Color vs. Black & White

For this week lets switch into photography mode. I have worked as a photographer semi-seriously for a substantial portion of my life, and one aspect of the art that has always been of great interest to me is the choice between color or black and white for a particular picture. Although photographers each have their own perspective on this decision, I imagine that most agree that removing the color information from an image alters a lot more than simply the color. A question that I think is not asked often enough, is why is black and white used at all? The world is in color. Why throw away some of the reality of an image? The answer, I believe, is that a black and white photograph allows a much greater focus on form, texture, light and dark than the same photograph in color. A black and white photograph must have clear textures and forms of different luminosities to be successful. The beautifully lit photograph by Petter Hegre that I've used to illustrate this post is an excellent example of the possibilites of black and white. Color photography is an entirely different art. A successful color photograph must use color itself as the main interest. The color may be vibrant, subdued or somewhere in between, but it must have interest on its own. This difference, I think, is quite nonintuitive, and often overlooked. In nude photography, I am generally more interested in black and white, because the female form seems to me to be more form than color. There are, of course exceptions, and every once in a while I will see a nude photo that makes brilliant use of color. I have selected three sample galleries to illustrate my point. The first, from MPL Studios is a great example of a subdued sepia tone used to evoke a mood. The second is a classic gallery from Petter Hegre which demonstrates his skill at using vibrant colors to highlight form. The third gallery, from New Nude Mag, explores some of the beautiful possibilites of black and white photography.