A Photographer's Dilemma - Black and White, or Colour?

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5 ай бұрын

This question more than any other in photography, is the most frustraiting, both to hear and to ask.
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@gordbarker1501 5 ай бұрын

"Ansel Adams didn't make his images by committee." LOVE IT! Best photography statement I've heard in a long time!

@californiahiker9616 5 ай бұрын

I miss Ansel! Been to his gallery in Yosemite many times. I have 3 Ansel Adam photographs and 2 posters in my house. Devine!

@takaharu 5 ай бұрын

I appreciate the message behind this. An artist drawing a picture would've been a good analogy too - after an artists draws a picture and colours it in in with colouring pencils you wouldn't typically expect them to ask "should I have done this in charcoal?"

@parsahsn5219 5 ай бұрын

Honestly, I personally tend to keep both versions if I truly can't choose between either. This might be a hot take, but, I think many photos actually have the capacity to look beautiful & meaningful in more ways than one, and i think photographers shouldn't be pressure into this idea that they can have ONLY 1 output of the image. My suggestion, if you have the space for it, keep both (or even all) versions that look beautiful to your eyes. Be it different colour-grading, B&W, different cropping etc. Of course, that isn't to say keep 50 variations of every single photo you capture, but still I find it to be kind of liberating to keep multiple versions rather than dealing with the mental battle of which one is better. So long as I don't go overboard with it, it's worked for me. Hopefully this works for you too!

@Sven-R 5 ай бұрын

Agreed. Ansel Adams developed the same image completely differently over the years. There is not just one single version of the truth.

@Anon54387 5 ай бұрын

Indeed. In the end, this is an artistic pursuit and there is no one correct answer. And storage is so cheap these days, I just bought a 4 terabyte auxiliary drive for $100. I've about 9,000 images (double copies of each, one high quality jpg and the raw file) and it is only 12% full. $100 to store 36,000 images isn't bad. And, just to make sure I don't lose any images, I keep the original SD cards as I fill them up plus having a back up drive. Still, it is pretty cheap storage on the whole. Better than what are essentially mini-computers that cost thousands that constantly monitor the hard drives and then back stuff up if a hard drive starts to fail. Better to have an auxiliary drive that one just doesn't keep plugged in. It is easy to be overwhelmed judging which photo is better. It's like if one makes 10 different versions of a chocolate chip cookie and they all start to taste the same after a while.

@simonbnyc 5 ай бұрын

I've never found whether to shoot in black & white or color to be a dilemma. I've already made that decision well before I've put the camera to my eye. If the scene I'm looking at is mostly about color, where color is the central focus and essence of what I see, then I shoot in color. If that's not the case, then I shoot in black & white as color is no longer what the picture is about. I've never been in a position where I've found it difficult to choose as it's quite cut and dry. I've certainly never shot something in color and wondered what it would look like in black & white or vice versa.

@trevorbrooks813 5 ай бұрын

I'll second that, the scene always tells you.

@rounakbaheti7091 Ай бұрын

but how do you run an instagram photography account with that? like would it not be unorganized if i keep posting both b&w and color?

@michaelbolte3411 5 ай бұрын

That depends on what I want to say with the photo. This question has almost never tormented me, and I am even more surprised at photographers who show a color variant and a monochrome one at the same time on Instagram.

@sandr6769 5 ай бұрын

You're right, back in the day once you put the film into the camera, you had to stick with it, there was no wondering color vs b&w. that's why we should make a decision before the shot, what do you want to achieve - do you want to look for vibrance (color) or contrast (b&w). TBH I had a phase for b&w photos, they have certain depth, but after a while I decided that the vibrant colours are too important to me to just toss them away. it is a decision we have to make ourselves.

@MattWiener 5 ай бұрын

I completely agree with you the choice is personal. At some level I think looking for acceptance from the masses is just part of the world we're living in. I have often wondered what it would be like to own a camera with a monochrome sensor as the pictures seem to have more contrast then taking them in color and converting them to monochrome in Lightroom.

@finesse49 5 ай бұрын

I was fortunate to have started photography when I couldn't afford colour film and developed and printed everything myself. With photons and electrons more or less free, and my main subjects needing colour, I primararily shoot that. If a subject benefits more from B&W, that's how it ends up.

