B&W Photography

Black & White (B&W) Photography – timeless, romantic and documentary style

B&W remains the simplest way of retaining your beautiful memories with style and romance.

One benefit of going b&w is that colors can actually be visually distracting. If the primary purposes of good composition and lighting is to lead the viewers eye, then an image reduced to b&w tones really helps eliminate visual clutter for a more powerful photograph.

There are technical reasons why B&W score well also, let’s discuss….

Lawrence Crandall Photography_sepiaLets start by saying, B&W photos will never go out of style! Never. By now we’ve seen color photography take many turns from muted colors to overly saturated, lomographic and countless others.

 

Frank Salas Master Photographer California

Skin and textures: Ever wonder why people in your parent’s wedding photos just looked better back in the day?

 
Well besides people taking pride in looking good, B&W photography does a great job of capturing even skin tones. It’s the main reason that women apply make-up.

 

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Michael Jonathan Studios

They want to even the skin tone and give a healthier solid complexion, look younger. It’s amazing how many color tones a person’s skin has. Today, make that your task to examine people’s skin, see the unevenness and watch for gobs of make up on women’s faces. In photo-shop we usually even skin tones as a way to enhance youth and overall photos. B&W photography does a good job of covering most of the uneven colors. You can safely say, people are generally better looking in B&W photos.

 

Lawrence Crandall Photography

 

Clothing: Another reason why B&W looks great is the matching of clothes. Loud patterns and colors are muted to a nice shade of grey, black or white. Everyone in the picture looks more cohesive & put-together. A photographers trick to saving a photo is making it black and white. There is something to be said about the old photos from our parent’s books. They were romantic, right? People cared more back then, right? Yes in parts true, but that romance comes with a little assistance from classic B&W photography.

 

Frank Salas Black and White PhotographyB&W in-vogue: It is never out of vogue. Ever seen a photo from the 70’s or 80’s? Have you seen someone’s wedding picture from that era and had it follow with a disclaimer, “OK, those colors were in that year!”

 

Deluxe Tux - Hulse PhotographyHave you ever been shown someone’s color wedding photo album from the 60’s, 70’s or even the 80’s? How often are they followed with an apology or disclaimer? Hardly ever! That’s because B&W photos will never go out of style. That’s because they shield hideous colors and clothing patterns, promote cohesiveness, and are simply the best way to portray grace, elegance and true romance.

 

B&W – Timeless by definition!  Shades of Black and White – Grays…
Remember these music videos: Madonna’s, “Vogue” and Chris Isaak’s, “Wicked Game”,  each are over 20 years old. They are sexy, timeless, and stand up against some of the most beautiful cinematography of today’s generation. There’s a reason for it all. B&W film, creating what feels like a classic all by making it timeless.

 

Hulse photographySepiatone – “Sepia” or “Sepia toning” – rich and warm tones
Here is a specialized photographic treatment to give a black-and-white photographic print a copper or brownish tint, a warmer tone and to enhance its archival qualities. you’ll see this look used in magazine print work and in large canvas prints in galleries.

 

Lawrence Crandall Photography-sepia-brideSaving the moment
People get married in all types of venues, some breathtaking and some…well, not always as breathtaking. What’s the best way of distracting the eye from unsightly wallpaper, a dying plant, smoggy sky, or just about anything else? You guessed it! It’s B&W printing.

 

JoelAustellStudio.com

JoelAustellStudio.com

 

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What’s the quickest way of rescuing a great moment captured that unfortunately contains a “less than stellar” background? A photographer’s trick to a bad photo situation is black and white, turning a dreadful situation into a celebrated photo.

 

Black & White Photography Crandall Photo

 

 

For your wedding photos consider adding B&W to your photographer’s request list.

Article Photo Credits:

Michael Jonathan Studios

Lawrence Crandall Photography

Frank Salas Photography

Hulse Photography

Barnet Photography

Joel Austell Studio

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