Color and BW Prints

[elizabeth_morrissey]

I recently got into the Wedding Photography business and I'm having trouble

deciding how to present photographs to people both digitally and print. I

started by giving them both a color version and a black and white version and

I'm finding this is alot of work. How can I choose which pictures to leave color

and which to convert to black and white? This is also a problem for some

portraits I recently did.

[eric v]

Some folks just deliver everything (original prints/proofs) in color and the client can choose to order any image BW if they want. Custom BW conversion could be done to images at your discretion for album purposes. Personally, I tend to include BW copies in addition to the color images for ones I feel are appropriate. Yes, more work, but I feel that certain images are so powerful BW that I am inclined to do it.

[don_hill]

Elizabeth,

 

It is your work, and your creativity. You should decide which is best for the final image.

When I am working with clients, they give me a range of what they would like for proofs.

Generally, they pick about 50% color and 50% B&W. From there I decide what happens in

post-production.

 

Giving them both is too much work and not cost effective. Put on some good music, and

then take a good look at your images in post. If you are stuck,

take a look at what other people are doing. The best way to gain experience is to emulate

people who are successfully doing what you want to accomplish, and then follow their

lead. What do their prints look like, and what are they converting to B&W?

 

This should give you a good starting point, and by all means experiment.

 

Don

[stefanie1]

I generally shoot more than I can fit into the proof box or album I intend to use. Because I also include a CD with pretty much all the sessions I do, this results in the client getting the color and BW (plus usually some 'artsy' edits as well) versions on disc and just a select number in print. I just make a folder on my computer then copy the files I like into it until I have the number I need. Because the color and BW files keep the same name, just in different folders (in my workflow anyway) I end up not having any duplicates, but a nice mix of color and BW in my proofs.

[sara_vee]

As the "artist", you should have an eye and a sense for which images would look better in black & white and which in color. Convert the ones you want depending on your taste and your creative vision, as well as what you discuss with the client as far as their preference. <p>

No need to do two versions of the same image. In essence, that's basically doubling your post production work/time... that is if you're taking the time to do the b&w conversions with care rather than just a generic automated process. I convert what I want and that's what they get. No complaints.

[jimstrutz]

I give both for some images and just B&W for others. I don't do a lot of B&W though. Mostly just a few samples.

[gregstuckeyaus]

Hi Elizabeth,

 

Depending on what type of camera and equipment you use there can be some efficient methods of converting images in bulk. For exmaple I use Canon's DPP raw editor to do my white balancing and gobal exposure adjustments. I then convert one of my images to black and white and save the recipe. You can then apply this recipe to any or all of the images and then save the images as new files. I generally don't convert all images to black and white. Issues such as whether the image will be stronger B&W or whether white balancing is tricky due to mixed light sources will be some of the main factors. For presentation image editing I use 3rd party plugins as they give me more creative control in terms of tonal balance, split toning and other colour effects such as sepia toning etc. I hope this helps

Regards

Greg

[dakotah_jackson]

If you are going to sell B&W to them I hope you aren't using the color and convert method. Real B&W is done by hand and the paper used is not RC nor the color/B&W crap that is on the market. It takes time to do it well. You choose your film and either do it yourself or work with a solid B&W lab who can produce prints worthy of the effort you put into the job.