Black & White or Color?

Which do you prefer? There are arguments on both sides. Many "purists" make the blanket statement that they like black and white over color for everything. Others only shoot color. One answer to the question would be "It depends". The important thing is to consider your answer carefully and know why you've chosen one way or another. Remember, this choice is a storytelling tool like anything else.

Here are some examples to make the point about how color or lack of it can make a difference in the message a photograph imparts:

One of the biggest arguments for using black and white for people pictures is that it strips away colors that could distract from the emotion of the moment. Instead of your eye being drawn to the green trees or the yellow lettering in the t-shirt, it is drawn into the tortured expression on the faces and the body language. Perhaps since this picture has fairly subdued colors to begin with you could argue the other side, but imagine if the shirt was red.

This picture cries out for color for practical reasons as well as the fact that it just makes a prettier image. The plight of the Kentucky player is made much more dramatic and obvious by the fact that he is surrounded by a towering mass of orange. In the B&W version the viewer has to work harder to figure out what is going on.

When I started out in news photography, we shot slide film and B&W film. We didn't use color negative and convert later so we had to decide on the spot which to use. Each kind of film used a different approach--a different kind of thought process in order to do each justice. I think you can begin to see why in these examples.

-Janet Worne