So
why is it that so many of us adore black and white photographs. Color
photographs carry much more information, they are way more popular,
they are a newer technology (really, it took many years to go from black & white to color) and digital cameras, if you didn’t know, actually
shoot pure color. It gets worse . . .
OK,
it’s not that simple – the darn digial things shoot three channels of
black and white and their little internal computers translate the image
into color which, if you want black & white, you sort of de-interpret
the color back to black & white. Oh gee, there I go again.
Back
to the interesting stuff, it seems that many people think they prefer
color but as many – your humble writer included – would rather have black & white. Why is that?
Let’s look at the color
advantage first – two versions of the same picture. The bride’s late in
the evening night cap – they made it special for her – we all WOW when
we saw it. Pretty obvious that the color one is way more appealing.
Why is that?
So here's the color one . . .
In my mind, it’s pretty simple, the picture is basically about color alone. Amazing color but that’s about it. Easy, huh?
So try the next one.
So
what’s your impression? Is the color one better? Or does the black & white one work just as well? Well, pretty much although it’s
not dramatic. Obviously, it depends on the picture, here’s another.
Now
that one’s a set up. The color one has a completely different focus
than the black and white one. That’s because of the dramatic flower
colors. But are the flowers the point of that picture? Nope, it’s her
dress and the traditional complexity of getting it just right.
So
a couple shots won’t give you the complete “picture” but they do
demonstrate a principal. Color photographs are about the color in the
photograph. B&W photographs are pared down, less distractions
and have a more focused image about what the picture means,
emotionally, information-ly and aesthetically. Can a great color
picture do that? Of course, it’s just harder.
Now
don’t get me wrong, I have photographs (mine and others’) that are
color and that I love. However, typically, the main reason I love them
is their color. The black & white ones that I love, and there
are lots of them, I love because of their emotional content, whether
driven by their graphic forms or embedded stories. I’m not always sure
why I react this way, but, like many of you, I just do.
Obviously,
I haven’t fully worked this all out myself, this love I have for the
quieter more emotional look of black and white. We’ll talk again on
this subject.