To Black&White or Not to Black&White

in photography •  7 years ago 

Näyttökuva 2018-2-12 kello 20.17.55.png

The never ending story of hard to work with white balance when you have a lot of different colour temperatures in one photo. Two warm lights inside and a cool toned light from outside is making it really hard to get the skin look anything but sickly. I think this set of pictures would work really nicely in black and white, but is it a little too easy if I resort to that?

I've been fiddling with these sliders for hours trying to get it right and I think I'm going blind to it, nothing looks right. There is probably something else in Photoshop that could help with this but I'm no good at it.

I'm naturally more drawn to the black and white, but the furniture has a nice rich colour which I'd want to showcase if I can get the tones right.

What do you guys think, which version do you want to see?

Or do I do BOTH!?

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Although seeing any set of you in b&w wouldn't seem unexpected, I am intrigued with the cold and warm tones of the color version.

I wouldn't think for a second, that you resorted to something that you have always presented with such excellence. Doing a black and white right, is an art in itself and you are very good at it. So that is definitely always a valid option in my eyes.

When I paint, and I only want to judge value, I sort of squint. with your eyes half closed, the detail gets lost and one perceives a composition better too. When I do that with your preview without my usual zoom in, the color version is "richer", particular with these warn cold contrasts which otherwise get lost.

Not that good with working on the raw file. Your interface appeared funny to me at first, until I understood, that its just in another language.

I frequently try color versions for my paintings in photoshop and the two thingies I use a lot are... hm.. don't know what they's be called in English, how about this:

Unbenannt-1.jpg

The window should be called "corrections" or something like that. The tools would be someting like "color balance" and "selective color control"

Maybe it helps, although I think your preview looks pretty darn good already!

I know those tools but damn it takes some intense fiddling to get the colours right in dark, light and mid tones. I wanna get it right but I kinda hate photoshopping :D I have the image ready in my mind, but I'm not sure if I can get it out like I want it. Maybe I'll put out the black&white ones first and let the coloured ones brew slowly.

It seems that you might have missed this post and I think it would be a shame because I think you will like it :)

OMG.. I did miss it! Was working on promo texts and stuff for two projects I want to get going and didn't have much of a chance to do any "fun things". Thanks a lot for the friendly reminder and the link, of course I love it 😍 😘

Both :)
If you could have sex with any celebrity of your choice who would it be and why? :)

Rihanna, for obvious reasons.

now that was unexpected. I was almost sure that you would say something like "I CAN have sex with any celebrity I want" or "I AM the celebrity". But I guess you have a humble side as well:P

what obvious reasons?

She is HOT!

She knows what's up!

I like the black and white

You can try colour version and see the feed back! I think will be positive!

People are too nice here, they wouldn't tell me if they don't like it :D

My opinion will be a sincere one! I'm waiting for the color version: P

Everyone?

Colors.

Black and white is just a regular winter day.

Sick of this winter already? :D

So goddamn sick of the winter :D
Especially when my car was under repairs for a week and I couldn't drive to work.

Do you have a long commute to work?

Oh not more than 10 kilometers. It'd be nice bicycle ride without the damned winter.

You editing with Adobe Photoshop?

No, I use Paint. Duh.

Who doesn't?

looking way more sexy colourful.

I like the mix of clashing white balance, it makes your photos more real but the black and white versions will always give more class. I suppose it's up to your creative choice.

I think black & white better but some time color photo looks like beautiful....

I'm not against b&w photography but very often it's a cutting corners option. Work more on the color one!

Its a tough one really some look great with the colour the mood it set but the light but equally black and white sets a whole differing mood. That's not helpful but I guess I enjoy your style and thats what you decided at the time so go with gut 💯🐒

As for me, photography in black and white expresses feelings, has a larger message. In the portrait photo, black and white photos show emotions nicely and it is important that we feel - what the author wanted to tell us.

hey there
both versions look nice... the b&w displays a sense of elegance, of deep mystery. It is still and almost timeless. On the other hand, the colour version displays more passion, and again of mystery.... but this mystery comes out more strongly. Who is she waiting for? Who is she looking at? The red/orange of the lamp highlights this fiery questions. So I would say color will make the boldness and the passion come out stronger.

Black & white :)

I have been following you for a while now and I just wanted to leave a comment and let you know that I am impressed by your courage and skill. You virtually uncover yourself. I am impressed how you can do that in such an artictic way without looking cheap.
As for this picture, I do like the black and white version better. It gives the whole thing a nostalgic and more mysterious touch.
Keep up the great work and have a good day. Cheers!

I don't think your skin looks sickly at all. And the color version has a warmth that really draws the viewer in.

I'd say BW because I'm not mad on the colour saturation from the tungsten light, that said if you're having trouble balancing it why not try layers. Create one that's the correct tone for natural light, and one that's the correct tone for skin colours then apply a layer mask to one of then. Essentially all you do after that is use the brush tool over the layer mask to reveal or hide that layer. It's a great way of balancing things out and works really well if you have a graphics tablet. (I still use a really old Wacom Intuous 3 but it works perfectly!)

Nooooo that is so much work 😭 Do I have to learn Photoshop for real 😂

Haha well if you're photoshopping then yeah! Otherwise just pop into lightroom and use the brushes ;)

I have to learn how to use Lightroom, I just installed it to my new laptop ☺️

19 hours ago? You should be a pro by now ;)

I haven't even started yet!

Oh deary me! Almost a day and no Lightroom!? It's almost like you have a life to live or something!!

No black and white, but I would turn the saturation down.

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I am always more for black and white photos when it comes to photos that should send some kind of message and have meaning but when it comes to my portraits, I prefer the colors. :)
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Oh man, it's so hard with light like that. If it were me and I really wanted the image to be color I would grade for the skin overall and then I would use gradient color filters on the sides to balance the light. Though sometimes it's great to use that difference between cold and warm light to create a contrast in a photo.

I suppose you could mask different areas in layers and adjust individually, but I understand if you don't have time to fiddle with all that.

When in doubt, go black & white. Exudes a timeless quality that is soothing to the eyes.

Here's an artist that does a bunch of monochrome stuff that is interesting - http://www.unomoralez.com/

I liked the feel of this one, just based on the light and mood
Wiating For The Tram

Now both versions are posted in hi-res, so it's easier ;)

Mixed WB is tricky, especially when you mix 8000+K outside with 3000K from the bulb ;-) AFAIK there is no easy trick to fix it in postprocess. Except going for BW of course.

But there is one more recipe that may work here: don't try to get natural colors, just go a bit overboard with color grading, and pretend that everything was planned like this :P
I.e. you can grab curves, play with the blue one for a second, and put some blue tint into shadows.

Anyway, my vote for B&W. Because I'm not a big fan of photoshopping too, and I try to spend as little time on postprocess as I can.

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