Despite sounding like more work, the latter seems to be the more popular method among experienced photographers. So why would they put themselves through the extra effort? Why not just set it and forget it?
Converting Color to Black and White
The first and major reason a photographer would want to shoot a batch of color photographs to convert to black and white later is the amount of control this method gives them over the final look of the picture. Achieving a good monochrome version involves more than simply removing the color from a picture. It’s highly likely that colors that contrasted previously will become similar tones of gray, losing any impact they might have had in the original shot. We can see this in the beach umbrellas. (attached pictures 1 and 2)
When converting a photo using editing software on a computer, we are able to alter the gray tone that each color will produce. This allows contrasts to be kept, as in the final version of the umbrella shot. (attached picture 3)
This might all sound like a lot of unnecessary work, considering you can just shoot in black and white. In truth, even pictures shot in black and white could use some post processing to make them look their best, so the effort needed to convert well from color is just an extra step of something that will be needed either way.
Another advantage of shooting in color is that we may decide the color picture actually works better. If it does, don’t convert it. Shooting in black and white doesn’t give us that option.
Shooting in Black and White
The oft-used statement black and white photography removes the distraction of color is, I believe, meant as a way to champion monochrome pictures over color. While I don’t agree with the implication that color in photography is always detrimental, I do believe that removing the distraction of color when shooting pictures that are destined to be black and white is a massive help.
Black and white photography requires a different kind of composition, as the absence of color places the emphasis instead on elements such as shapes, lines, shadows, patterns, and textures. Concentrating on these when shooting will lead to pictures that look better than those shot in color and converted as an afterthought, as they were composed with the important features of a black and white photograph in mind, without the distraction of any colors.
As touched upon earlier, we’re also saving time by not having to convert our pictures and adjust the gray tones. We won’t need to, as the only pictures we will have taken will be the ones that already looked good in monochrome. We can adjust the contrast, the shadows and the highlights, and that should be enough.
We have less flexibility, but we also have less need for it. And we have saved time.
The Best Way to Achieve Great Black and White Shots
It seems to me then that both methods have their own advantages, and you’re losing something by choosing either one of the two. What if there was a way to get the best of both worlds?
Well, if your camera has the ability to shoot RAW files, there is. Briefly, RAW files are uncompressed and unaltered by your camera, which means they are much bigger than JPEGs, but higher quality. By setting your Picture Style (Canon) or Picture Control (Nikon) to monochrome and using Live View, you can check your shots in black and white as you are shooting, removing the distraction of color and allowing you to concentrate on the different elements important to monochrome shots.
This black and white version you can check is really just a superficial display. As the RAW file is unaltered by your camera, your shots will be in full color on your computer where you will have the freedom to alter the gray tones however you like in a shot that you composed in black and white.
Some people recommend shooting in both RAW and JPEG simultaneously to achieve the same aim, although this will fill your memory card a lot quicker as you are storing two versions of each shot.
The only real downside to this method is the extra steps necessary to process the RAW files on your computer. You will need additional (but freely available) software to view them. If you have the time and willingness to put in the effort though, this method presents you with the best way to achieve great monochrome photographs.
Seeing in Black and White
Not everybody has the equipment to shoot and process RAW. If you don’t, and you have to choose between one of those first two options, which should it be?
My personal opinion is that those relatively new to black and white photography should shoot in black and white. I believe it is part of a more beneficial long term learning curve. Forget for the time being about the flexibility in editing the tones of gray and concentrate on developing your eye for black and white shots. Get a feel for how they require a different composition.
Many experienced photographers develop the ability to judge how a shot will look in monochrome before shooting, by learning to recognize how real word colors will convert to gray. You can develop this ability too, and shooting in black and white will help you to do so.