When To Use Black And White

In article <ZsednW1nRJb6SEHZRVny2Q.RemoveThis@pipex.net>, "Joe" <me.RemoveThis@privacy.net>
wrote:

> Some photos look better in black and white than they do in colour, however I
> am yet to understand why.
>
> Does anyone know of a way of judging which photos would look better in black
> and white, without converting the photo and seeing the results?
>
> Strange request, I know.

There's no formula. Whatever looks best to you is what you should do.
 >> Stay informed about: When To Use Black And White 

"Joe" <me.DeleteThis@privacy.net> wrote in message
news:ZsednW1nRJb6SEHZRVny2Q@pipex.net...
> Some photos look better in black and white than they do in colour, however
> I am yet to understand why.
>
> Does anyone know of a way of judging which photos would look better in
> black and white, without converting the photo and seeing the results?

There are gimmicks. Surf for the "PEAK Mono-Tone Viewer", or "ZONE VI
VIEWING FILTER".

However, after you've shot (or converted) to B&W you find it easier to
previsualize in your head - except for certain adjacent colors that are
impossible for humans to see properly.

With Digital and a program that can modify individual R,G,B layers, you can
put curves against separate channels for interesting control.
 >> Stay informed about: When To Use Black And White 

Joe bedacht in news:ZsednW1nRJb6SEHZRVny2Q@pipex.net:

> Some photos look better in black and white than they do in colour,
> however I am yet to understand why.
>
> Does anyone know of a way of judging which photos would look better in
> black and white, without converting the photo and seeing the results?
>
> Strange request, I know.
>
>

Squint. It sounds crazy, I know. But reducing the amount of light that
reaches your eyes really helps you to 'look' in black and white. It
probably has something to do with the way the retina is layered (the 'rods
and cones').

JL
 >> Stay informed about: When To Use Black And White 

On Fri, 11 Aug 2006 20:09:06 +0100, Joe wrote:

> Some photos look better in black and white than they do in colour, however I
> am yet to understand why.
>
> Does anyone know of a way of judging which photos would look better in black
> and white, without converting the photo and seeing the results?

I'd think that you'd need to have the ability to visualize. It's
a talent used (and needed) by film directors, music composers, etc.
A director that had to create a color version and a B&W version and
then choose the better one wouldn't get far. Blindly following a
formula wouldn't work much better. They have to have an initial
concept, and visualize in their mind's eye the best way to implement
it. Same thing with composers. Great ones visualize (hear) the
sound of their work before writing the first note. Bad ones might
take a score and try to improve it by applying a mechanical or
mathematical formula. That's frequently been done with "electronic"
music, and it rarely succeeds. Reading a book on photographic
composition would probably help a bit, as would practice. This
would help you to "understand why" some photos look better in black
and white than in color. But for it to help a *lot*, enough to
allow you to produce great B&W photos, we get back to needing the
more important ability to visualize what the images will look like
before they're made. Some can, many can't.
 >> Stay informed about: When To Use Black And White 

Joe wrote:
> Some photos look better in black and white than they do in colour, however I
> am yet to understand why.
>
> Does anyone know of a way of judging which photos would look better in black
> and white, without converting the photo and seeing the results?
>
> Strange request, I know.

My own personal feeling is that color images should be "about color".
This is determined before releasing the shutter. Careful selection and
analysis of subject matter play a part in your decision. Sometimes
color gets in the way making B&W the obvious choice. Sometimes the
subject matter makes the choice for you - colorful kites against a deep
blue sky, etc.
Personally, I think it's a good habit, and good discipline, to see your
shot - color or B&W - before you actually shoot it. It's amazing,
sometimes, when we look through our old color images to discover they
would have been just as effective, or moreso, in b&w.
 >> Stay informed about: When To Use Black And White 

On Fri, 11 Aug 2006 20:09:06 +0100, Joe wrote:

> Some photos look better in black and white than they do in colour, however I
> am yet to understand why.
>
> Does anyone know of a way of judging which photos would look better in black
> and white, without converting the photo and seeing the results?
>
> Strange request, I know.

My rule of thumb is this:

If color is a significant part of the message you're trying to convey, then
use color.

If not -- especially if the image is highly monochromatic and/or the
message is built on strong patterns, textures, shapes or lines -- the
subject is a good candidate for B/W.

Pete
 >> Stay informed about: When To Use Black And White 

Joe wrote:
>
> Some photos look better in black and white than they do in colour, however I
> am yet to understand why.
>
> Does anyone know of a way of judging which photos would look better in black
> and white, without converting the photo and seeing the results?
>
> Strange request, I know.

