Why is black and white photography so popular? When I discuss photography options with my clients the subject of whether they would like their prints in black and white or colour always comes up. The majority of people say that they love black and white photography and would consider having them hanging up on the walls of their home. After all they add a classic timeless look to any home.

This is one of the reasons why we shoot a lot of black and white photography portraits and how our relationship portrait style came to be.

So why is it so popular? Well many reasons really and a lot of them have to do with our subconscious. The key ones are listed below. Remember that these are based on portrait photography. Black and white photography is also popular amongst landscape and architectural photographers too. In those styles of photography the principles below still apply but there are additional reasons why it works so well that I do not discuss in this article.

Let’s start.

Black and White Photography Brings Back Fond Childhood Memories

Firstly I believe that there are very strong historical reasons why black and white photos are so popular. Even in today’s world where millions of photos are snapped per day and quick phone filters are applied to make our photos more ‘interesting’, we have all experienced traditional black and white photos in some form.

Some of us older folk may remember taking and printing photographs (yes printing) from rolls of film before the age of digital. Inevitably some of these roles would have been black and white or sepia toned. For the younger generation you may have experienced seeing these photos in old family photo albums. Whatever the case there still remains that mystique of a time past: The feel of a print. Sometimes ripped, creased or faded but always associated with fond loving memories. It is definitely something that we still want to hold on to.

Now let’s talk about some aspects of the black and white photograph that are a bit more tangible.

It Helps Draw Attention To Faces

By removing colour a photograph can be more pleasing to the eye of the viewer. There is less distraction and your eye can have time to rest rather than jump all over the place in the image. Simplicity is the key and is what our relationship portraits are based on.

So why is this? Well, when you remove colour you naturally draw more attention to the subject. Did you know that your eye is drawn to the brightest parts of an image. That’s just the way we work. It takes our attention. In a black and white portrait the lightest parts are usually the subjects face as in the example below. Bingo!

Removes Blotchy Red Skin

Skin also looks better in black and white. If your subject has red blotchy skin then by converting your photo to black and white it magically disappears.

Black and White Photographs Eliminate Distractions

OK so for all you mums out there who love taking photo of your kids the next bit will really resonate with you. Have you ever been frustrated when you take photos indoors and your child’s skin colour is really weird (like the example below)? It could be green, orange, magenta or a mixture of them all. No your child is not an alien. When we photograph anyone indoors the lights in our houses are all different colours. We have green fluorescent globes, orange halogens, multi-coloured TV screens and not to mention coloured feature walls where light can reflect from. All these colours make our photos look weird.

By converting these photo into black and white we lose all that distracting colour and create a more appealing photograph.

The same can be said with outdoor portraits. For instance photos taken at night that have been affected by gaudy coloured neon signage.

One last thing. When you are taking outdoor portraits of your kids, maybe when you are at the park or playground there can be a lot of distracting objects in the background. If these are brightly coloured then a quick black and white conversion can do the trick and bring the attention back to your cute kid.

Hopefully I’ve shed some coloured light (boom boom!) on why we find black and white photographs so appealing. Remember when it comes to portraits it is all about the subject and anything you can do to eliminate distractions will dramatically improve your photographs.

If you like the idea of creating some beautiful relationship portraits between members of your family, then please give me a call at the studio on 9570 6191 to discuss options. You can also use our contact page.

Until next time.

Take care
Warren