms!”)
But over time, after I got over the occasional “kicks” I would go on in Photoshop (B+W, sepia, vivid color, moody, muddy, dreamy color), I found that each photo really would reveal to me which treatment made it most emotionally powerful and effective.
One last note– considering the audience or recipient of your photos can help too. For example, my mom grew up with very few color photographs available, so color still feels most special and beautiful to her. I’ve learned to only give her pictures of her grandboys in color because that is what she will most appreciate, no matter if I’d produce the same shot in B+W for myself.
Me Ra, please know your blog has helped me so much, though I am commenting here for the first time. I’ve learned so much reading it, and mainly you have put me back in touch with the magic that made me fall in love with photography in the first place.
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I’ve been in a black and white mood lately For the holidays, my sister and I wanted to give my mom a framed portrait of the grandkids – my 2 girls and her 2 boys. Oh my goodness! We had the hardest time trying to get these 4 little ones to cooperate Out of all the shots I took, there wasn’t that one shot that we thought my mom would love. Not until she was at my home one day and she happened to mention how she LOVES black and white photography! Who knew!! I went back to some of the photos, converted some to black and white and our problem was solved! We had a shot that looked so much better in black and white, had it printed, framed it, gave it to her for the holidays and she LOVED it!!
I love how black and white can isolate an emotion or expression. These are my favorite types of black and white images. Lighting that expression or emotion well is definitely important, too!
I can definitely see as I look back through my photos that I too used to really rely heavily on Black and White as my “safe” option. When a photo didn’t turn out quite right or was a little blurry it was ok to make it B&W and then I could just claim I was being artistic. 🙂 I’ve noticed in the last 6 months as I’ve gotten more confident in my shooting that I’m actually presenting very few b/w images to my clients. It’s nice to be able to go back and choose the emotional shots that I really want to highlight a feature of.
And, I never got to post this the other day, but my word for the year is “Grow.” I want to grow technically, and grow my business, but I also want to grow and nourish all the little the seeds of excitement that this past year has sparked for me. XOXO – Kelly
hehemm…..
i’ve often wondered why sharon chooses certain images to be black and white. my job in our editing process is typically to help her narrow down a pile of WAY TO MANY images to give to the client. if she has made an image BW i will usually leave it because it means she saw something special in that one enough to do more then the standard image edits. does that make sense? so, i guess…for all you sometimes 2nd shooters, back up, support people in a photography biz….the moral of this story is to trust your lead photographer. 🙂 i bet that could be another blog post all together, huh?
Me Ra,
The way I decide if my personal photographs should be black and white or color depends on what was taking place when the photographer took that photograph. I love antiques and things that you can restore and they some how still seem so timeless. With that said all of my wedding photographs are in black and white and my family/engagement portraits were done in black and white as well. My son was 18 months old when we took the pictures and he was wearing the sweetest little john outfit. I love how the pictures of him look so timeless. I guess it really is about personal preference. Black and white images are still my favorite!
Desiree
p.s. I love the comment about SOAR! I cannot wait to see who wins!!!
I love black and white pics best because to me they seem moody and interesting 🙂
What can I say, I love the drama!
P.S. I LOVE LOVE LOVE your point and shoot tips – I often feel so inferior when I look at photo blogs because it’s all this techno stuff I don’t understand and can’t use and your blog has helped me rediscover my love of photography
i often go with the client personality. often times the client has a personal preference…sometimes they are ALL about one or the other style or want to achieve a certain look. if they don’t care, i have to go with my gut and if i like both i honestly will sometimes show them a sample of both and see what their reaction is! in this–i can market both because really they are both stunning, you know? 🙂 it really is simple to have “not too many” as long as you have different poses. just choose THE best of the best to show them of that solitary pose and if they ask for more..hey-they asked for it!! 😉 thanks MeRa. happy 2011, toots!
Wow–WONDERFUL thoughts!! I love how each of you is approaching the decision of black and white vs color from a totally different perspective. Missy, first, thanks so much for commenting!! Isn’t it silly that comments give so much to me? But they totally do. Your comments help me make sure I’m listening to all of you and continuing to empower. So thank you a TON! I also love what you said about the older generation appreciating color so much more. You are totally right, and I will be much more aware of that from now on!
Jeramy, thanks for putting in the view point of those who support the lead photographer. It could almost be another blog post!
Marcia, it’s so AWESOME to hear that the Point-and-Shoot Tips are giving to you!! Yeah! My heart is to empower your creative spirit, regardless of your camera model. Thank you for letting me know you are out there. That tells me there are more Point and Shoot readers who just haven’t commented yet! Yeah!
xoxo,
m
I specialize in color, “capturing childhood colorfully” is my slogan….with that being said, I will convert to B&W for a few reasons. 1) i love the shot but the colors, either on the subject and/or in the background compete w/ or distract from the image. 2) to unify the shoot. While doing a shoot at my daughter’s school (a surprise for the parents attending a fundraiser), I put the students in denim jackets & then converted to B&W. The individual images (all 150 of them) were displayed on a long wall as the parents entered. The cohesive result was breathe taking. 3) if I messed up the white balance so much that I can’t get it right in Photoshop 😉 Happy New Year, Mera! I have the feeling it is going to be awesome! K
Happy New Year Me Ra! Thank you for a beautiful post to start the year!!
Ok, here is my take on black and white. I love love love b & w. I love that it is timeless and that it hides distractions in a photo. And I love, as you mentioned in you post, how it isolates an expression or a moment. Depends on the picture, but I almost always like b & white better than color. I look at whether the color is a part of what makes the photo special. It has to be as much of the story as the setting or the subject. If it is amazing color that adds to the feel photo, then I go for color. Otherwise, I love those b&w’s!
As far as clients go, I give them both bw and color unless the photo doesn’t look good in one or the other.
My word for 2011 is “believe”. I want to believe in myself, to believe in my abilities and to believe that this is the path that is meant especially for me! Really to get to all the good things in life (love, faith, hope, God, peace, joy) you have to believe!!
Hugs to you!
I too love black-and-white. It really brings in the focus to the subject and less on colorful backgrounds. Plus, the seam timeless and are much more likely to be displayed in home. It’s heartbreaking though when the “client” asks if they can order the color version…
While I am only 45 years old, nowhere near being a grandmother yet and certainly not old enough to be the grandmother of any human who can read and write in complete sentences, I totally related to what Missy said.
Growing up we didn’t have color photos until we were in elementary school. When I look back at old photos it’s pretty obvious when my parents could afford them because they were not that much more expensive, I’m sure it had nothing to do with emotion of the photos. I also remember going from a small B&W TV to a color TV and it being such a HUGE deal. I was in high school.
So to me, I have the stereo-type in my head that B&W is somehow “less” because when we went to color film developing and when we went to a color TV we never went back. It’s just been a very eye opening observation to me because I’ve never been fond of B&W photography and have hardly ever even played with it in photoshop. I certainly have a new challenge now. Humm. I wonder if I can overcome this notion in my head and begin to fall in love with B&W?
Thanks for posting! I really enjoyed the report coach
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Question: What was the weather and lighting on the day of this photo?
I like both, but also struggle with getting color right.
What happens when you give a client a b/w version of a particular photo because, for one reason or another, the photo didn’t turn out as crisp and that helps to mask the imperfections … but now they are asking for the color version. What do you tell them?
I don’t want to say, “Well … the photo wasn’t that amazing, but it looked ok in b/w, so that’s what you got.”
She even asked if it could be color enhanced … 🙁
Please help!! 🙂