Why I Shoot Weddings in Black and White
Every photographer has vision. Mine lives in black and white.
Vision. Every photographer has his or her very personal ideas about what their images need show, tell, and say, to make each frame say, this is me. It’s fairly simple to setup a frame that has all the elements, the right composition, great light, and specific angle of the camera, all the people in the right spots, everything is there, all the elements that should make a great image. Sometimes there is a lot going on, sometimes too much actually. Then, you add colour, which can bring so much more to the frame that can represent all sorts of vibes, references, feelings, etc etc.. For me, I very often find there are just too many elements demanding my attention, and I get lost. My eyes move around too much. The dominant elements that draw on eye towards them aren’t supposed to be the important things in the frame. It’s just colour, and contrast.
I like things simple. And I also like things complicated. However, in pictures, colour complicates things for me too much, where black and white simplifies things and reduces the elements within the frame, which I much prefer actually. In my cameras, the viewfinder is always set to black and white with a custom profile applied that I’ve developed over a long long time, so that what I see in my viewfinder is literally perfect. When I click the shutter button, I capture exactly what I see through the lens at that moment. When I bring in all the images to my computer and see them in my image editor, they already have my custom profile, and look totally amazing. I could deliver an entire wedding pretty much un-edited, as they are, in all their black and white gorgeousness :) All the cliches apply here, the images look timeless, a little soft and grainy, the blacks are actually black, and highlights are pushed, just slightly, and there is this film-like heaviness to the tones that just aren’t the same in raw files. It’s a beautiful thing to see several hundred images so consistent, as one collection. It’s sad to begin editing for colour, but not every couple want 100% of their wedding day images in black and white, exclusively.
Colour shows what something looks like, black and white shows what it feels like.
This is the thing. Weddings move very quickly, and often there is no time to think about the best way to capture what’s in front of me. You have to follow your instinct and run with it, whether I capture a ‘keeper’ image or not. When I see everything in black and white through the lens, it’s so much easier for me to follow that instinct and find the angle or the ‘moment’ by not being confused by colour. By shooting only in black and white, I remove a lot of information from a scene. Reducing visual elements is very important to me so that you see only what I want you to see. Sooner or later in any project, you’ll get to a point where you need to begin subtracting ideas, or elements, which has always played an important part of my process, and is done almost automatically by removing colour from the equation.
Why I photograph weddings in black and white
Every image collection should live in its own ‘world’.
This goes back to the pleasure of bringing in all my images together, and seeing them for the first time as a collection. Two cameras, two lenses, all black and white, the consistency is beautiful. Seeing 3000 images all together with the same tones, the same depth, and same framing, is magic. It feels like a complete story so easily, and actually has a life all its own. There is a ‘world’ that these images create that expands and goes beyond any single image, it’s part of a larger ‘whole’, that mixing colour and b&w breaks right away. All you see is emotion, and that’s really all I want. Light, expression, timing. Also, seeing a photograph in black and white taken during a time you know was full of colour, plays a trick in your mind where you know there is more, and every mind is curious, which drives you to want to see more, maintaining some element of curiosity and engagement with the images. You do want to see more into each image, again and again. This is a totally unconscious thing, and it’s beautiful.
What does this all mean?
Black and white photography is my visual language. This doesn't mean that all your wedding images are going to be delivered in black and white. Sadly, no, but maybe yes. Typically I do deliver a full collection of black and white images because that is my vision. Purely. However I understand that for family portraits, guest portraits, and all kinds of other images colour is simply the better choice. I deliver a second folder of images that include a wide selection of frames in colour, which I feel is a great setup for my clients. They get the full collection in black and white, and a second collection of roughly 65% in colour. They love it.
Are you engaged or planning a wedding? - Get in touch and let’s talk about it. I love helping my couples get started and plan their adventure sessions. Find more about my those sessions by checking out these posts:
