Colour or black & white?

6/7/2011

Four pictures of the week to make up for the lack of new photos on here for a while.

I face this dilemma, below, all the time. I shoot in colour, of course, but a lot of my early work is in black & white. Many of my modern subjects suit the mono treatment but I also put importance on reality. So, which is best? There's only one way to find out... ask the visitors to my website!

11 Comments

Martyn Moore link

6/7/2011 10:58:34 am

Both colour versions work best for me. I love the power of dayglo!

Although the street cleaner's hands look better in black & white.

I can see why you would show a modern reunion in black and white if the original was in black and white. What kind of qualities do you think makes a picture a prime candidate for decolouring?

Valerie Jardin link

6/7/2011 03:30:44 pm

Hi Chris!
I like B&W for the first picture because the color is so over powering that it distracts from the subject's facial expression and gesture.
For the second one I like the color better.
Okay, now if they were to be part of a group that's where my decision would be tough... I think I'd still go with B&W because that's how I see your work and that's how I like street photography.
Valerie

Chris Porsz

6/7/2011 04:16:49 pm

Thanks Valerie for taking the time and your comments sum up my feelings too.

The Observer's wonderful Jane Bown said 'I prefer the simplicity and directness of black and white'. The latter is 'quiet, where colour is noisy and distracting, and I feel it allows the personality of the sitter to come through'.

The legendary photojournalist Eddie Adams view was 'all war should be done in black and white. It's more primitive; colour tends to make things look too nice. It makes the jungle in Vietnam look lush-which it was.But it wasn't nice'.

tristanography link

6/21/2011 04:42:12 pm

i like the b & w for the first one as the colour of his top is detracting from his face
for the second photo i feel that the colour is the better of the two as it (in a complete opposite to the previous photo) needs the colour for him to stand out against the background.

cheers

tristanography

Karen Butfield

6/24/2011 11:21:41 am

I prefer the b&w for the first one, find the coloured background distracting and the b&w makes the chap stand out more.
The second one I prefer in colour as I feel the colour lifts the life that is in the picture it has more impact than the b&w.

Adam Tillman link

7/5/2011 05:56:45 am

Why not have the best of both worlds...selective color could work well for both images, but the second would benefit the most, in my opinion. In the first, I would only color the subject's clothes, or his skin, but not both. The second image would colorize only the 3 safety jackets, but is would increase contrast in the b/w areas for effect.

Lesley Riley

7/29/2011 08:09:20 am

black n white every time

Kimberly McManus link

10/7/2011 09:41:50 pm

The very first thing that caught my eye the instant I saw the first photo was the gentleman's facial expression. I was not at all deterred by the color. Next, I noticed his hands. Although he obviously gets quite dirty doing his job, he still wears jewelry.The color of his hat matches his shirt. Was that on purpose? The color photo made me think more about his personality. Looking at the black and white photo, I notice his expression, but I'm not prompted to think about the other things I mentioned. The color photo made me curious about his personality.

Chris Porsz

10/21/2011 05:29:43 am

Thank you Kimberly for taking the time to comment and I concur with what you say.Also you cannot appreciate his tanned face and warm lighting in mono. I tend to use colour when it adds something to an image and revert to mono when colour distracts.

jackie rob

10/25/2011 03:54:59 pm

jackie rob

10/25/2011 03:59:09 pm

I have always prefered B&W as it seems the focus is sharper but have to say that on this occasions both of the colour versions seem to "lift" the characters off the page, bring them more into the foreground so I noticed a lot more detail about them..

I take it your rescheduled tour went well?

Colour or black & white?

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Incorporating Chris's photo of the week

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