Compare and contrast the differences between black & white and colour photography

I'm not sure if this is a particularly philosophical question, but I reckon

you guys will have some good answers.

 

I'm currently working on an essay question for my university course, and i've

reached a bit of a dead end.

 

Ideas and suggestions would be helpful.

Jenny, you can start two threads down from here ("What looks better in B&W?"). There are also older threads (and some firefights) on the subject archived on this forum that might be useful - not to mention entertaining.

 

A couple of avenues you might want to explore: The eye/attitude/intent of the photographer; Why is most commercial photography in color? (This does seem to be shifting somewhat).

 

Good luck!

"Why is most commercial photography in color? (This does seem to be shifting somewhat)." William

 

Color began to be used in commercial photography in order to stand out from all the b&w. Now b&w is being used to stand out from all the color.

 

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Don E

And Jenny...maybe an essay on your OWN opinions might be nice! Look at the many examples posted on this site...and express your own feelings, reactions, and opinions (both good and bad). There's nothing wrong with that!

 

Sincerely,

 

Dave

From a perceptual framework, when humans see a color photo we primary see the colors first, then the other aspects. When we see the same photo as monochrome we immediately see subject, form, shape, tonality and texture. For some, this seems to be a richer experience. Perhaps it's because I was raised on the primarily B & W 20th century photojournalism and Look and Life Magazines, but my most memorable photos from a lifetime are still largely the B & W.

At what point did this forum become "The Answer Man/Woman" for students who are either fearful of voicing their own opinions, or who unable to to the reseach.

 

An earlier post felt the same when when it asked for bullet point answers. Have we become the Cliff's Notes of Photography? If feel so sullied, don't you?

"At what point did this forum become "The Answer Man/Woman" for students who are either fearful of voicing their own opinions, or who unable to to the reseach."

 

Last week, wasn't it?

 

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Don E

Color photography depends on the cones of your retina. B&W photography uses only the rods of your retina which however are vastly more numerous translating to a higher sensitivity to light. That is why as the sun sets terrain appears increasingly monochromatic as darkness approaches. That is one contrast for you.

There are tons of theories of the effect of different colors on the brain in the psychology dept.

I always included science in my art essays as I had a BS in biology first & loved to explore the Art vs Science reasoning thing.

B&W photography is color without hue.

One way of looking at the question is to ask the whether the subject is colour or not. Sounds too simple but my rule of thumb is only use colour if it needs it - sunsets for example usually need colour.

Another approch is to look at a range of images in both BW and colour - flash between the two and see which has the most impact.

just a couple thoughts:

 

- when shooting in color, the color of the scene must work. It is difficult enough to get right the composition, the light, and the moment alone. When you add color it reduces your chances to get a good picture. This is, of course, applicable mostly to street photography or documentary. Set-up photographers can control the color any way they need

 

- we percieve b/w and color shots differenty. Even if the color works, looking at a b/w version will often enrich your experience, as you'll see geometry and shadows much better. Compare these two versions of the same shot. Don't get scared by unreadbale characters - it's just cyrillic text:

 

BW: http://www.photosight.ru/photo.php?photoid=1253641

color: http://www.photosight.ru/photo.php?photoid=1253647

 

- people see colors differently. With b/w you get rid of these issue at all