In photography today, we have so many options!
Remember the days when you had to buy either color film or Black & White??!
Then, you hoped that most of the photos on that film turned out right.
You never knew until you got those pictures developed!
Now, we have digital cameras with the screen showing us instantly what the picture we just took looks like. We can immediately delete it or save it for later…
developing, scrap booking, putting it on canvas, or on a dvd multi-media presentation.
When I play with my photo software, (I don’t edit too often), I have a hard time deciding whether to make certain photos black & white or keep them in color.
There’s just something about black & whites… nostalgia, I guess.
Here’s an example… they each highlight different things & give a different look…
Which one do you like??
My daughter & son-in-law… we’re all having dinner together at a local restaurant.
You can tell the lighting in the place has affected the look of the photo.
Here’s the same photo in black & white.
It gives it a different look.
Here’s a case where it was a no-brainer for me to decide…
I took these pictures of my daughter, the week before her wedding, several years ago.
Here’s a color photo, nice red flowers, pretty bench.
Here’s a different picture… same bench, same flowers but the waterfalls are in the background. All I did here was leave the flowers in their original color, and everything else in black & white. My daughter really likes the retro/vintage look, so this photo is one of her favorites.
So…
What do you think? Do you prefer color or black & white?
When do you choose (if ever) black & white over color?
Can’t wait to hear what you think!
Happy photo shoots,
Daisy
A Daisy Garden 
i think it totally depends on the mood you want to capture. I like them both, and i love it that our new cameras help us amateur photographers take better pictures. I mean me, not you. Yours are always beautiful!
I agree with you… it depends on the mood we want to achieve. I’m definitely an amateur and I am thrilled that there are digital cameras today (at affordable prices) that allow me to look as if I really know what I’m doing! 🙂 Photography is so much fun and it captures a moment in time for future generations to enjoy.
I think you’ve chosen well to make that first one black & white – same with the other one you did. It can really change the whole mood of a photo when you make it B&W! Now you’ve got me curious to try this out too. Thank you, Daisy!
Blessings ~ Wendy
Yay!! I can’t wait to see what you do! I always enjoy your blog…both your photos and your writing.
I think I prefer the black and white of the couple, but definitely love the black and white with colored bouquet of the bride.
Lillian
lillianscupboard.wordpress.com
Thank you, Lillian. It’s always so nice to see your comments! Thank you for taking the time and I certainly appreciate your input!
I like the color, and with technology I like playing around with all the colors such as Sepia, some say lively, cold, warm, etc. Thanks for sharing. Beautiful Pics. Mtetar
Yes, it’s so much fun to play with the different options!
Even the Black and White looks nice when color is added. Great Post. Mtetar
I love playing with my photo editing software. A lot of time I have a hard time making up my mind which I like better color/black & white. I have always been a big fan of black & white though.
It is a lot of fun playing with the different effects…makes us see things in the photo that we wouldn’t ordinarily pick up.
I love Black and White. However there are just some photos that really pop with color… I guess I really didn’t really answer your question… did I? 🙂
Haha, I agree, some photos just look better in color. It’s not an easy decision for me either. 🙂
I just had a post about this not too long ago – I love black and white photos. But, I’m also a huge fan of turning down the saturation and keeping a hint of color for a more vintage, “antique” feel. I recently picked up Adobe Lightroom 4 for $99 and it’s made editing much more fun! It takes me awhile to pick an editing style when I’m going through batches now. 🙂 But it’s fun, so it’s worth it.
I like that “antique” look, too. There’s just so many options now, that it makes it harder to choose one!
The photos are all beautiful! They all have their own appeal. Black and white can emphasize the beauty of an object…or person…in it’s own unique way, an elegant way. I love them all!
Thank you! And I agree… it’s good to take it case-by-case…some photos look better in color, while others pop in B&W.
I like both–though for older pictures I definitely prefer black and white. I have a lot of pictures that are 25 or 30 years old–the color ones are fading, but the black and white ones still look great.
Yes, some of the old color photos tend to fade. I wish I had more B&Ws of my parents and grandparents. I love history and I only have a handful of those really old photos. I enjoy your blog so much because of all the history you post…especially your grandmother’s diary! 🙂
Daisy, you capture some beautiful images! I’ve learned so much about photo editing in these first 4 months of blogging, but I know I have miles to go. Do you mind if I ask what photo editing software you use? I’m trying to decide what to invest in….
Thank you for your kind compliment! I have photoshop but I actually don’t use it very often. I use the iphoto program on my Mac. I would love to use my photoshop more often, but I usually don’t have too much time and the iphoto works very quickly and is very user-friendly. I don’t do a lot of editing unless I’m working on photos from a wedding, or something I really want to put some time in. In that case, then I would use the photoshop. It’s fun to play around with it, but it does take time.
Thanks for the feedback. I have iPhoto, too, and find it very user-friendly. I also use pixlr which is free and online, but definitely not as advanced as Photoshop. Might try to find something in between the two…. Cheers!