I don't know how... converting on a pc takes seconds if you just want
to compare the two. As we're talking of digital photography there's no
scanning to do, just click and hmmmm. Of course to do it correctly can
take time but a quick comparison is almost instant.
--
Paul (Neurotic to the bone No doubt about it)
------------------------------------------------------
Stop and Look
http://www.geocities.com/dreamst8me/
 >> Stay informed about: When To Use Black And White 

if you ask me, b/w is always the way to go unless the shot is color
specific

b/w gives you better value scaling, if for no other reason than color
tends to get in the way of seeing values well. so with a full range of
b/w values, your shapes and forms are better resolved....and great b/w
range(like ansel adams) gives you good "color". i don't know how the
photography world describes it, but in the art world, "color" in b/w is
fully realized values that enhance each other because they add relative
richness and breadth.

psychologically, imo, and who knows maybe even physiologically, my mind
starts to create color within a well articulated b/w. it has a lot to
do with the juxtoposition of good value as well.

to put it another way,,,"color tells you the whole story, while b/w
gives you room to be creative"
 >> Stay informed about: When To Use Black And White 

squinting simplifies value. GOOD artists do this all the time to get a
better grasp of value. simplified values make a better read and reduces
BOTH color and value nuances that the retina articulates sometimes TOO
well.
 >> Stay informed about: When To Use Black And White 

Justus Lipsius wrote:

> Joe bedacht in news:ZsednW1nRJb6SEHZRVny2Q@pipex.net:
>
>> Some photos look better in black and white than they do in colour,
>> however I am yet to understand why.
>>
>> Does anyone know of a way of judging which photos would look better in
>> black and white, without converting the photo and seeing the results?
>>
>> Strange request, I know.
>>
>>
>
> Squint. It sounds crazy, I know. But reducing the amount of light that
> reaches your eyes really helps you to 'look' in black and white.


Also looking through a dark red filter helps..
--

Stacey
 >> Stay informed about: When To Use Black And White 

Joe wrote:
> Some photos look better in black and white than they do in colour, however I
> am yet to understand why.
>
> Does anyone know of a way of judging which photos would look better in black
> and white, without converting the photo and seeing the results?
>
> Strange request, I know.
>
>
There are no absolute answers to this question. It is a
matter of taste and preferences, i.e., art.
 >> Stay informed about: When To Use Black And White 

Joe wrote:
> Some photos look better in black and white than they do in colour, however I
> am yet to understand why.
>
> Does anyone know of a way of judging which photos would look better in black
> and white, without converting the photo and seeing the results?
>
> Strange request, I know.
>
>
Personally, I can't think of any subject that can't work in B&W. I have
some gorgeous B&W sunsets and some gorgeous B&W flower shots. Both are
subjects that would typically be thought of as prime candidates for
colour. Shooting them in B&W though takes away the colours and so you
see the shot differently. A sunset where previously you would see all
the bright colours becomes an experience of things like cloud patterns,
the ground silhouette, the subtle reflections in water etc. You have
probably seen many thousands of beautiful sunsets, with almost every
conceivable shade of blue/red/orange, but you have never seen one in
shades of grey. A flower ceases being a mass of bright colours, and
becomes an image of patterns, veins, fine hairs, shadows and highlights.
Another very good time to use B&W over colour is portraits of people
with problem skin. Ruddy skin tones, blemishes etc disappear to become
nice shades of grey adding texture to the image.
Just remember that shooting in B&W will see the world differently, so
you will have to adjust some of your thinking to compensate. Sometimes
that will also mean different compositions too.
I think the best B&W's are the ones that were intended to be B&W before
shooting, rather than converting a bunch of colour shots to B&W to see
which ones worked. To do this, I prefer to shoot B&W film, and use a
colour filter over the lens - this helps me to "see" the composition
better, by seeing the resulting contrast. I prefer doing this over
shooting in colour and converting. If you are using digital, and your
camera doesn't allow you to shoot in B&W, I'd still suggest using colour
filters, and manually set the white balance. Yes I know that by doing
this will ruin the "colour" part of your colour photo, and mean that the
photo will never be anything other than B&W, but it will help you see
your images in B&W better before shooting.
Of course, the above is based on the premise that you are shooting with
the intention of a B&W image, which as I said IMO creates the best B&W
shots. If OTOH your plan is to shoot colour and then see if some work in
B&W, then dispense with the colour filters, and play with photoshop's
channel mixer. With correct use of channel mixer you can adjust contrast
optimally for each photo.
 >> Stay informed about: When To Use Black And White