If so, I would say that since you are working with extra channels in color than it is definitely more difficult ... Kinda like saying "juggling 3 balls is harder than juggling 1".
If so, I would say that since you are working with extra channels in color than it is definitely more difficult ... Kinda like saying "juggling 3 balls is harder than juggling 1".
I usually find B/W harder. Without the element of color to give it some punch, the image must stand strictly on the composition and details. That being said, I sometimes find an image that I think just works much better in B/W, such as my recent centered comp entry:
Black and white can be quite a bit harder if your subject is more complex for example if your subject is red and the background is green then through colors you have a lot of contrast. Now take that same image as a black and white and the brightness of those same reds and green are the same.... then you will have a very no contrast image.
I think that both are challenging if you try and us them incorrectly. Yospiff points out a great example of how black and white made a decent shot into something really appealing to the eye.
I can't compose in black and white. Don't do it very well. Usually end up trying B&W when I failed to compose and use colour well. I'm a bit of a colour whore.
Color still kicks my butt. I learned photography a few year ago doing a black and white film photography class. I fell in love with it, and I ALWAYS look at things through the eye of a black and white photographer.
I don't remember where I first saw this:
Originally posted by unknown:
If you're photographing in color you show the color of their clothes - if you use black and white, you will show the color of their soul."
Now of course I don't feel that way about every single picture out there, but I find it holds true for a lot of street candids and photojournalism. Black and white just seems to make things pop.
Colour is much harder for me. When I purposefully shoot for colour, I tend to go for the contrasty colour mixes. I also like blue a lot, and when shooting for b/w, I tend to split tone the shadows in the direction of blue. I'm probably too undisciplined to seriously consider how my colours are (or aren't) working, and many times I default to b/w, since it so often evens out the composition. For example, in the photo below, the colour version was just not working. The picture was all about the green patches of grass in the upper corners. It was pretty maddening until I went b/w, and it seemed to work better.
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I never seem to get great results from B&W conversions. I don't know if I'm shooting the wrong images for B&W or that my PP technique sucks. I think I should start entering challenges with B&W and learn more. Practice seems to be my best teacher. Most of my conversions looks flat.
I find both challenging, and am hoping to find some sort of handle on each. My suspicion is that you have to understand colour in some way in order to work the BW conversions. To put it another way, converting to BW can teach you about colour. Constantly asking why I may prefer one shot in colour, the other in BW, and why people differ in these preferences.
I've found a little colour theory can go a long way in helping to learn why certain colours work well with others and in driving you towards particular relationships. Even just learning some complimentary colour pairings and starting to explore those begins to pay off. If you use colour randomly or don't particularly make an effort to compose with it in mind then it is rare to just get lucky. If you start thinking about it and trying to use it effectively it can make all the difference to if a scene works or not.
Ok, instead of the smart-assery, let me say that I'm afraid of such vibrant colours, as Gordon has posted. I don't know why. I think I would completely screw up any photograph that I intentionally shot this way. I think it's related to my personality: muted, reserved, quiet, deflecting attention (in real life, not necessarily here :P). It might be an interesting exercise to actually go out and find the vibrancy of such strong colours, but I might not be up for it for reasons of ability as well as personal bias.
Ok, instead of the smart-assery, let me say that I'm afraid of such vibrant colours, as Gordon has posted. I don't know why. I think I would completely screw up any photograph that I intentionally shot this way. I think it's related to my personality: muted, reserved, quiet, deflecting attention (in real life, not necessarily here :P). It might be an interesting exercise to actually go out and find the vibrancy of such strong colours, but I might not be up for it for reasons of ability as well as personal bias.
I'd suggest trying it. It is odd at first but eventually I get tuned in. A few times I've tried going out with a colour in mind and shooting just it and the complimentary colour.
The colours to be afraid of arrive when you start reading about pop-art colour choices and the colours that tweak the receptors in your head, like these:
I think that color and b&w both have their pitfalls. Color you use color (of course) to create contrasts and to utilize in your composition. Black and white you use contrasts in tonality to move the viewers eye around. That being said I think its funny but I believe I think in terms of tonality more than color. I like bright "fresh" colors for lack of a better term but I have troubles incorporating them into a shot. With black and white I find it easier to see the shot I am looking for. Strange since the real world isn't the Andy Griffith show...
OK - color experts. I'm having a heck of a time getting this to look appealing. The bricks are painted pinkish - not sure how accurate this color is but I know I don't like it.
Any thoughts on making it more appealing easily (other than BW conversion)?
