All B&W, Colour or a mix

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mickallen

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I am doing a medium term project over the next few months, which will be my first, I am documenting an abandoned cemetery near where I live dating back to 1851.

I want to ask all your advice as to which is preferable or the norm, should all the images be either Black and White or colour or can I have a mix?

Having read many photo books most seem to be shot in one or the other, but their are the odd few with both.

While wedding photographers seem to use a mix of both quite successfully.
 
It really depends what look/feel you're going for! there's no hard and fast rules, but you'll find that a lot of people who are trying to make up a series of 'matching' photographs will tend to limit the variables like colour/B&W, lens, orientation, subject matter etc, etc... but again this is totally open to interpretation and it's all about what you want.

On the subject of wedding photographers, they are taking photographs on behalf of a client and in as much need to provide what the client wants. in a lot of instances the photographer will offer a range of photographs treated differently offering the couple the opportunity to have more photos treated in those ways, all in the name of providing a service. some people want all B&W and others want all colour and if the client is paying enough then they can have whatever they want.

it's really about the difference between the art and the commercial world.

go with what feels right mate, just put everything into it! my 2 cents is that due to the subject matter i would shoot it all in B&W but then that's just my spin, others will undoubtedly agree and disagree.

EDIT: As an aside, if you go for a mixture try and keep it reasonably ballenced - a B&W series with one colour may stand out like a sore thumb.
 
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Mix it Mick!, a lot of people use mono for projects like this because 'it is art' but the fact is - not everything works well in b+w.
Dave.
 
Thanks Guys,

I will have to admit my gut feeling was to do the series in B&W, but thought I might limit myself doing this, what if there was a great shot which could only be portrayed effectively with colour.

Dave, you make a good point am I just thinking B&W just because it fits in with what I feel should be done from an arty perspective.

Nathan, If I do decide to include the colour shots I think you are right with regards, to including enough colour shots so that they feel part of the series.
Thanks also for highlighting the differences between wedding photography and what I am doing, to be honest I really only need to please 'me' as I am doing this so I can find out more about the subject and to give me a focus for my photography and if I get some decent photographs along the way then that's a bonus.
 
Hi Mick,

I'd say mix it too. That way you can decide what you want after you get the results, and make up your final project portfolio however you think it looks best.

Cheers,
 
It's not often that I look at my B&W shots and wish they were colour... very often when I look at my colour shots I wish they were B&W.

I know I can convert them digitally but most of my printing is done wet.
 
Why not shoot both and decide after seeing some initial results? See which way works best for you: b/w only, colour only, or a mix if you're getting equally good results from both. If it were me, each visit I would limit myself to one choice (b/w this time, colour next) as I find it hard to flip-flop quickly between the two; since it's a subject that you have easy access to, splitting visits like that wouldn't pose too much of a problem.

Of course for a personal project intended for your own walls there are no rules, but I suspect if public exhibition or publication is your ultimate goal that having the final project be one or the other will be better received than a mixed one, and a 50-50 mix would have more hope than a 99-1 would.
 
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If you are shooting film, I'd go with one or the other (my preference is always B&W).
Otherwise, you are pretty much guaranteed to find yourself looking at pictures in your final edit, wishing you'd shot color when you were using B&W or wishing you'd shot B&W when you were using color.

If you are using digital, you'll of course be shooting in RAW format. You can just decide later whether you want those images to be in color or B&W.
 
Even though you're shooting a project/series to be sequenced and shown together, each photograph ideally should be strong enough to stand on its own. That implies that each one has to "work" individually in whichever palette, color or monochrome, you choose for it. So, for example, if there's a shot where the use of color is what makes it a strong image, then I think it would be better to drop it from the final edit than to diminish it by constraining it to b&w. In any event, I think it's more skillful sequencing than subject matter that allows a mix of color and b&w to work well. Let your images each find their best expression (within reason, of course), and then figure out how to sequence them for best effect.

::Ari
 
Typically there is not much color in cemetaries unless there are recent flowers or flags. You might consider doing it in color but trying to get BW look, keeping the bold colors to a minimum.
 
If I'm preparing for a specific project, the choice of film type(s) is one of the first things I get out of the way. And its either b/w or color, never both. Working in color alone has its own potential headaches, never mind mixing it up with b/w. Also, I tend to mentally frame things in color or b/w (we've covered that one sufficiently, so I won't get into this again here). It comes down to a greater degree of mental clarity for me, followed by aesthetic concerns.


- Barrett
 
Thank you all, so many different views, I was hoping everyone would be telling me the same thing so my decision would be made easier.

I suppose what this does mean is that there is no right or wrong way and I just need to go with what I feel to be right, currently I am swaying towards only B&W as Ducky points out there is not much colour in cemetaries, especially this one which is totally abandoned and derelict, maybe some nice autumn colours though :confused:.

Another question that I do have based on the feedback is what you guys do about showing a project/series, I was going to put the photographs on my site as and when I take them, but I get the impression that I should wait until I have finished and select the best or strongest combinations and then publish.
 
mickallen said:
Another question that I do have based on the feedback is what you guys do about showing a project/series, I was going to put the photographs on my site as and when I take them, but I get the impression that I should wait until I have finished and select the best or strongest combinations and then publish.
Click to expand...
I believe in presenting as a finished, focused set of work. There's always the possibility of a separate, off-the-cuff "travelogue" that's constantly being added to, but it's not something I'd do.


- Barrett
 
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