@VHangout 5 ай бұрын

I miss the TriX400 days in the darkroom. It was such a charge when the roll was finally done and the magic could happen.

@Anon54387 5 ай бұрын

That, I think, is the correct way to look at it. A scene that works in black and white is a great thing to look at, but only if it really works in black and white. For the most part I think we should work in color, black and white can too easily become a crutch, a lazy fall back. Black and white is like a spice that can be easily overdone IMO.

@bettinabauch6688 5 ай бұрын

Thanks Alex for the comprehensive examples with colour and b+w next to each other. For me, I almost always opted for b+w 😊 I‘ve read an advice in a photo tutorial which put into clear words what I I only felt dimly before: If colour doesn‘t add anything to the picture it has to go. This is how I treat my photos ever since.

@Call_Me_Mom 5 ай бұрын

Lol! I have done that. Feedback is a gift. Sometimes it's new underwear and sometimes it's fine jewelry. ;)

@EmilioGarcia-di7tj 4 ай бұрын

Always a tough call, but nature scenes look so fresh in color.

@kevinhanley3023 5 ай бұрын

It’s OK, your firmness of conviction tells me to listen closer. That is just what happens sometimes when a human is passionate.

@pedroagonzalezfoto 5 ай бұрын

In my opinion, there are photos which only work in B&W, because colour distracts the eye from the essence of the image (that happens very often with portraits, i.e.). There are also photos which do only work in colour, because colour is in the essence of the image. But there are also photos which work in both B&W and colour. And, of course, there millions of photos which don't work at all, no matter if they are B&W or colour. In consequence, There are photos which I take having in mind that they are to be "translated" into B&W (as said, most portraits, but also must of my jazz gigs photos), other ones that I know that will only work in colour (i.e. those where there are different sources of light with different colours, or portraits where colour of the dressing of the person portrayed or of the background are relevant), and finally there are photos that I take and which afterwards, during processing, I explore both in colour and B&W. Several years ago I attended a workshop, taught by a well known Spanish photographer, where he said that a good photographer should only shoot colour or B&W. I think that's a complete nonsense.

@LambertFick 5 ай бұрын

So there I was, talking photography with persons that had the support, and was fortunate enough to have a varsity degree in photography. Then for a while I just listened, regarding this discussion. Then she dropped these words, " well the bad "bad" photograph, just turn it into a Black & White image". I remained silent, thinking that you might have your university degree in photography, but actually you failed horribly.

@monnagin5040 5 ай бұрын

Thanks a lot for this video and the knowledge and values you transmit through your videos. I think it is really precious for my generation (Y-Z). As I started photographying on film, I decided to use only with black and white film and I'll continue to do so. This exercice is really relevant now we have a huge amount of parameteres available on our cameras.

@darylneumann8636 5 ай бұрын

Another great submission . So true.

@brianm.9062 5 ай бұрын

until the force you is with, the world is colour, black and white is when the world has been seen. neat vid. love it.

@vinylisland6386 5 ай бұрын

You might be amused by a bit of dialogue between myself and Joel Meyerowitz at Paris Photo last November. I saw his new Leica and asked him if it was a colour M11 or a Monochrom. He asked me what mine was. A monochrom, was the answer. "Why would you want a black and white camera in a colourful world?" he said, with an impish smile.

@miketrebert7788 5 ай бұрын

I dream of a Leica Monochrome. To paraphrase Magritte: "This is not a _____, this is a photograph of a _____." A photograph is a magical artifact, an image of a selected fragment of the seen experience chosen from an infinite number of moments. B+W is beautifully removed from "reality", a rejection of the folly of a ridiculous attempt to trap and imprison "reality".

@photografiq_presents 5 ай бұрын

I've never given people the credit of believing they're being indecisive. It's purely being driven by "content creators" craving interaction in my mind and doesn't warrant a comment, a like or any other possible reaction. May their channels and profiles sink back into the depths of mediocrity

@Cloudtop_city 5 ай бұрын

Great video as always.Very thought provoking

@Kevb69 5 ай бұрын

The only comment about black and white or colour has came from my 81 year old Father In Law who surprisingly to me, told me that he liked my images but said that he preferred colour as in his opinion black and white was terrible and old fashioned. I continue to shoot black and white and have never tried to see in either format. Grateful that I own cameras that I have the choice and would have no issue with a monochrome sensor if I didn’t have to pay a premium for it

@footrotdog 5 ай бұрын

When someone asks me 'Which is better, colour or B&W?" I just ask them 'Better for what?'

