I Never Shoot in Black and White
But I won’t be able to say that anymore…
I recently started attending a photography workshop that is all about black and white photography. This may not seem unusual to many of you and may seem too limited a focus by others. For me, it marks the start of a new photography adventure and a step outside my comfort zone.
I am not talking about converting a photo originally taken in color to black & white, although I rarely do that either. I am talking about intentionally setting my camera to monochrome mode and photographing in B&W. Committing to monochrome as a creative choice throughout the process from start to finish.
It is just not something I do. Not sure why. I like B&W images, both old and new, so it’s not that it does not appeal to me. It just hasn’t been part of my thought process.
Maybe it’s because the default setting for every digital camera I have ever used is color. That’s not a major contributor, but I must admit, it is a factor. We have to seek out the monochrome settings in our cameras or in post-processing to do it. It is interesting how default settings influence what we do in so many aspects of our lives, even when it’s as simple as navigating a menu system in our cameras.
