Wedding Photography: Black and White
Black and white photography has a timeless quality that captures the wonder of the world in a unique way. Unlike color photography, black and white images rely solely on shades of gray to convey depth, texture, and emotion. This monochromatic palette can create a sense of nostalgia and timelessness, taking the viewer back to a bygone era or accentuating the essential beauty of a subject.
As a wedding photographer, I always deliver all of my images to the client in full colour and black and white versions. I think that sense of timelessness is a real plus in a wedding photograph. Not least, for many couples, it will connect their wedding to those of their parents and certainly grandparents, back when black & white was the only show in town.
Nikon D700 24-70 2.8 @ 70mm f3.2 1/2000 ISO200 Flash on
Nikon D700 24-70 f2.8 @ 62mm f3.2 1/1250 ISO200 Flash on
Although I deliver all my wedding photography in black and white edits as well as colour, I thought it would be helpful to illustrate using only one wedding. Dave and Beth married at Cuckfield Baptist Church, in Cuckfield West Sussex. Most of the images here were taken by me on my Nikon D700, though I thik I have included a handful by Tim Harman using his Nikon D3.
The style of the wedding was somewhat retro, which made the black and white edits particularly powerful, I thought. I also delivered all their wedding photos in a sepia and a soft colour edit which I created especially for them. Those can be the subject of another blog!
For more info on Dave and Beth’s wedding, please see the portfolio page.
Full colour edit
Adobe Camera Raw Monochrome setting 10
Adobe Camera Raw Monochrome setting 6
My own conversion from the colour image
Many people are surprised to discover that there are many possible Black and White images to be made from each colour original. The fact is that the different colours in the original mix can be remixed in different proportions to create the monochrome version. You can control this down to detailed changes, although in the Adobe Camera Raw software that many wedding photographers use, there are seventeen Black and White presets to choose from.
I rarely use them for my wedding work, though. Over the years I have developed and honed my own conversions which don’t simply remix the colour channels but also soften harsh shadows and try to hold on to the best possible skin tone. Aside from the series of different edits above, all the other images on this blog post were created using one of my own conversion set ups. I vary from the one used here especially when blue is a prominent colour in the wedding; my “standard” approach can render blue suits too dark, so I use another version called “Blue Up” to keep the fabric looking right.
Image Nikon D700 24-70 f2.8 @ 70mm f2.8 1/1600 ISO200 Flash on
Black & white wedding photos are timeless and still much loved. They deserve care and thought in their processing, even in the digital age
If you are getting married – congratulations! You are probably already thinking about a wedding photographer: make sure that Black & White versions of the edited photos are a given. If lovely monochrome images are important to you, make sure that your chosen photographer is going to put thought and love into that Black and White conversion.
You care about the photos at your wedding – I care too, and so should anyone who calls themselves a wedding photographer. Contact me for more information or a wedding quote.