@L.Spencer 5 ай бұрын

I think it's only frustrating if they expect one of the two to be the best. I don't see it that way, I think both are good in different ways, usually. I love that we can see different things in the same photos by being able to switch photos between bw and color.

@JohnDrummondPhoto 5 ай бұрын

I've been about color my whole life, except for the last two years. That's when I've discovered that some images that don't work at all in color look great in B&W. Now, I increasingly find myself thinking ahead of the shot, "color, or black and white?" I guess that means I'm growing. FWIW I favor the monochrome versions of almost all the shots you showed of your own work, except for the last one with the sword plant.

@ericmanten7239 5 ай бұрын

Bravo!!!

@RogerHyam 5 ай бұрын

I enjoy shooting and printing with black and white film. When I make colour pictures with my digital camera I feel a bit sick. Also: good colour images are almost always made up of a very limited colour palette (see the examples you showed) otherwise they really are vulgar! 😊

@Anon54387 5 ай бұрын

I hear someone use the term vulgar and alarm bells go off. Using the term vulgar sounds very snobby.

@curiousabout1 5 ай бұрын

@@Anon54387 Also, vulgar may very well be the point lol.

@jonjanson8021 5 ай бұрын

I make the decision by buying black and white film . From then on I'm locked into pre-visualising in black and white, no choice. For me, film makes for better black and white photography. It's psychology, nothing to do with technical stuff.

@sarahthomson8183 5 ай бұрын

This was so confusing when I first began photography. I finally learned that if the color wasn't adding anything, or was unremarkable, then black and white might be that answer.

@f__e__e__l__e__e__p 5 ай бұрын

And there is nothing wrong both with the intent as well as discovering things in post 👍♥️

@gregh2322 5 ай бұрын

The black-and-white versions fit the way you're seeing. Nice images.

@donaldgibson1642 5 ай бұрын

Thank you...

@mikewilloughby4164 5 ай бұрын

Most annoying when you get all the B&W setting for what you want to shoot, take a nice shot, get it back to the computer and, as you shot in RAW, the software sets it back to colour, so you need to faff with it all over again…

@JimiJames 5 ай бұрын

I could write ten paragraphs. In fact I have. But I deleted them. Great video. Commenting here for engagement to drive traffic, I love your videos.

@ThePhotographicEye 5 ай бұрын

Thanks for sharing!

@Bethos1247-Arne 4 ай бұрын

the main message from this talk is true. The photographer should know if black and white or color. Even before he released the shutter. This is why photographers are photographers.

@theraven6836 5 ай бұрын

The answer is almost always B&W, which is why I use a Leica Monochrom.

@65WZ 5 ай бұрын

I shoot RAW and LOVE color. However, I convert to Black & White as a method to save a photo in post. This happens in two cases: 1. When the tones are bland, and very close to each other. Black & White allows me to visually separate them & add contrast. 2. When I use a weak camera to capture a scene with high dynamic range, and forget to do bracketing. This produces color banding, which can be reduced in Black & White.

@johnmitchell6919 5 ай бұрын

Hi Alex. This got me thinking - as you tend to do. I took up photography again about 3 years ago after a 30+ year break (kids cost a lot). I went with a mirror less camera. I have been so excited by the experience. Initially I only did colour. Occasionally if something didn't work, I'd try the switch to BW and on a rare occasion, liked it better. After a while, I started trying out the BW setting on the camera so I saw the scene as it would be. I fell back to in love its BW and now often shoot with the ntent you speak of. I now look at a scene and make the decision then - colour or BW. Sometimes I get it wrong and do the conversion in either direction. Hence, I do support your thesis most of the time. I do, however, have one particular image on which I've never been able to decide. It looks great in both. But the thing is, it is not so much a matter of colour vs BW but that they seem like totally different images! Maybe it is just me but removing/adding colour can drastically alter ones perception/mood/reaction - not in a negative way, but different. Does that make any sense?

