is it important to have black and white photos in your wedding gallery?
Cheshire Based Wedding Photographer
I guess it's a matter of personal opinion, but as a photographer I'd say, absolutely. Black and white images have a certain nostalgic air to them. They hold this, almost magic power, that brings a rush of emotion each and every time you look back over them, that for some reason, the colour versions just don't seem to do.
"“When you photograph people in color, you photograph their clothes. But when you photograph people in Black and white, you photograph their souls!”"
—Ted Grant
Why I Add Black and White Images to Your Gallery
Simply because they enhance the raw emotions and talk to the heart. The lack of colour helps you to focus on the moment. Whether that moment be a laugh, cry, a hand hold, or a best man looking confused by the situation (see photo below). I also believe that black and white images are timeless. You see editing 'trends' come and go, but the black and white is a staple. A memory that will never go out of fashion hanging on your wall.
How I decide which photos are edited in b and w
Usually my galleries are made up of 80% colour photos and 20% black and white; though there is no real rule to this. Every gallery I create is unique to the couple and their day.
There are a few reasons why I might choose to make a photo black and white, for example: if there was low/poor lighting, unintended movement and multiples of a similar image. That's not to say that these images aren't good enough to be colour. They just usually work better in black and white.
When I'm sat editing I relive the day, picking out black and white frames from moments that I believe are too precious for colour.
