Unread postby bfitzgerald » Thu May 27, 2010 10:49 am
I think colour can work very well at times for people shots, though I'd be into the less contrasty softer tones on that side myself. Depends a lot on your type of shooting with this one. For this type of work I tend to be more "candid" style informal. For that I think b&w is just perfect and preferable to colour shots.
Removing the colour helps take away the distractions and focus on the what's going on in the image (if there is anything going on! lol)
Those shots just don't really appeal to me in colour. The only downside of the candid take is you have to work fast and be spontaneous, for examples I kinda jumped behind the girl in the mirror and quickly took a shot..she just started to look at me when I captured it. So you have to be fast thinking at times. 5d and a 50mm are perfect for this type of work..not too big and obtrusive..a whacking great zoom lens might be less well suited.
B&W also means I don't have to worry about WB as much (it does influence the tones in conversion)
So overall I'm sure a lot of folks feel mono focusses the viewers attention better than colour...strong colours can work great if colour is a big part of your shot..if it's not I feel mono really does help get the "vibe" across better. Imagine a strong red (or any other colour) in any of those shots and it could pull your eye away from the subject..that's why mono appeals to me.