In today’s digital world of color, don’t you still love fine-art black and white wedding pictures? Did you know …fancy digital cameras capture and record everything in color? (Even if you set your camera to monochrome, i.e. black and white.) Photographers have to transfer the image into black and white on the computer, in “post-production.” Great for the client, as it always gives them options.
How do I choose which images will be black and white or color? Sometimes, I let the image tell me when I’m editing on the computer. Sometime’s I know before I take the photo. I’ll plan out the shot in advance, setting up my tripod and thinking about the environment. At weddings, it’s usually a nighttime portrait which requires a high-speed setting. See example below.
Both of these images are taken exactly the same, just a few frames apart. As you can see, even with proper color balancing, the original color image doesn’t sparkle. In order to capture this picture, I had to use a high ISO. I knew ahead of time I would be sacrificing the color.
Now, check out how good it looks in black and white! It’s timeless, and you’re not distracted by the color quality. (You’d never know this photo was taken on the edge of a pitch black parking lot.) All you notice are gorgeous people on a beautiful, scenic background.
How can you tell a good wedding photographer from a bad one? Post-production! (i.e. Photoshop and Lightroom) The good ones spend time on your images after they’re out of the camera. Every photo needs post-production. Nothing comes out of the camera ready to go. That’s one reason wedding photography costs so much. It’s not as simple as showing up and clicking some pictures during your event. For every hour at a wedding we spend at a minimum two hours on the computer, touching-up your photos.
Here are a few more of my favorite black and white wedding portraits.
Thanks so much for reading this article. I hope it is helpful. Here’s to making gorgeous black and white portraits for you, at your wedding! Call us today and let’s start planning! 305 300 5065
Tracy Niedermeyer
Creative Director and Photographer