Why Monochrome Photography - part 2

This is the second post in the series about "the why" of monochrome photography.

This series is based on a lecture I gave some time ago on monochrome photography. In the lecture, I identified the following reasons for monochrome photography:

• No Distractions
• Versatility
• Subtlety of Tones
• Variety

In the previous post, I showed how monochrome could be used to remove distractions in a scene.

Let's talk about Versatility

The Churchgoers

Monochrome photography adapts really well to all lighting situations.

The Churchgoers photo above has very challenging light conditions. The placement of the sun in the corner of the photo ensures that enough light hits the sides of their faces. This helps to show the emotion on their faces. As a side note, these churchgoers were wearing black ropes, and the selected angle made the blue sky very prominent and in the colour version of this photo, it draws the viewer’s attention away from the churchgoers.

The Shipwreck

The Shipwreck was taken in misty conditions, with no sun available. Very different light conditions to the Churchgoes photo. The use of monochrome emphasises the feeling of loneliness.

Tip: If a scene is already monochromatic, it is a good candidate for monochrome.

These two photos cover very different genres of photography, from street photography to a seascape scene, and in both situations is the monochrome conversion the reason for their success.

The was previously posted on my Weku blog