BLACK & WHITE PHOTOGRAPHY

Black and white is the oldest form of photography and despite tremendous developments in the technological processes of our art, black and white has remained a firm favourite of photographers over the ages. Indeed, the walls of most photographic exhibition spaces are more often adorned by black and white images than by works in colour.

It is one of the most interesting and inspiring aspects of this art form. It’s raw & refined, natural & unusual, bold & subtle, mysterious & open, emotional & impassive, simple & complex, black & white and everything in between.

When people look at a black and white photograph, they often remark how "classic" and "elegant" it looks.

The simplicity and uncluttered look of a black & white print gives the subject a polished, high-class feel. Without the distractions of colour, the picture begs the viewer to recognize the individuality and uniqueness of the subject.

Black and white photography focuses more on light intensity and contrast than color photography. When color is stripped away details of objects become more prominent to the eye and different parts of a scene can become more important than in a color image.

Unfortunately, black and white photography is sometimes treated as the "poor relation" of colour photography. After all, why limit an image to shades of grey when you can use the entire spectrum of colours?

Colour plays an important role in how we perceive the world around us so when an image is taken in black and white, it drastically changes what’s in front of the lens. However, without colour, other elements of the photograph take on a bigger role in telling the story.

Any picture is just a two-dimensional representation of reality. If the colours in the scene are turned into shades of grey, from pitch black to brilliant white, other aspects of the photograph - shape, lighting, contrast, texture, tone - become the dominant elements.

In reality a black and white photo can often look even more stunning and captivating than the colour equivalent. Colour can sometimes act as a distraction in a photo, and removing it can help to re-focus attention on the intended subject.

When colour is removed from an image you can no longer rely on it to provide interest or a focal point in a scene. This may seem obvious but it can be easy to forget. By doing away with colour we also remove one of the most potentially distracting elements in a photo.

Form and shape are more important in black and white photography. Contrasting shades also help the main subject to stand out.

Many patterns, particularly subtle ones, often go unnoticed in colour photos, because the colours draw attention away from the pattern itself. Black and white photography gives a much better chance of capturing interesting patterns because it focuses the viewer's attention on the shapes formed by the elements in a scene.

In the same way that patterns can be lost in colour photography, textures can be too. When we see a colour photo, our mind immediately begins to identify and label the elements in the scene, meaning that we often do not really 'see' the photo, but instead see our mind's interpretation of it.

When we photograph in black and white, the mind no longer has that colour information to work with, and so pays more attention to elements such as texture, making them appear much more prominent.

When colour is removed we are allowed to see into the subject, to really get a sense of emotion more so than if it were colour.

Often a colour picture is just shy of those magic one thousand words. Turning that image into a black and white photograph can be just the way to make the picture ‘sing’.

Another way I look at it is if an image had a soul it would be black and white. Stripping away the window dressing (colour) allows you to get down to the real essence of the image.

Life is like a good black and white photograph, there's black, there's white, and lots of shades in between.