Black and white photography is simply a picture taken that has no colors in it. Black and white only shows light intensity, it does not show the light’s frequency which is what gives light different colors to our eyes.
This type of photography is unique because it is not what is typically shared on Instagram and places like that. If you just bought a new pair of shoes or a new shirt, and you want to share pictures of yourself wearing your new stuff, black and white is a terrible choice because nobody will be able to see the awesome colors you’re wearing.
Even though black and white photos can look totally boring and are probably a bad choice for a lot of things, there are some techniques that are unique to black and white which aren’t as easily accomplished in color photography. One of those things is changing the impression of the scene by changing the intensity of specific colors in the scene. If you do this with a color photo you’ll probably end up with a really horrible image because the color adjustments will not look anything like reality and most people will find it pretty bad.
But, with black and white there is no color, so changes to colors equate to changes in light intensity only. One method for doing this is to use a B&W color filter called a red filter. Red filter’s are specially designed to block out blue. This causes all the blue in a scene to get a lot darker and can be useful for increasing the drama and immediacy of the scene.
In the digital age we don’t have to use an actual Red filter, we can adjust whatever we want digitally. Ain’t that fun? Below is a comparison showing how an image without and with a red filter might look in your photo. No other edits have been added except the red filter.
Another cool thing that black and white can do is show some kinds of visual patterns more obviously than color. I have to be careful when saying that because some patterns are not as easy to see with black and white. It’s mostly patterns of light and shadows that are most apparent with black and white photography.
Black and white photography can be a fun distraction, or it can be a professional pursuit. It’s really up to you.
