Should I edit my photo in Color or Black & White?
When editing photographs, photographers are faced with two stylistic choices. Do I make this picture either color or black & white?
Whenever I’m faced with this question I usually look at the subject. What stands out to me? What catches my eye? What story am I trying to tell? Why is it interesting? Here are some examples.
When I took this photo I knew that I wanted to go for a minimalistic feel. I saw how the lines of the bricks and windows led the viewers eyes from left-side of the frame to the ladder. The ladder has a nice highlight covering itself making it stand out in comparison to the bricks. Having this depth of field, the windows aren’t too eye catching and allow for a stacked layer of texture for the background. This picture to me shows a somber, somewhat serious mood. From here I am able to decide I want to make this picture black & white. I focus on the linework and draw more attention to the ladder than the originally red bricks and blue windows.
There are many occasions where I capture my photos unexpectedly. A little bit of spontaneity adds excitement and flavor to every picture and photo walk I have. Here I come face to face with a local cat. The owners leave it food every so often in a plastic container and just as I walked right next to the cat it jumps away in a defensive manner, carefully watching me from a distance. My first reaction is to quickly focus and take the photo.
Going to Lightroom, facing the same question, color or black & white, I find myself drawn to black & white. I like the way the railing almost looks like a jail cell for the cat. For a stray, the concept of it being free yet caged really drew me in as I begin to piece a story from the elements. Knowing this, black and white removed the excess colors and enhanced the focus of the viewers towards the three simple elements: the railing[jail], the food container and the cat with no collar.
Here I’ll give an example for when I use color. When I took this picture, the first thing that caught my eye is the colorful hula hoop that the girl is carrying. The way it stands out so defiantly in a world so monotone around her, I found myself drawn towards that theme. Using Lightroom I amplified the brown, fall color palette around her so that they would complement the saturated colors of the hula hoop. When to use color? It’s when you find the colors of your subject stand out so interesting that they become the main centerpiece to the photo itself.
