In this lesson: Discover how removing color can enhance your images

Though most of the photos you take will likely be in color, exploring the benefits of black and white photography can help you create more impactful images.

Although black and white renditions of images are often associated with nostalgia, there are many other creative reasons to eliminate color. For example, colors in an image can distract from other attributes of a scene, such as forms, contours, lines, and tones. Looking at the image of the drummer, the first thing you likely notice is the texture of his hair. However, had the image been in color, that texture might have been lost.

Furthermore, while landscapes, sunsets, and other color-packed images are usually considered poor subjects for rendering in grayscale, doing so can often produce surprising results. Since we view our environment in color, it’s quite easy to overlook certain aspects of a scene that might be brought to the forefront by black and white conversion, such as the shapes of the trees and the pattern they create in the sample landscape image. In turn, you might just find that periodically converting some of your color images to grayscale allows you to become more aware of those factors before you start shooting.

As a result, shooting in black and white is much more than stripping a scene of color. Instead, shooting in black and white is all about training your eye to see the elements that often go unnoticed when color is present. Yet, when highlighted, those same elements can give your color and black and white images more depth and dimension.

Challenge Activity

Photograph scenes that look good in color and render them in black and white for comparison.

Step 1: Scout subjects and scenes that appeal to your sense of color. Choose 10 to 12.

Step 2: Photograph those scenes in color. Save your photos in RAW format, if possible.

Step 3: Process the RAW files using your normal workflow to produce the best possible color images.

Step 4: Starting again with the RAW files, this time converting each image to black and white.

Step 5: Compare each black and white image to its color counterpart. Look for attributes that didn’t stand out in the color version, such as texture, form, contrast, etc. Consider whether these attributes can be enhanced in the black and white version or the color version to improve the image.

By practicing this exercise periodically, the chances are good that you’ll begin to notice an increased awareness of the less obvious attributes of a scene when you’re scouting and shooting. This increased awareness should help you recognize elements that can be featured in your photos, resulting in images with greater impact.

Note how each sample image highlights at least one of the factors listed at the beginning of the lesson – form, texture, pattern, lines, and so on. Notice as well that most of the images also use perspective or framing in interesting ways that bring more attention to those fine details that are revealed in these black and white images. For example, in the portrait of the older gentleman, the texture of his beard, the wrinkles around his eyes, and his freckles and age spots are on full display because of the black and white conversion and the up close framing.