Why Monochrome Photography
Some time ago I have presented a lecture on Monochrome Photography. The purpose of the lectures was not about the "how" but rather about the "why".
I used the photo in my previous post in this lecture, and this triggered the idea of talking about the "why monochrome" here on Weku.
In the lecture, I identified the following reasons for monochrome photography:
- No Distractions
- Versatility
- Subtlety of Tones
- Variety
Guarding the Weak - colour
Looking at this photo one sees this beautiful, almost pastel, colours and your attention is directly drawn towards the informal football match going on in this mural. The Roman Guard is a little bit odd, but that creates a contrast with the rest of the mural and, thus, is also an attention drawer.
It is really a great mural - but we are missing the point. The photo is not only about the mural, but it is also about the scene and why I photographed it.
Guarding the Weak - monochrome
Converting the photo to monochrome takes your initial attention away from the football players and more towards the Roman Guard. Now, with your attention at the Roman Guard, you may look down and notice the homeless person who just woke up from his night's sleep out in the open. Notice the, almost clichéd, newspaper that is covering the upper half of his body!
I think you will agree with me that the messages in these two photos are very different.
Another example is a much more obvious example where the monochrome version looks "cleaner" than the colour version.
The Long Jump - colour
In South Africa, professional athletics has a very long-standing sponsorship in the Yellow Pages, which is great for athletics, but not so good for photography! All flags and all the clothing of the officials and even things such as the bars on the hurdles carries this yellow pages message. Sometimes it may help to add sparkle to the scene, but in many cases, it results in a distraction.
The Long Jump - monochrome
Look how the monochrome version keeps your attention much better at the athlete than the colour version.
This was previously posted on my Weku blog.