you will make this photography decision

[@alx9242]

It was really interesting to watch. I've never thought about why I go with my gut and sometimes choose black and white over color. It makes a lot more sense now. Thank you so much!

[@ali83]

I literally just had this realization last week. I had a few photos that I really liked for the composition and subjects, but I wasn't a fan of the colors even after playing around with edits, so I thought they were throwaways. However I couldn't stop looking at them, and a few days after was when I realized I could turn them into black and white! So cool to see your video confirm my feelings.

[@thor9722]

I feel like when the contract of color is strong enough to express what you want, keep it colorful. When the color is flat in entire picture, and the color will distract what you try to show or create unconfortable feeling, then try to use black and white. Just use the pure light and shadow structure to tell the story.

[@Triptisim]

I love your last bit of advice about what “feels” right and not just peering at histogram or color table. Ultimately it really is about what “feels right” and technical knowledge of color science and balance etc. can help you get there but at the core of it is that this is an art medium not an engineering exercise.

[@shyamalganguly3598]

Merry Christmas to you Roman and your family, friends, and acquaintances❤❤

[@lewisjones4158]

Really enjoy these a/b comparisons where you offer pros and cons for each method.

[@horstvd1]

Excellent and very understandable instructional video. Not a word too much and not a word too little. I watched it with great interest.

[@ianforber]

Many good points here. The second half of the video has well processed b&w pictures, the first half has well processed colour pics but very flat b&w versions of the colour pics. Mt Fuji is the best example. It cries out to be in colour but the b&w equivalent you show looks like it’s just been desaturated. B&W versions usually demand much higher levels of contrast/clarity/structure than would work in a colour version. I always shoot with the intention of making a b&w image but if an image works better in colour that’s fine - I end up with about 80% of my pics as b&w images. I use Nik SFX plugin to process them. I’m much less familiar with making colour images though so it becomes a self-fulfilling prophesy - I’m rubbish at colour so I just delete it if it doesn’t work in b&w!

[@robertarmero6320]

I wont say I disagree with any of your choices, but one like the Fuji mountain I think works in black and white with a bit of added contrast in the foreground. Like you said though it doesn't relay the time of the year so I guess it depends on what you are trying to portray. The ones that you displayed as stronger in black and white I totally agree with. Great images even stronger in black and white

[@ScottSpear-qn9uk]

Great video, Roman. Quite a helpful discussion regarding an important decision.

[@Danilyn_Livao]

Your content is always so well-crafted and engaging, Roman! I’m looking forward to more of your inspiring creations! 💯

[@KellySedinger]

I've noticed that as I study and learn photography, I sometimes watch your videos and realize that I've actually been already doing (to some degree) the thing that you're talking about, and it's cool to discover (a) the actual terminology for my process, and (b) that I'm doing it right! I did find myself disagreeing with a few of your choices here, but I take that as a sign of my developing eye and set of preferences. Cheers!

[@andrisstanga5938]

Love this video. One of your best yet, and from something that didn't inspire me as a subject at first. In the end, really useful advice. Thanks!

[@craigcarlson4022]

Roman, I wanted to send a big kudo for your recent suggestion (in a different vid) of, in LR, singling out the midrange of the color wheel and tinkering with the intensity of colors. I’ve tried it and it is really helpful. Ps, also appreciate this vid and your color work…you find a very visually appealing balance between being striking and distinct but not over the top. Cheers, Craig

[@vernonsza]

My understanding is that you can push a photo a lot further in black and white without it appearing unrealistic because you’re already in the realm of the unrealistic. Since we don’t perceive the world in black and white, it’s not challenging to manipulate an image because our eyes have already recognized that what we see is distorted. However, when it comes to color, even slight deviations in skin tones can trigger our eyes to perceive something amiss. Another instance where black and white is a better choice than color is when shooting in mixed lighting conditions. This eliminates the concern about strange color casts affecting people’s skin or clothing. Instead, you focus on manipulating tones and luminance.

[@ronald4139]

Super useful! Thanks!

[@joelowthianYT]

I’ve been working on a photo in lightroom for a couple of days now that I’ve really been struggling to get correct. Halfway through this video when you mentioned having a monochromatic scene, it hit me that the photo would be better in b&w. Hopped into lightroom, changed it to b&w and, what do you know, that’s what was needed. Thank you for these brilliant videos!

[@pedroferreira0288]

Great video! I guess I would just go with what looks better to me, but after this, I understand it better.

[@macjim]

I primarily work in B&W but I’ll either post both a B&W image and a colour one too if it works in both. It sometimes I only post the colour version if it wouldn’t work in B&W as you showed with that carpark shot. Flickr Ormie (O)

[@JackieDElia]

Excellent video, Roman. Your suggestion about converting to B&W when the colors conflict or detract makes a lot of sense to me. I’m going to apply that.

[@trix10101]

thanks for the new ideas! I tried this on a few photos of mine and it works well!

[@luisPBonilla]

Thanks! needed this!

