Color and Monochrome: Dos and Don’ts of Using it for Glamour Images

There comes a time when every beauty photographer faces a real dilemma. Contrary to what many photographers think, it is awfully difficult to decide on this matter. This dilemma lies in choosing between color and monochrome photography.

It was simple back when photography only existed in grayscale – nobody would be concerned about the issues of colors, shades and how they match. Glamour Photos were all black and white, still being distinguishable and artistic.

It all changed when film started capturing more than mere light and shadows, but also color. With the help of digital photography anyone with little effort is able to reproduce all the abundance of colors, which seems a strong enough argument to stand by “colorful glamour”.

That’s why I consider it right to look into the question more thoroughly and reckon the advantages and downsides of both methods. There is no point advising about which of the ways fits best for you – Glamorous Photography prefers freedom instead of concrete rules.

For a start – remember, there is no aspect in which black and white glamour photography can be less difficult than the colorful one – or vice versa. If you think that, for example, shooting in black and white is going to make your photographer’s job easier, think again.

Light is crucial in both color and old school black and white photography. Without the proper lighting the mood will be spoiled and the photograph would be flat. There is no way around it. No matter if you prefer to create colorful photos or position yourself as a conservative fan of black and white, you need to mind the lighting at all times.

What is really different though, is the impression those two different photographic dimensions make upon the viewer. These are sometimes too important to ignore:

* Colors are excellent for placing accents you want your viewers to concentrate on. A colorful image draws both glances and thoughts to it; it is considerably simpler to compose the elements withing the frame by tones and shades; various colors unveil different mood to them, creating atmosphere your viewers can perceive.
* Black and white puts more stock in texture and forms rather than different tones and shades. It also makes the game of light and shadow more visible, and therefore more comprehensive. Classic black and white helps the artist to create an ethereal, enigmatic and very atmospheric image – this is the beauty of it. Black and white can as well remove tone defects which never do any good to a glamour photograph – if you got somewhat…strange colors on the image, gray-scale is a life-saver.
* Of course, your photo doesn’t have to be strictly black and white to make an impression of a well-performed artistic work. For instance, many artists use sepia as a worthy alternative. A number of other methods can be used in glamour photography. There are many tutorials on the Web, so nothing really limits your creativity.
* Another thing to do is combining monochrome and colors within one image – though this approach is considered unoriginal, it still can be used in a refreshing manner, can’t it? Even the most trivial technique can be used in an unusual way, so it really is entirely up to you. Colorful spots on black and white background can attract viewer’s attention and create certain mood; gray-scale areas among the abundance of colors can also be useful for producing atmospheric work.

As in most cases, no way is really preferable or less challenging – both color and black and white glamour photography have their fans who never cease to discuss the advantages and downsides. In fact, you don’t need to choose – if something serves your purpose best of all, corresponds to the mood of your photo and delivers your message efficiently, you should have no doubts about what you do. It isn’t methods and schools that create masterpieces – it’s people, their vision and their talents.