@RadioJonophone 5 ай бұрын

Growing up in the 50s my sole photography medium was silver bromide black and white. I formed a sense of light and shadows. I saw from early orthographic film that reds came out black and blues soon became white. I used panchromatic film that was supposed to render all colours equally and I learned to see the world like that when composing shots. In the late 1960s I tried out the available colour print films with their tendency to be over saturated and make the reds pop. When I entered the movie scene as an employee at Rank, I saw processing as a fine art. Colour lighting, film emulsion, and processing are integrated to a whole concept. The digital capture method, with its ability to produce raw images and myriad opportunites for post-production is now available to the amateur (me) way beyond what could have been dreamed of in the 60s with film. I still go out with an Olympus or Pentax film camera loaded with HP4 or Rolei Retro, then develop the pictures with Microphen or Rodinal. I am still able to see the chiaroscuro in the world and render it in fim and paper. I agree with you, the intention is there before you even pick up the camera.

@RafaelOrtizPhotography 5 ай бұрын

The Most Frustrating Question In Photography... what do you wanna shoot?

@davidburchettephotography6513 5 ай бұрын

I would never shut the door on either one.

@seaeagles6025 5 ай бұрын

Hi Alex, I enjoyed this topic very much, I shoot mainly in colour but sometimes I shoot in Black and White. When photographing Steam Trains I shoot Black and White because I know it suits the occasion. Also I like shooting Black and White on a rainy day. Great point you made Alex when you said, making a choice before you photograph whether it's going to be Black or White. Thanks for this video. 😊

@ThePhotographicEye 5 ай бұрын

Thanks for watching

@seaeagles6025 5 ай бұрын

@@ThePhotographicEye Your very welcome Alex 🙂

@user-nf1vu8wf1q 4 ай бұрын

Nice vid, gotta love the old skool look sometimez!

@jasonphilbrook4332 5 ай бұрын

Preach it!

@allangault9500 5 ай бұрын

I find many don't want to practice and make work that is not perfect. I myself learn by mistakes or trial and error. Thanks for making this video-an artist vs an Instagram like. I prefer the artist every time. Recently a popular KZfaqr posted a first shot on the roll photo and is practically being paraded. Why? It is half an image.

@Sven-R 5 ай бұрын

I'm one of those poeple. One of those who always shot colour images and now do more in black and white. And yes, I also look at images I originally didn't even think about in black and white and develop them in black and white later. I'm not doing it because I think it's more "artsy". I'm looking at images and try to find out what they look like in black and white and if they look better, I ask myself why this is the case. I learned quite a lot with this, although I'm still at the beginning. I learn about the light and shadow contrast, I learn about forms, shapes, textures. I have started now deciding whether I photograph something in colour or black and white with intent. My next goal, if you will, is to photograph sessions in black and white only and look for subjects, compositions, light, shadow etc. which fit. In an age where we have the choice of manipulating the images later the learning process might differ. Maybe it's still like that in photo schools, that people are asked to shoot in black and white only in the beginning, but for the average user black and white is a secision they don't need to take in advance these days. It's not better or worse, it's just different.

@MontanaJim 5 ай бұрын

Great video. I agree with you 100%. I go back and forth between color and BW. I will look at a shot and know I want to shoot it in BW. I revisited Bannack about two years ago. My self challenge was to photograph it differently than my previous visit. I made the choice to use BW and you then look at the shots totally different. Your advice is right on - learn to see in both formats. You know you get this same debate about cropping or not to crop. You could take color and BW and replace it with cropping or not cropping. I think that debate is completely meritless. Why, when I shoot landscapes, I often see it as a 1 x 2 ratio. They don't make camera sensors in that ratio. So I take the picture with the intent to crop. You are absolutely right. You frame the picture in your mind and you make the creative choices to match that picture. EXCELLENT VIDEO!!! 👍👍

@ThePhotographicEye 5 ай бұрын

Thank you

@matt_phistopheles 5 ай бұрын

That is one reasons why I love to shoot film on old cameras. I decide once which film to use and then I have to live with this decision until the end of the roll. This results in one option less when taking pictures and it this is really freeing, Do I miss some shots? Sure, but this doesn't outweigh the amount of keepers I get because I made the decision up front.

@Anon54387 5 ай бұрын

Take two cameras, one loaded color and the other black and white. That way you can take the scenes that are suited to color in color and the scenes suited to black and white in black and white and not miss any shots.

