Colour or black-and-white?
By taraelocin
@taraelocin (1138)
December 16, 2009 6:11am CST
I have taken up photography last year and quite enjoy it. I love taking photos in colour, but I prefer looking at black-and-white photography. Maybe I just don't have the skills yet to do great black-and-white photos myself.
As a viewer - do you prefer colour or mono?
As a photographer - which do you prefer?
1 person likes this
6 responses
@sahsports4883 (441)
• United States
16 Dec 09
As a viewer I like both, it all depends on the picture to me. Some photos look better in color and others look better in black and white. I've done some photography as a hobby on the side with my digital camera, I can't afford a really great expensive camera but I prefer photos in black and white if I'm doing photography. I personally love abstract and 3D photos in black and white, they just look so awesome too me. Back in the day all they had was black and white and now that we have color as well it's nice to have a choice but if I had to choose an overall favorite I'd definitely go with black and white because it leaves more to the imagination, you can imagine what color the person was wearing or what color something was : )
1 person likes this
@taraelocin (1138)
•
16 Dec 09
It's quite funny - when I look at the few photos I have from my father as as young boy and my grandparents: They were still black and white photos and were coloured in. Nowadays we can chose as you say, back then they made a lot of effort to move away from black and white!
@scottcoleson (578)
• Pilot Mountain, North Carolina
19 Dec 09
I love black and white photography, but I also love color photography. I think it really comes down to the subject matter that is being photographed that determines which looks better. There are just some pictures that look incredible in color, but they would lose a lot of their character and "wow" factor if they were monochrome. On the flip side, there are some pictures that look stunning in black and white and they just wouldn't look as good in color. Personally, if I can find a great black and white photo out of a photo shoot, I am thrilled. I love the style and class that black and white pictures bring to my portfolio. A great black and white picture is very hard to take because you have to produce and great image with deep contrasts and only a small color palette to do it with.
@taraelocin (1138)
•
19 Dec 09
Exactly my view. My black-and-whites are never quite as stunning as I want to be. But the lighting and contrasts need to be perfect and that requires a lot more skills than I have yet.
@antarcticpostcards (472)
• United States
16 Dec 09
It really depends. For nature I mostly like color, but black and white can be interesting sometimes. I really like black and white for architecture, especially old buildings.
@taraelocin (1138)
•
16 Dec 09
Yes, that's true. Architecture can look really stunning in black and white. It adds atmosphere to the picture, makes shadows stronger and creates a completely different pictures than the same in colour.
@rlockheart25 (103)
• Philippines
16 Dec 09
I like both because there are captured moments that can be best present when you set it to black and white. For me, if you deliver emotion+time - it matters!
@taraelocin (1138)
•
17 Dec 09
Sure, not every subject suits black and white - or respectively suits colour. Thanks for the comment.
@mario_stevens (6971)
• Malaysia
30 Apr 10
i'm into black & white photography myself. but it's a bit easier for me due to my college background. if you're looking for some great B&W work, check out one of the legends in photography, Ansell Adams.. his images of Yellowstone Park in US is just so awesome!
