a question for EVERY photographer

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[dansmouse]

Color or B&W…your family photos are always so compelling and engaging. Your love for your family clearly shows in your photos.

[AppleGameification]

I really, really love colour photography done well. As you said, theres a transportative quality to it. You'll be able to smell an autumn forest or feel the sting of winter air on your face with a great colour photo. I'm really interested in hearing what other people's philosophy is regarding black and white. I really want BW to have a place in my life still

[mrca]

When you photo people in color, you capture their clothes. When you photo people in black and white, you capture their soul. B&w trains you to see contrast, shadow. I have used it for years to concentrate on seeing how the shadow falls across faces. etc. But sometime color makes or is the subject of the image. I carry backs with both b&w and color or 2 35 mm bodies.

[mracdcjailbreak]

Your children are going to have the greatest collection of photos of their childhood to look back on once theyre all grown up, and I think thats incredibly special and a bit magic. Colour or BW, I love your work man

[faded_memory]

I literally just picked this book up on a road trip where I had primarily b&w with me. Really made me second guess my decision 😅 The question of color is something I think about a lot too and I really admire photographers who fully commit to b&w but at the end of the day I think I’ll always shoot both, I just love both for different reasons.

[OneMonthTwoCameras]

I loved that book. Wonderful read and loved the visual comparisons.

[AlainGuindon]

Yes, A Question of Color, thanks for covering a great topic. Like some people I usually have a camera loaded with B&W and one with color. I have to make a decision when leaving for the day, as most of the time I don’t like to carry two cameras, even if they are small Leica M’s. I’ll definitely check out this book, thanks 😊

[AManWhoWasntThere]

I personally shoot colour by default in digital. And every once in a while I will convert the digital image to B&W after the fact because I think it will work better for that particular shot.

On those rare occasions where I shoot film it's pretty much exclusively B&W because I occasionally like to rent a dark room in my area for some printing just for fun.

[tedgoldman]

This video is very timely for me. I’ve literally become a B&W photographer for the past few years and recently pared back my kit to a monochrome camera only. But it’s limiting as well. I’ve taken to “painting” my images in PS which allows me to make the world any color I want. But now I’m adding a color camera back into the mix. Your thoughts are very helpful. I’m not a fan of asking whether an image looks better in color or B&W. I want the image to be taken with intention as you say. Thx!

[RavenclawFtW]

I prefer color photography, personally. Because when we see black and white photos, we think of those as being from the past because that used to be the dominant form of photography for so many years. Because of that, there's a certain disconnect between B+W photos and people who grew up with color photography as the default. I use color because then I know that even after many years pass, I can be confident that people will feel a more instinctive connection to what's in the picture, because that's much closer to how their eyes really see it.

[SlavaVeres]

Wonderful book on colour photography! Colour or b/w is a creative choice. Like format size or focal length is a creative choice in photography. Like pencil or watercolour is a creative choice for a graphic artist. However it's always good to challenge yourself creatively and to step out of your comfort zone. By the way, we are yet to see "my favourite books of 2023" video from you, Matt 😉 Greetings from cold Canada! 🇨🇦🇺🇦

[ThaGhettoBlaster]

For sure, each is a tool for the right job. We are more drawn to color because of our eyes, but our minds are curious of B&W to calm the scene with less distractions. B&W is a timeless moment and color is in a particular moment. Very therapeutic. I love photography ❤

[-grey]

Colour is harder to shoot. You have to be significantly more advanced as a pre-visualiser and composer to make it work. The amount of colour images that don't do anything with the colour and even photographers who don't know how to use white balance is incredible. The simplest way to use it is as a focus point, but there's a way to shoot it in contrast too, much like black and white. I find shooting overcast days with flat light is great time to practice. Blue hour too. I'm not good at it yet, but it's a process of awakening that awareness that's necessary.

[jorsetti]

Plus with plugins of color grading to choose in post makes you really think about color and what you’re trying to say photographically.

[ARTEGO]

Hi! I also see in black and white and this is my favorite photo. Color is an additional factor when building a composition. I discovered a very simple way to understand color. I started adding one color to black and white, then another, then a third. At the same time, everything else in the frame was black and white. Just choose places where the walls of the houses are neutral gray. This way you can choose the colors you like. If you look at famous photographers, they always have a primary color. You have a black and white wall behind you, and individual colors are visible on it. I noticed yellow, orange, and purple. black and white highlights them.

[carbonejack]

Great images. Interesting take on this subject.

[thiskindofcertainty]

Good question! I had to work it out for myself. I used to have my darkroom around 30 years ago, all black and white. Black and white adds abstraction, color emotion. Color can connect more direct and deeper. Digital hit me really hard in this regard, color equaled chaos for a very long time. The color work that you show is spectacular! Thanks for the video!

[ChristineWilsonPhotography]

I tend to shoot colour when people ask me for family photos and for travelling, but the rest of my work is black and white, I grew up in the darkroom its just my comfort zone and I like the piece it brings me when I shoot in black and white although these days it's all digital

[tonyparatore]

I started with color film as a teenager, photographing my sister's wedding... With a little yashica mg1. Later started experimenting with black and white film. I can't really say which one I love best... Both have their place in my heart... So I would say, don't use only color or only black and white. Go for both... Choose wisely where to use one or the other... Both are just as wonderful...

[marz]

Solid way you put this into words! Thanks for the video Matt