beanteaser Loc: Saint Paul, MN

What and when, if ever, makes a B/W photo better than the color? Just curious what your thoughts are.

sinatraman Loc: Vero Beach Florida, Earth,alpha quaudrant

black and white is better at expressing a mood or a feel. I particularly will use it for subject matter that has an old nostalgic feel to it. old fallin down buildings, rusty cars, something with lots of lines and shadows. people make great b/w subjects especialy if their face has character. animals don't make good b/w subjects for me. I don't know why but they don't. Landscape looks better in color (sorry ansel adams fans not to promote heresey, but color adds so much energy and vibrance to landscapes.) you can have the same scene shot in color and then in black and white and get 2 different moods. for example lets set the scene. its nightime in the big city. a man gets off the city bus wearing a trenchcoat and a frdora. the bus stop is in front of a movie theatre with its marquee lights on. In color this shot could show energy, hot time in the city as he looks towards the lightss of the nightclubs in the distance. same scene shot in black and white. now you have a mystery who is this man where is he going, there is almost foreshadowing a sense of doom. you can almost hear the sax playing the theme from peter gunn in the backrground. b/w gives the same scene a totaly different feel. choosing which looks better comes with expierence. My advice is with digital shoot color and then convert to b/w. if you decide later it looks better in color than you haven't lost the shot.

dongrant Loc: Earth, I think!

This is a very subjective call and with today technology there is no reason to be greatly concerned. Even the most avid b&w photographer has every reason to shoot color, it allows better control in getting the black and white image that may be desired by converting from color to b&w in post-processing as opposed to doing it in the camera. I personal recommend that every serious photographer shoot raw and color. So shoot color then post-process both ways when you have doubts. Don't use grayscale conversion, it is too limited. You will be better off to learn to judge matters like tonality, texture, etc as these are often some of the things will determine which way you may want to go.

mikec01 Loc: Georgia, USA

This photo was originally in color, but I much prefer the b&w version - it gives the foreboding atmosphere I was looking for.

dongrant Loc: Earth, I think!

A thought here. Perhaps what you, and all of us for that matter, should ask is how do it get the image that I want. Not which type of shot (b&w, color, HDR, what ever), camera, editor, etc is better. It is always about the interpretation of the image, and the equipment, software, just the subjective interpretation of what is seen. Therefore use your head to shoot with your heart.

photocat Loc: Atlanta, Ga

With the absent of color one is now depended on light , form, shape, textures. With Color , people are usually drawn to the saturation and emotion of the color, not with black and white, now it becomes the subtle differences between the light and form. It has an emotional power but is now depended on the photographers understanding on how to best record these changes to reflect what their vision was at the time.

There are hundreds of tutorials on the best way to convert to black and white from color, however, one also needs to learn to see in grayscale to start producing outstanding black and white images. Not every color image works in black and white.

Usuall

anotherview Loc: California

Plus tonality and contrast. A B&W image tends to abstract a subject, allowing the viewer to experience other qualities of it without the distraction of color. A B&W image may also better convey the drama of an image. Photography began as B&W medium, and this tradition continues.

krisvictor Loc: Virginia, USA

Just to add to all these wonderful entries. To properly balance a color tv for contrast and focus without the use of special equipment, we adjust in black and white. It is amazing what the eye can see when the image is simplified to the very basic (i.e. lighting and focus).

JAL Loc: Toledo Ohio

anyone can shoot in color, it takes a good eye to see in black and white, old buildings, barns, etc. old cars & trucks look good in B&W

MPratter Loc: Pittsburgh, PA

Black and white can be hugely emotive and compelling. It literally can make an image timeless. So much of how we visually "date" an image comes from the color palate of the film, or the faded tones of old prints. In black and white there is no color palate for the eye to read, and it is up to the subject to tell you the age of the image, and that can range from misleading to simply dishonest.

That said, black and white is best when SHOT in black and white. You should be thinking about black and white in composition BEFORE you take the picture, not just switching to it later in post if you want the best results.

I have to say that the tonality and range of black and white is one of the aspects of film that digital really just can't quite match. You can desaturate, but it isn't REALLY the same, not to mention the way knowing you have 24-36 exposures of black and white queued up impacts the way you view a scene.

nikondaddy Loc: Mayfield,Kentucky

Black and white photography is the study or light and shadow which is an acquired taste and in todays color blind state not easy but if you study old black and white photography and movies you might get the idea. Black and white is classic and true photography. Today with digital it,s almost a mute issue.

beacher Loc: Butler, PA

Read all those answers? What it all boils down to is ...

ANYTIME... EVERYTHING... ALLWAYS!!!!!!

EBIBAW

hehehehe!

DougW Loc: SoCal

Sometimes B&W just slams you between the eyes.

dongrant Loc: Earth, I think!

I must say that and hundreds if not thousands of more knowledgeable and skill photographers totally disagree with you on the issue of shooting B&W viruses shooting color and post-processing. Also, there are a good many that will disagree with you on the film vs digital. The image quality gap between film and digital has narrowed to the point that for the skilled it is all but non-existent. I really wonder about your knowledge of many of the now available post-processing products and the higher quality papers and print processes available to digital photographers.

jw32003 Loc: Oklahoma

I feel it's best to shoot in color and convert. That's simply my opinion but I would like to have the ability to have a color shot if I don't like the final results in B/W.