The debate over color versus black and white photography has existed as long as color photography has existed. While black and white photography has been around since the early 1800 the first color photograph did not appear until 1860. It took over fifty more years before the quality of color photography began to catch up with black and white.

Since that time the trend has leaned strongly towards color photography. There are strong proponents of both general types of photography. Color advocates argue that their photographs show the true vibrancy of life. Conversely, black and white photographers argue that their pictures look more formal and can be more striking to the viewer. Unfortunately for those that prefer black and white photographs, throughout the last half of the 1900’s, black and white photography had been considerably more expensive to produce as the film and processing equipment was less common.

With digital photography most cameras now have a simple switch to choose color or black and white. Because the camera is really taking a color photograph and then converting it to black and white most experts recommend always starting with a color picture. Photo editing software will do a better job of converting the photo than the internal software in your camera.

There are several circumstances when black and white photography really shines. If you are taking a picture of something with very stark color or lighting contrasts, those contrasts can be even further emphasized through black and white. In addition, when photographing textures, black and white pictures can draw out the different grains in the object. Many photographers use black and when making a professional presentation, for example, for advertising and wedding photos. Finally, there are some subjects like war and death that may be made less visually offensive through black and white techniques.

There are also times when color is far superior to black and white. An example would be the vibrant yellow bird in your yard. In general, most objects in nature tend to be better visualized through color photography. Because our eyes are so attuned to colors, we are able to focus on the subject of the photograph rather than the contrast of colors.

Another fun technique is to use color filters. While physical filters can be used in some cameras, photo editing software can create this effect with the click of a button. You can create otherworldly photographs like having a black sky outlining pure white clouds, or red clouds in a green sky. Photo editing software allows us to play around with our products in a way that we never could before. All types of photography take practice to perfect.

Experience is essential, whether you are attempting to capture the most vibrant of color photographs, or creating the starkest impact possible with black and white photography. The easiest way to learn how to take powerful photography is to take thousands of pictures. Analyze and try out different techniques in color and lighting. Then take the photographs you have produced and run some of them through a photo editing software and see how they look in black and white, you may be surprised that you like them better than ever.