@ERIKDANIEL-ov6nj 4 ай бұрын

Lighting tips on fleek, u got me seein shadows in a whole new way dawg.

@goldeneaglejk2678 5 ай бұрын

When I took my first photo class at University in the early 1990’s we shot Black and White on film. This was great for me as I was working part time at a publishers and had access to a seldom used professional black and white darkroom as the magazine was mostly color. I started out with a Nikon FM and shot mostly Kodak Tri-X or T-Max. It’s was hard at first trying to see the world in B/W. Now I shoot digital but like you said I make the choice before I push the button B/W or color.

@f__e__e__l__e__e__p 5 ай бұрын

The question is just fine, it should be perhaps refrased to ' do you like the color or bnw? Which version speaks more to you?

@bartoszpajak2285 5 ай бұрын

I shoot colour digital and b/w on film, since I enjoy the process of developing film and darkroom printing. However, during the rare occasions, when I decide to shoot b/w on my digital camera are the ones where I find that the image will work better in b/w before taking the shot. I think that’s essential.

@AliasJimWirth 5 ай бұрын

The biggest issue is, self confidence. Few people have it really.

@davidskinner274 5 ай бұрын

Well explained,, Alex. When I first started, advice I was given for b&w, take the image in colour and use pp to turn it into b&W. over time and experience I have come to the same conclusion that you aspire to in this video. Far better advice, as that is my approach these days.

@tedbrown7908 5 ай бұрын

I shoot RAW which means always in color. Then I can convert it to B&W, that means I get to keep two files of the same photo.

@rcannonp 5 ай бұрын

In the first photo class that I took, the teacher told us that unless color was the subject, we should shoot in B+W. This was back in the film days when you had to choose at the start of a roll. These days I would say that if you can't tell that color is the subject, make it B+W.

@canturgan 5 ай бұрын

Joel Meyerovitz is exhibiting now at Tate Modern. He has colour and black and white versions of the same picture and it looks like crap.

@tomfenn7149 5 ай бұрын

I started off in B&W (1982) for one reason and one reason alone, money. B&W was cheaper. You also had a higher chance of studying photography locally as everything was shot in B&W and darkroom practice too, taught in B&W. And the one reason for this? Money. I think working in B&W today, in digital, is only done for one reason, nostalgia. Personally I love both, but I prefer images that aren't a fine grain reproduction of exactly what I photographed. I want my images to look as if I am from outer space, and I've just come across this green/blue planet and I'm looking at earth from a different pair of eyes.

@dailyphotovlogs 5 ай бұрын

I never asked which is "better," black and white or color. I simply love black and white more. I feel I have a good eye for it, seeing the world in shades and shadows. I could be influenced by all the legendary works, mostly monochrome due to limitations at the time, which I disagree with considering the artistic power it wields. Perhaps social media's pressure for perfection also plays a role, finding solace in the simplicity of black and white. That begs the question: why do I care? No one is watching my work, I know that. I shoot black and white on a whim, sometimes daily, sometimes in bursts. My conclusion: I need to shoot more to figure it out. Overthinking won't help, action will.

@petesime 5 ай бұрын

The great thing about cameras these days is that you can set the LCD and EVF to display in monochrome so you can visualise black and white as you're composing the image. Of course you don't have that when you shoot film. But if you've trained yourself to look for contrast between light and shadow you'll take better pictures when shooting b&w film.

@furleysbrain 5 ай бұрын

B&W is more of an abstraction in my eyes.

@RCmypersonaltrainer 5 ай бұрын

Another amazing vídeo 👏👏

@ThePhotographicEye 5 ай бұрын

Thank you

@Daniel_Ilyich 5 ай бұрын

For me, for a photograph in color to be an effective "color photograph," color has to be the subject, or at least, play a major role in the image. Otherwise, I find colors in photographs to be distracting. I prefer the layer of abstraction that b&w affords. You can also take more risks in post-processing without it being too obvious or detracting from the subject matter when working in black and white.

@jontout 5 ай бұрын

for me, when I'm not shooting B&W film (and I only shoot film in B&W) and I want to shoot B&W digital, then I will set my camera to shoot in B&W as it's a different photography process than shooting in colour and converting in post.

@KNURKonesur 5 ай бұрын

it's ALWAYS black and white unless there is a specific reason to keep it in colour, there's a contrast, a juxtaposition, a surprise

@interestedbystander196 5 ай бұрын

For me, ON AVERAGE, I tend to prefer the B&W versions of the comparison images you showed. One thing I notice, though, is that the B&W version tend to have/show a lot of grain - certainly on my monitor - which isn't readily apparent on the colour versions. Is this my imagination, a processing artefact, or a conscious choice (i.e. B&W is supposed to have grain...)

@xcx8646 3 ай бұрын

I've always had an instinctive aversion to the received internet wisdom of 'shoot in raw and then you can decide how to process the image later'. I always felt that the people who parroted this line's only qualifications were owning cameras and being prolific contributors to photography forums. Black and white requires a different mindset. The difference in tonal values is key. Then again, colour requires a different mindset - it necessitates an understanding of colour theory and harmony. Ultimately, successful photography, like all successful art, comes down to knowing more about the artistic side than the brushes, canvasses, paint composition or photography gear. But that's hard, and comparing tech specs is easy....

@christopherward5065 5 ай бұрын

The mindset is different composition, the way the lens renders, the relative importance of elements in the frame, tonal range, contrast, use of modifying filters. Monochrome images have a different grammar and the lack of colour is compensated for through the previous qualifiers. A deliberately monochrome image is very different in intent and execution to a deliberately colour image. The camera is not being accurate because the rules are different in mono compared with colour. We can do different treatments of an image shot in colour without straying very far from reality and actually we are not considering shooting with the possibilities of monochrome post-production towards a particular monochrome end-point. Unless you cut your teeth on deliberately creating mono images there is a lot of missing elan in a mono converted colour image.

@felipemaurin8986 5 ай бұрын

During the fim period I had a camera for B&W and another with colour film. It depends of the sceanrio to B&W or colour.

@pratipkarmakar01 4 ай бұрын

I love black and white with high contrast,but not every scenes are made for b&w,especially if there's colour contrast in the scene or its time of golden hour.Both are completely opposite way to see the world.Shooting in colour then conversion regarding taste is best option.

@angelamaloney4871 5 ай бұрын

I appreciate and enjoy these videos talking about seeing and creating. But I have to admit I am missing the ones about photographers of the past. I got a lot out of them and I am missing that. But I gotta admit not having them does have an advantage in my budget. :-)

@Higgmeister647 5 ай бұрын

I now shoot all my digital in color, even my IR shots. I then convert to b&w in the computer if that is what I wanted to begin with. I have more control because I select the color filters in my system. I did start my photography in b&w back in the 80"s shooting tri-x in 35mm and developed my own. If you want to shoot b&w, learn Ansel Adam's zone system and this will help all your photography.

@Rowan611 3 ай бұрын

I love B&W. I shot almost everything with B&W in mind. I shoot macro in color (although B&W works well here also). Nothing against color….i shoot in it also. lol. But, I think in B&W most of the time.

@ianclarke2633 5 ай бұрын

I thought it was just me that hated that question

@Grumpy_Old_Man68 5 ай бұрын

Perfect timing on this video. I asked my business partner last night if the basketball image I took is better in bw or color. This is after I asked my same question of my wife. Both said color so I thought I’d go with color. Now seeing this, I should go with what I want, which is bw

@carlmcneill1139 5 ай бұрын

Most of the time I use color but occasionally I'll see a scene and think it will look good in black and white. And that's before I take the picture. I think the tonal contrast helps me to decide too if I want to use color or b&w. If it's a very colorful scene then I usually use color. If there's a lot of light and hard shadows then I think b&w will look good I'll try that when I edit my photos. I should shoot in b&w just so I can get an idea how it will look when I edit but I always shoot in a flat profile because I shoot in raw. I don't like committing to a jpg where I have little control over my photos. I don't care what everyone else does. There's no wrong or right way to do it.

@Anon54387 5 ай бұрын

Why isn't it technically the correct way to do it to set it to black and white in editing software?

@markstevens6682 4 ай бұрын

Whenever I come across an older building that is rundown, dull and sort of moldy I like to use Black & White…

@raymondrobidoux4445 5 ай бұрын

Funny you should talk about this. Just the other day it was a cloudy day and I went out and shot one in colour and the same shot B&W. I liked some of the shots one way and found that some liked better the other way. I think it also depends on the subject. Take for instant your plane I find in colour there is more to look at than the one in B&W because to me it seems to lack something.

