lsupremo Loc: Palm Desert, CA

It seems like most Steet Photography images are monochrome.

Why?, mandatory?,

jeep_daddy Loc: Prescott AZ

No, personal preference.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

Linda From Maine Loc: Yakima, Washington

There are many online articles that will help inform, if you are interested:

Since street photography often tries to show a story or the interaction of people, B&W can help to emphasize the content, by fading out distracting colors... from https://petapixel.com/2017/07/10/bw-still-favorite-street-photographers/

There are times when bright colorful elements such as stop signs, trash cans, or cars are inevitable, and will draw the attention away from the subject. By removing the color, you are able to bring the attention back to the human element....from https://digital-photography-school.com/color-or-black-and-white-for-street-photography/

The question also speaks to why shoot for (or in) black and white for any genre? From Ben Long on lynda.com:

Color can be distracting. In a black-and-white image, the world is reduced purely to tone, to light and shadow, brightness and darkness. The black-and-white world is a world of pure luminosity. As a black-and-white photographer, your visual vocabulary simplifies to form, shape, texture, volume, highlight and shadow (contrast).

User ID

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Following historical precedent lends a feeling of
continuity with the older well respected classics
of the genre, and thus it also provides a veneer
of authenticity. Recalling there was no choice of
color back in the origins is beside the point. BW
looks traditional. Winogrand, Eggelston, etc etc
prove otherwise, but light weights lack the cred
to buck the perceived tradition.

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rgrenaderphoto Loc: Hollywood, CA

The only rule is: There is no Rules.

Color, greyscale, it's you, as the Photographer's preference.

nison777 Loc: illinois u.s.a.

Thank you...
I couldn't have said it better...

John N Loc: HP14 3QF Stokenchurch, UK

We had a talk from a PRO. just this past week.
She told us 'Colour is a distraction, it depicts reality, but black and white imparts your personality'.
It does give it an edge that some of us (including me) fail to see.

Why not post the question on the specialist forum. And perhaps ask some posters to show their colour originals?

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Yes, I've noticed that. I think the idea is to make it look gritty. I've often wondered if B&W photography would exist if they were able to shoot color right from the start. A shortcoming has been turned into insider art.

Bill Gordon

Linda from Maine, thanks for the quotes. As one who started in B&W back in the 70s and used it as a purely artistic medium for artistic purposes, I found Ben Long's quote succinct and meaningful. The others were also good reminders of what I used to know/feel about B&W.

traderjohn Loc: New York City

That would be your choice. If you are comfortable with the flock philosophy get in line.

Stephan G

No, it is not mandatory. It goes to what the photographer wants to portray. Black and white are the best for contrast. Color covers the whole spectrum of the visible light.

The question of which medium to use has always been one that any artist asks of himself. The guiding principle is what the artist is trying to portray in his work.

Here is one question that does have an answer. Why were the ancient statues stone colored? It is that the paint material wore off with time.

Go with what is your personal choice. Street photography is not limited to Black and White. It never was. There are many examples of painted photographs since photography began. As for why there is a preponderance of BW photographs of note, blame it on the print industry. It even had a lot to do with the cost of the printing ink.

Linda From Maine Loc: Yakima, Washington

What is "insider art?" Even the most lowly point and shoot cameras have a black and white setting. There are books, videos and thousands of online articles addressing the subject. As any will explain, when you shoot for (or in) b&w you are looking at subjects and scenes in a specific way - for shadows, textures, lines, shapes. Specific to street, you are keeping attention on the subjects, such as their intimate interactions with each other or their environment - rather than the colors of their clothes or the door or window display they're leaning against.

As a photographer, the act of choosing b&w is not really that different from the choices you make with focal length, composition, perspective, light - everything is considered in order to achieve a certain result.
John, why did you crop and convert your spider web to b&w? https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-553220-1.html You said you didn't like the "full" picture. Did cropping give the image more impact? Why? Did a change to b&w make the patterns stronger and more visible? If yes, is it because a blue sky or green background distracted/competed?

Is it possible to have a conversation about photography on UHH that doesn't involve knee-jerk reactions and mindlessly slamming other people? Is it possible there are still one or two open minds here?

Architect1776 Loc: In my mind

I far prefer colour to B&W for street photography as colour conveys powerfully personality and context.
Some like B&W because that is what they were told is better for some BS reason.
It is your choice.
I did say BS as when in Architecture school every semester you had to do a jury presentation. I would get up and give a BS story have these stuffed shirt professors and visiting Architects nodding with all the esoteric comments then finish by saying that all was BS and I was just using stupid meaningless $10.00 words and you all sat there pretending like it was meaningful when it was all just jibberish and I did what I did merely because I LIKED it.

khorinek

I first learned how to develop B&W film in the dark room several years ago. It was an art form with film photography back then. Today, B&W photos exist because someone missed their shot or the photo wasn't quite in focus or some other problems with the original photos, (in my opinion). I'm not a fan of B&W. With the expensive and sophisticated digital cameras we have today, shooting B&W is too easy and lets the photographer "off the hook" for getting good quality color photos.