When black and white works better than color

I’m in the middle of writing a book about black and white photography, and one of the topics I wanted to cover was why black and white still exists in a world of color, and whether black and white images can sometimes work better. It’s a difficult argument to make, but I think I’ve found a good example.

This is a color image I shot after a sudden snowstorm. It’s a decent enough landscape with an interesting composition and lighting. But it’s actually quite difficult to make it work as a photograph, to make it look in any way interesting.

And the problem is the color. It gets in the way. Now take a look at this black and white version, which I think is infinitely more successful. But why?

I think most photographers would agree that color is an extremely strong component in any image. It can be just as strong as lighting and composition. But these three things don’t always pull together. When I took this shot I wanted to capture the shape of the tree and the effect of sun showing through the branches. It was all about the light and the composition and, actually, I think the color ruins it. It doesn’t add anything at all. In fact, it takes your attention away from the composition. The colors just make it feel like a very literal and ordinary ‘record’ shot.

I think the black and white version is very different and much stronger. It no longer feels like an everyday shot on a winter walk, but has a much stronger graphic appeal, with a rich gradation of tones and light that can’t be properly appreciated in the color version.

I could put the black and white version on my wall and look at it for a long time. I wouldn’t do that with the color version. In fact for many days after I took this set of photographs I didn’t even look at it closely, until I started trying out some black and white edits.

The fact is, I think I’m easily seduced by color – perhaps all photographers are. On this particular day I was captivated by the combination of deep blue sky and brilliant white snow, but couldn’t really turn this into images I was happy with. It was only when I abandoned the color that I realised I did have something after all.

Not everyone ‘gets’ black and white, which I completely understand. For many, photography is a very literal record of real-world objects and color is an essential part of that.

Photography isn’t just about the literal, though, and this is where we can start to see how photography can be different things for different people. Some might be primarily interested in the subject itself so that photography is just a tool for capturing it. Others (like me) may become fascinated by images and their graphic appeal, where literal renditions of specific subjects is not the point.

This perhaps explains why for some people black and white is an inferior and historic medium with no modern relevance, while for others it’s a unique and powerful means of expression outside and beyond regular color photography. You decide!

• I edited this black and white image three different ways and I still can’t decide which is best
• More articles on black and white