Christchurch Black and White Photographer
Classic black-and-white photography is timeless. I can’t emphasise enough how wonderful monochrome photos are. Here are my top 10 tips on why you should choose black-and-white photography over colour.
1. It is timeless.
As I mentioned above black-and-white photography is timeless. Check out the great masters such as Henri Cartier-Bresson. Back in his day there was no colour photography, he only had black-and-white to work with. He was also working with film, not digital. He had only a few chances to get the photo before the moment was gone and he didn’t want to waste his roll of film. He used to wait until the exact perfect moment and then hit the shutter. When you get black-and-white photography for your portrait – it brings you back to that day when photos were very precious, fleeting and timeless. This photo below I took just a few years ago, but you would think it could have been taken during the Cold War. Black and white makes it timeless.
2. Black-and-white photos go with every decor.
If you go for a monochrome print in a black or white frame it will match every single type of house. It doesn’t matter if your favourite colour is red or blue or green, a black and white photo will never date and will always be on your wall, whatever colour it is, and still good look good 20 years after it was taken. And hopefully even longer!
3. Black-and-white photography is the epitome of cool.
When I say this, I’m thinking of the movie stars and musicians of way back. Think of Elvis Presley or James Dean. Think of Marilyn Munro. Check out the work of Richard Avedon a famous American portrait artist. He focused on lighting and posing to create timeless images that are so cool. There is no reason why you cannot replicate the style in black-and-white in modern times with amazing lighting and posing and thinking outside the box.
4. Clothing is not as prominent in black-and-white photos.
This can be a very good thing because clothing can be very bright and sometimes garish. It can easily date a photo and in another 20 years you will look back at the photo and cringe. With black-and-white photography the clothing fades into the background and this can be a good thing. The focus suddenly goes onto the face which is the most important part of the portrait. These three children I photographed a few years ago and the black and white images makes their clothing recede.
5. In black-and-white photography relationships and facial expression’s become key.
Suddenly you were looking at the people faces and looking at their expressions and hugs with no other distractions. Check out the work of Niki Boon, a photographer up in Blenheim, who photographs her own children and who has a lovely classic style. Everything she does is in black-and-white. And her children’s facial expressions become the star as they play in the river or on the farm. Check out this award winning family photo I took a couple of years ago, where you can’t help but see the facial expressions of the family.
6. Black-and-white photography can be very moody.
Check out the work of Sally Mann. She photographed her children in the 1990s, but in a very dark way. I’m not saying this is a style that everyone would love. In fact her work is very controversial and has caused her and her family a bit of trouble over the years. But the darkness does provide a moodiness that you can’t necessarily get from colour photography. Check out this photo I took down at the Waimakariri River – so moody and dark and atmospheric. I love this photo but it wouldn’t have looked as good in colour.
7. Black-and-white photography can be edgy.
Although colour can be edgy it is far easier to get an edgy look with black and white. Check out the work of Ilan Wittenberg who is another New Zealand photographer to see some very edgy work – tattoos, muscles, scars and just some wonderful portraiture. This type of portrait can look wonderful is a huge print that makes people go, “Wow,” when they enter your living room. This double exposure gets a lot of comments from my clients. It is very edgy with a hand going through my daughters face. It is not everybody’s cup of tea but a lot of people love it and it is a true art piece. This would not work in colour at all. It is the black-and-white that makes it pop.
8. Black-and-white photos group together well on photo walls.
Here is an example of a wall of photos in my own house. It works well because all the photos are monochrome. A few of them have a sepia colour but most are black and white. Some are taken by other photographers other professional photographers. Other photos are from the box Brownie originally taken in the 1940s and 1950s. The remaining photos are taken by myself. They have been all put in black frames and because they all share the monochrome look they all work together easily and really suit this hallway.
9. Black-and-white photography makes your life easy.
When you can’t choose art for a house choose black-and-white photography. As I said before black-and-white photography goes with every decor. Black-and-white photography can be landscapes portraits or art pieces. Choosing black-and-white photography takes all the guesswork out of the colour matching and what will look good in a room. It makes the decision easy. And we all want easier lives. So get a black-and-white portrait session to make your life easy! This piece of art I created below certainly looks stunning with this decor.
10. You can have a black-and-white shoot today in Christchurch!
Ring or contact me today for black-and-white photography shoot. This Christchurch family wanted all black-and-white photos to match with other professional photos that they had taken in the past. Because black and white match so easily and the style is so classic it was easy for them to request another black-and-white session. I really enjoyed this family session as it was so relaxed and shows the relationships between all family members. I especially love this type of session and look forward to many more bookings in a style that really is the bees knees. You cannot beat black-and-white photography. It never dates and it is such a wonderful thing to behold.
