When photography emerged, recordings were made in shades of gray, black and white. There is more gray than necessarily black and white in many photos we call black and white, but there is nothing wrong with calling it that. Today, almost 200 years later, black and white photography continues to be successful.
When I started photographing, I did the vast majority of my work in black and white. Today that changed. I usually take photos in color, but I always reserve a quantity to do in black and white, as I still really like how I can show the world the expressions of what I recorded through my camera.
In a work done in black and white, due to the absence of colors our attention is directed to the expressions, the focus becomes the person/object you are photographing. Composition, shapes, shadows, etc. are important aspects in monochrome photography (when I'm talking about monochrome photography in this blog I'm referring to photography in black and white, as monochrome photography can also be in color, but that's not the case in this blog ).
I have some photographers as a reference in photography and among them there are two who have the most influence on me. Sebastião Salgado is a Brazilian photographer whose work is all in black and white, I mean, there was a time in his life when he worked with color photos, but at a certain point he chose to follow the path of monochrome photography. Another photographer whose work I really like is Platon, born in Greece. His black and white portraits are brilliant. If you don't know the work of these photographers, don't miss the chance to take a look at their work.
Black and white photography has something special for me. Elegance, sensitivity and emotions are something different. Color photography also has all of this, but in black and white the spice that is added is special. It hits me differently when I'm in front of a black and white photo. A black and white photo catches my attention more than a color photo.
When I work with my clients, the vast majority of clients have preferences for color photos, so I do the work as my client wants and after doing their work in color, I select some black and white photos and also deliver them, these photos are more like an extra. When I'm doing personal work, when I'm photographing for myself I would say 90% of my photographs are in black and white.
There are some areas of photography where even in modern times a good monochrome photo cannot be missed. When working at a wedding, you may have already seen a wedding photo album, and you may have certainly noticed that some of the photos were in black and white. Documentary photography is also an area of photography where you find most work done in black and white.
Black and white photography is classic, it is timeless, it is strong, it has impact, it is sometimes dramatic and it takes your attention precisely to the point of interest without the distractions that color can cause. This is not to say that color photography is a photography that generates distractions, I mean that without colors your attention is directed to the expressions in the image.
I wanted to write this blog just to show how much I like black and white photography and why I like these photographs. Normally I tend to like what is classic and in monochrome photography we have the classic alive to this day.
