One aspect of your wedding photography that sometimes gets forgotten about is black and white photography. Personally, I love a beautiful contrasted black and white image because it has a way of conveying great emotion. But, we often hear and have questions come in about having black and white photography from our couples. So with that in mind, we decided to ask our photography expert, Llyod Dobbie to weigh and tell us what makes a black and white photo so great:
So, why should I have black and white photography at my wedding?
Black and white images will give a different aspect to the story of your wedding. Whilst it is important to see the colours from your day, a b&w image can offer a completely different feeling and atmosphere to colour.
Great! What is the difference between black and white and full colour photos then?
In technical terms a b&w image is a colour image with the colour information removed. However, when a colour digital image is simply ‘de-saturated’ it will usually be left looking rather ‘flat’ or bland and lacking in contrast. The skill of the photographer is then called upon to post-process the b&w image to give it an interesting range of tones and contrast.
How many black and white photos should I get?
Unless my clients specify otherwise, I would usually deliver around half the images in b&w. Most photographers will use a digital camera and capture all of your images in full colour with the conversion to black and white occurring during post-processing. Whilst some will present you with every image in both b&w ‘and’ colour I prefer to make the choice on an image-by-image basis.
Should I get all my photos taken in black and white?
I have been asked to do this before but the simple answer is that it’s your choice. But I would suggest that even if you’re a big fan of b&w photography a wedding day is a lot about colour choices and it would be a shame not to have any record of that at all.
What is your favourite aspect of black and white photography?
As a photographer, I have always loved black and white imagery. It’s where photography started and even now, for me, nothing looks better than a beautifully printed b&w photograph. There’s something about the range of tones in b&w that is very flattering to a portrait, not just of a bride, but of anybody at all.
What do you think? Would you have an all b&w day? If you have any more photography questions, be sure to ask here in the comments below!