[@squibbbbb]

Ngl I was skeptical at the beginning of the idea behind this video - for some reason I thought I already know when it pick between black and white and colour, but I obviously did not, and I’m glad I watched the entire vid. Learned a lot from this video and enjoyed hearing your thought process

[@brianmckeever5280]

Fascinating examples, thank you for the insights!

[@timblass4811]

I shoot because of colour, so black and white is never a decision I have to make. If it's not good in colour, then it won't be in black and white either. I'd actually argue that black and white photography is way harder than colour in many ways and I can generally spot a black and white image done by a colour first photographer. Not always but, more often than not.

[@Chris-qy3dp]

I always say Black and white is a cheat code for photography. Makes (almost) any photo look good, I have found it much more difficult to get similar quality results with color. And there in lies the challenge and the fun of editing. It’s where you get to make artistic choices and bring your image to life.

[@thee31]

Just desaturating doesn't make a compelling B&W from a colour photo. You usually need to dodge & burn the tones because the camera wants to make the image flat.

[@veryfrancardo7600]

I love the message of artistic choice that you give. If you feel it works in color, then color it is, if it works in bnw, fine in bnw. It depends on the scene. I get a bit sad when i hear that only bnw photography expresses feelings, or that if you started shooting in color you should continue with that style only. No boundaries, just free choice. I like this ☺️

[@mlseawell]

Excellent video as usual and loved the subject. I've been shooting for a minute now and I'm primarily a B&W shooter from day 1 but yes, color is sometimes the honest answer. I'm heading to Thailand with my family soon with my X-T5 (first time in Asia) and since this is what I classify as a "fun fam" trip and NOT a photography trip (think Yosemite) I will shoot mostly in color and sometimes I shoot in color because I like the conversion process in Lightroom/Photoshop/Silver Efex Pro. And lastly I'm married. Mama demands things in color sometimes! "I've been 40 years discovering that the queen of all colors was black.” ― Pierre-Auguste Renoir

[@orjan37]

Enjoyed this a lot! Been struggling to decide myself, and these are some very valuable tips. Thanks :)

[@TonyNomadic]

Another amazing piece of information and insight. I’ll have to review my images with these tips

[@gashead2]

Great thanks, a new way to think for me know.

[@grantmedical]

Thank you…. Very helpful…

[@suhlabs]

excellent video! well done.

[@lucianoadami7231]

Roman ai girato il video in camera da letto senza svegliare chi dorme 🤣👍.

[@timbiddle6866]

Hi Roman, Great video and really made me think about past pictures I have taken and will make me think of future pictures. Looking forward to Xmas time of work and watching your vids with my daughter back from Uni (as we did last year). Have a good Xmas. Tim

[@snapsbyfox]

Cheers!

[@luiskaj2434]

I find I tend to lean towards B&W when photographing buildings with strong graphic elements; think of the stunning images by Julius Schulman, particularly the Case Study House #22 by architect Pierre Koenig

[@AshBashSneakers]

This was really good.. and will make me look at my black and white edits more closely… tbh often times I will edit an image in colour then at the end use my black and white preset so I have both.

[@johnpollock6996]

To me, B&W is rarely desirable. I convert 2-3 shots per year and those are nearly always in a monochromatic scene. Even the room where you shot this video is pretty monochromatic yellow/tan/brown, but it would never occur to me that it would work better in B&W. I do plenty of walking in the woods and during winter, when everything is bark and dead leaf colored, conversion works sometimes.

[@arrancartercheetham]

Nice video mate 👏👏 you always keep your videos so easy to digest 🙌 however, I still prefer black and white 😝👍

[@illustratedjournal]

Great explanation B&W vs Color editing. Your suggestion of using B&W film simulations works for me shooting a Fujifilm xpro2. I'll often dedicate a day to B&W. This helps train my eye.

[@AshBashSneakers]

Like someone said though just changing an image to black and white isn’t the ‘full’ picture but I think it was good enough to get the point across.. for example that lovely photos where they were painting the carpark.. in the b&w image you couldn’t even tell it was different colours.. you are still able to manipulate shades of grey in b&w photos to give some separation but I think you did an excellent job of showing the difference still

[@snapsbyfox]

oh totally agree! but if I were to edit each shot specifically after too, this would be a very long and tedious video

[@littlebluepages]

Remember, however, you can not just change a color photo to B&W and expect it to work somehow. You need to edit the B&W image differently and then you’ll see a proper result. Shape the light. Happy shooting! 📸

[@snapsbyfox]

oh totally agree! but if I were to edit each shot specifically after too, this would be a very long and tedious video

[@srt10acrx]

Learning that I dislike b&w photography... I've tried to like it but there's only one photo in this whole video that I preferred in black and white

[@freekvanbuul5100]

Great video with new insights for me. Question/remark. In the first half of the video you prefer the color version but compare it with, imo, shallow B/W version. E.g. the boy hanging on to the cube would (again imo) look maybe better in B/W if more whites and more blacks were added (WB and tones to the left).

[@snapsbyfox]

Yeah I agree the black and white would require more editing to make it work and it's not a simple conversion.

