When to Use Black and White

How do you know when to remove color altogether?

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How do you know when to remove color altogether?
With all this talk about color, what about black and white photography? Not all shots lend themselves best to color; sometimes removing color altogether can make an image stronger. So how do you know when to remove color altogether?

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I. When colors overwhelm the main subject

One key reason to remove color is when it overwhelms the photo and takes attention away from the main subject.

II. When color isn’t necessary

Another reason is when there’s hardly any color in the image.

III. When you want to focus on forms, lines and textures

Shooting in black and white is a good way to put more focus on forms, lines and textures, which might otherwise by buried by distracting colors.

IV. When there’s a lot of contrast in the image

Black and white images work great when there’s a lot of tonal contrast in an image, i.e., big differences in light and dark areas in an image.

V. Preview and play

Some cameras, like the Pen-F, let you preview images in black and white before you shoot, so you can see if the shot works better in color or not. Try it!

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