@c.augustin 5 ай бұрын

Interesting. I tried both (in the beginning due to money constraints more B&W, and now again for this reason), and have found that I prefer color as in nearly always. I even started colorizing my B&W shots (large format film negatives) to get the "right" look … 😂

@billmartin1663 5 ай бұрын

I use color when there is a color in the frame that matters . . . and usually, when it matters, it really matters. It makes the image. If no color in the frame makes a difference, I go B&W.

@imagepoint9726 5 ай бұрын

I pre-ordered this book in November, still waiting for delivery. I have now stopped the video and will view it after I've read the book. 🤣

@piesho 5 ай бұрын

For me, it depends on the mood. A flower, for example, is exuberant and inviting. It has to be in color. An old window, on the other hand, is pensive and nostalgic. It has to be B&W.

@Anon54387 5 ай бұрын

I think it is limiting to think that the photo of the flower must be in color and the old window must be in black and white. Perhaps that nostalgia, wistfulness, pensiveness, whatever of the old window will all be in the image if the colors are subtle and muted, and the probability is that they will be on an old window. I've yet to see an old window with the frame painted in day-glo orange.

@piesho 5 ай бұрын

@@Anon54387 I know "it has to be" are not the best words to describe what my first option will be. I have photographed old windows in color and flowers in B&W. It's the message that the image communicates what makes me decide between color and no color. The object itself gives me and idea, but at the end the message is more important.

@kennethnielsen3864 5 ай бұрын

Thanks for sharing. I actually have a camera, set up to only take 1x1 Jpeg in black and white.

@AliasJimWirth 5 ай бұрын

I am at around 1:40 and just want to ask, didn't some folks say the same when "talkies" were introduced? I mean, moving pictures, of course, back in the 1920's or around that time; moving pictures with sound/audio. Just wondering.

@billkossmann9246 5 ай бұрын

Perhaps it's just me being overly cynical, but I often wonder if the "should it be b&w or colour" question isn't posed simply to garner additional responses to a post.

@BeeMichael 2 ай бұрын

Interesting discussion. You seem to emphasize what AA called pre visualization. Analogy to classical music where a Beethoven or Mozart knows from the getgo what his creation will be and they just need to plug in the right notes to get there. But what about the jazz approach, ok maybe a set chord progression, but not necessarily, and the creativity is in the process, spinning out and swinging as one goes along. There are great and not so great photographers in both schools and imposing one or other method is restricting although possibly necessary. So, in the final analysis, do your own thing and don’t worry, be happy.

@BeeMichael 2 ай бұрын

PS, so when I’m in mode one, the classical AA pre visual one, I like using the Fujifilm system and one of the great “film” recipes, so I can actually see in the viewfinder something close to the final picture. When I ina jazz mode, I shoot raw on a Sony system and mess around in one or another editors on my computer. Am I a great photographer, hell no! But I love it all and call it, “ my art”.

@austerepotato3159 5 ай бұрын

If there's not a VERY good reason for colour in a photograph, it should be black and white..

@dergelenkspreizer5272 5 ай бұрын

Only beginners in their first few years ask those questions. I don't discuss them at all. They'll find out on their own by growing experience.

@xaosgeist 5 ай бұрын

I'm looking at the images @ 8:33 and 8:38 and thinking: To ask "color or B/W?" is like asking "Billy Joel or Bathory".

@ianscott947 5 ай бұрын

Just yesterday, I unfollowed quite a good photographer over on insta for doing that with every photo he posted, and he posted a lot. Personally, when I press that shutter button I know if it's going to be colour, black & white or both, and I make a decision on what to post or print. I truly feel that if a serious photographer can't choose between colour or black and white or both, then there's something lacking in their skill set, unless they're on insta, then they're probably just trying to get more engagement, which may well work, just not with me.

@Anon54387 5 ай бұрын

Yet you said he's a good photographer. Since he is a good photographer perhaps this "sin" should be forgiven.

@ianscott947 5 ай бұрын

@@Anon54387 I said he was "quite good" , and even if he was an absolutely amazing photographer, posting 10 to 20 photos a day and asking "Colour or black & white?", then making an animated story out them and asking again "colour or black & white?" He would still get unfollowed and removed.

