The role of black and white photos in photography

Color and words are a kind of information. By changing the information content of photos, people will have different feelings.

Specifically, photography is subtraction. Photography does not show everything you see, but what you want to see. In fact, color to black and white is also subtraction, but it is subtraction in color rather than subtraction in composition. Colors can convey emotions, so I don't need to go into details. Deleting colors actually reduces part of the information content of photos, and the feelings brought by photos are naturally different.

Color, text and composition are all sources of photo information. The operations of removing color and adding text are changing the information content of photos. The changed photo is not the same photo at all, so people will feel different before and after the change. Therefore, color subtraction has an impact on people's focus and picture perception.

When too many colors interfere with the key points, making it black and white will reduce some interference. But black and white photos can't be directly decolored. How much contrast is needed, where it is bright and where it is dark, whether the transition is delicate, oily or sharp as a knife, and whether or not to do color cast in the end depends on the personal accomplishment of the retoucher.

Black and white can not only highlight the relationship between light and shade, but also strengthen the contrast for good works; For bad works, you can also erase all the uncoordinated colors. In other words, assuming that the photographer's skill is average, or the film is average, then black and white can erase the defects of the characters themselves and the disharmony of the background environment.

The defect here is not ugly, but as an eye-catching point that has nothing to do with the final effect of the image, it is likely to usurp the role of the host.

Arthur kells's work "Thirty-nine Steps", the composition and mysterious artistic conception of this photo are already very eye-catching, especially the composition, which is safe and bold. However, if color printing was used at that time, the composition was still there, but the mystery was diluted. Look at the family, genus and species of moss on the stone steps and what kind of rock this stone is. It is estimated that women will also pay attention to the material of long skirts, and men will also pay attention to whether the face is good or not, and the veil is airtight ... This is not mysterious at all.

At present, black-and-white films with texture and stains only use light and shadow to speak. Where does the light come from? Stone walls and stone steps are all talking with shadows of light and shade. I've been looking at photos for a long time, and of course I want to see if that girl is beautiful. It's really beautiful, though not so clear. This is really an eternal and mysterious beauty. At the same time, monochrome also plays an outstanding role in the blur effect of aperture-if the original and color are rich.