[@rpigeon8]

Very interesting, again :) Thanks

[@washingtonradio]

B&W is another tool to use when editing or taking photos (I shoot raw & JPG). Some scenes are much better in B&W.

[@milliesavard]

I think it’s being too simplistic vis a vis b&w, there are ways to edit b&w to pop things out if only by adding filters for example (yellow, orange, red, green, blue) to find the contrast in a picture. Converting to b&w is not just about pull out the saturation.

[@snapsbyfox]

oh totally agree! but if I were to edit each shot specifically after too, this would be a very long and tedious video

[@jamesv.wilkerson30]

Great video. Thanks for sharing your thought process. I just wish you would spell 'color' correctly 😉

[@dylancurcio5388]

Thank you Roman. I shoot 99% color but this helps because this is the age old question for me. Also, whatre your grain settings rn?

[@MrSharma786]

Hey Roman, Why did you delete your “Leaving Fujifilm” video? I resonated so much with the things mentioned in that video.

[@alanmonkartist]

Excellent analysis Roman of when to use and not use colour in photography. What are your opinions on combining both colour and black N white photographs in, say, a photography magazine, or a photography book? Do you think this works or should the photographer stick to either/or? 😁

[@RS-Amsterdam]

When you are shooting B/W you are better off setting your EVF to mono, then the contrast will guide you to a good shot. Remember color contrast is often completely different compared to luma contrast (you can download those color and luma wheels to see the difference) Personally I love B/W and my mindset is already set to B/W when I go shooting for B/W. Especially in the winter months cause nature is often grey so contrast is your main separator, or when you shoot vintage stuff or people when they are the most important subject and the surroundings don't matter (or can even be distracting) IMO a good B/W shot is taken as one and not a colour image that is mediocre and you want to save it that way. Nice sample shots by the way

[@snapsbyfox]

great points!

[@massimobertinelli1942]

Instead of using black & white I prefer to use heavily desaturated profiles. Images look more realistic in my opinion.

[@kaazd]

Fujisan and sakura 😱

[@watching-youtube-now]

I think the decision usually has to come before you take a shot. BW shots focus solely on tonal contrast, and sacrifice the colour to aid that contrast (as in the example with blowing out the sky). So if it's tonal contrast that made you press the shutter button, you can safely make it a BW image. If it's colour contrast, you likely won't be able to.

[@hmuz8388]

i m 5 min in and the way you just converted to bnw without further editing the bnw feels weird to me, because that's not how bnw is supposed to work/be.

[@snapsbyfox]

oh totally agree! but if I were to edit each shot specifically after too, this would be a very long and tedious video

[@hmuz8388]

@ true enough. Cheers!

[@jamesdean5095]

Interestingly I quite like super desaturated, monotone images, but in colour. I feel it shows a real class and clarity to the scene when it's "almost black and white" but clearly not.

[@metageek]

How do you feel about selective color? For example, in the photo of the people playing pool, you could edit it so that the only color is the yellow of the shirt, so that attention is drawn to the main subject.

[@Ol.QWERTY.Bastard]

Blech.

[@snapsbyfox]

hmmm not my cup of tea tbh

[@thomasdelattre_photo]

This new auto dub feature is quite annoying, youtube doesnt provide an option to disable it by default and stick with original language

[@snapsbyfox]

what?! I didn't enable no auto dub feature... Let me check

[@snapsbyfox]

Sorted! didn't even know this was an option and why it was on by default! This video still impacted but from next one should be back to normal

[@Needafollower]

Best guy on youtube

[@lucianoadami7231]

Condivido ci sono foto che rendono a colori girate in bianco e nero perdono molto del loro significato . Fotografare in bianco e nero è piu' difficile . Non so se ai mai sentito parlare o visto foto di Berengo Gardini è un fotografo italiano a piu' di 90 anni le sue foto che rappresentano la vita in Italia sono tutte in bianco e nero solo per lavori commerciali a usato il colore .

[@snapsbyfox]

Will check out! Thanks!

[@cihadkorkmaz9987]

This auto dubbing feature of KZbin is driving me crazy. What a nightmare. Let me watch in English merde !

[@snapsbyfox]

Second time I see this... let me check

[@snapsbyfox]

Sorted! didn't even know this was an option and why it was on by default! This video still impacted but from next one should be back to normal

[@cihadkorkmaz9987]

@@snapsbyfox Thanks Roman! Actually my complain was about KZbin setting this option on by default and not giving possibility to disable completely. Great video btw ;)

[@petrub27]

And how people were doing photography when only bw film was available?because they were capturing stories not just lifeless still images

[@snapsbyfox]

and how did people get around without cars in 1745? Gosh people today are so lazy!

[@TonyNomadic]

@@snapsbyfoxabsolutely love how you have time to entertain these comments 😂😂

[@TimTylerCine]

You've spelled COLOR wrong :)

[@luzr6613]

You fail to grasp the difference between 'colour', which is English, and 'color, which is American English. Both spellings are 'right'. There are many similar examples.

[@snapsbyfox]

haha im pretty sure he was joking