@izonozi 5 ай бұрын

I get where you're coming from Alex and I totally understand the lesson you're trying to get through to people. On saying that though, we learn to find ourselves in a lot of different ways and the opinion of others can be one of those ways. Entering photo competitions for example could be seen as a way of learning and progressing in one's photography could it not? At the end of the day though winning or getting a mention etc in a competition is someone else's opinion ie: the judges is it not? That's where your Facebook group seems to be lacking: no one can even make suggestions with all good intentions without the fear of being excluded for doing so. It's a little bit dictatorship but I guess you have your reasons. Other than that I enjoyed your FB group until someone banned me for pointing out to someone they seemed a little elitist for suggesting to another member that phone photography wasn't 'real' photography. Still watch your vids though regardless, as it's always good to hear your... well opinions as for a better word.

@Wafflechicken47 5 ай бұрын

I think there’s an accidental scene cut at 2:46

@piotrszopa3356 5 ай бұрын

I've never photographed B&W for more than one day in a row. I have to try making B&W photos they look great. Lately I've bought analog camera an B&W film. Analog photos have much different vibe than digital ones. Maybe this is a matter of lens?

@mtmccornack 5 ай бұрын

My kids hate B&W and make fun of me for trying... that said, I know for a fact that they are full of it. (I wonder where they get it) color film was initially problematic for me in the early 90s due to cost and equipment limitations, but now that I live in the future with my fancy flying cameras and high rech digital cameras I struggle with this question all the time... I like your advice about choosing before I shoot. Sometimes, I flip the camera into b&w while shooting raw. It forces me to see my subjects differently and strip an image down to shapes and textures while chasing that magical light. Light anomalies then seem more pronounced than color images.

@Anon54387 5 ай бұрын

My opinion is, and it is subjective of course, is that color should be the norm unless one has a scene in front of them that they know will work well in black and white. There is definitely a place for black and white. One person I know took a photo of an old farm truck in black and white. It was perfect in BW. The contrast with one half of the hood (taken directly from the front) in shadow and the other in sunlight and the center line of the hood directly in the center of the frame. I still remember that, and have noticed in that and other photos since that symmetry can work very well in black and white while it rarely does in color.

@Anon54387 5 ай бұрын

Could one take a color film image and use the negative on black and white paper under the enlarger and get a black and white image out of hit that way? Theoretically I would think so.

@alistairmerrifield5035 5 ай бұрын

My understanding (could be wrong, I’m a beginner in the darkroom!) is that the finished b&w image on the paper would not be as good as if you used a b&w negative originally (might be muddy). Theoretically you could do it, but b&w film is “optimal” for b&w prints.

@Bethos1247-Arne 4 ай бұрын

until the end of this month, I will take only black-and-white photos.

@anta40 5 ай бұрын

When in doubt, just shoot in color (RAW, make sure you got the exposure right). I think B&W is tricky: - Sometimes, a dull scene may look better in BW - Or sometimes, a scene have to be shot as is. Converting it into BW makes it look uglier. That's the benefit of shooting digitally. But if you use film... then good luck :D

@Anon54387 5 ай бұрын

If one shoots film it makes sense to have two cameras one loaded with color and the other with black and white. That way one can choose which one fits a particular scene as needed, although I think most of the time color should be shot. Shooting too much in black and white, IMO, is lazy. That's not to say I don't appreciate a good black and white shot because I do.

@anta40 5 ай бұрын

@@Anon54387 I think I can argue the other way: shooting too much in color is boring (well, color is indeed the natural way we see). That said, indeed not all scenes work great in B&W.

@JatekfejlesztesMagyarul 5 ай бұрын

@ThePhotographicEye I appreciate your content a lot and I love watching you sharing thoughts and the general approach. I consider your channel as photography from an artistic point of view, which is rare. But I cant help but notice that you are also frustrated about the algorithm and how youtube works and such. Take a step back and notice that you've already achieved great things and you have a solid viewer base. What I'm trying to get at is that you don't need to upload a videos every 2 days. Unless thats the thing you enjoy doing. Quality over quantity. Great stuff anyway, peace.

@Anon54387 5 ай бұрын

I once said about this channel that it is like a well balanced meal while so many other photography channels are a sugar high, like eating a box of candy for dinner.