Photographer Documentary

DAIDO MORIYAMA

Fish-eye work

Why most photographer preferred Black and White photography to colour photography in Documentary photography?

As a Documentary Photography student.I prefer to use Black and White.

Comparing Black and White photography with colour photography :

Both Black and White photography and colour photography have their own characters and fascination.

1)Colour photos have more functions and look more real.But after analysis, we can find that the advantages of the colour photos are not stable. Therefore, the value of the Black and White photos never depreciate. The Digital Camera brings colour photos a piece of view while the Black and White photos still do the best in reporting and showing the real world .

2)Black and White photos can make people to think more.Actually camera can show everything, just like a mirror. It still has the functions like conversion and  abstraction. And we can find that these functions in Black and White photos are very strong. The Black and White photos not only mirror the fact，but it also can draw the audience’s attention to the purpose of the photographers. The Black and White photos can oblige us to think more and clearer about the value of our photos and start to plan our photos. This is the best way to shoot the excellent photos as we want.

3)Black and White photos can affect audience.The colour photos can show the fact of the view, but the Black and White photos can bring the idea of photographers to the audience from the way of inspiration. It does not just show whether the pictures are beautiful or not. It talks about the emotion with the audience, according to Sun,F.  (2009)

For example, the part with dark in the Black and White can bring the audience loneliness and mystique while the bright part can make the audience feeling vivid and happiness.

Moreover, the Black and White photos can generate a new face for the topic everyone knows. In this way, the Black and White photos can surpass their topics and make originality. The Black and White photos can keep their own values.

4)Black and White photos have more control than colour photos. When photographers want to improve the strength of the visual impact of the information,they can use the tone and the key to set off the topic. The tutor in my BA course once said to me that “we can use the Black and White photos to control the audience. I can control the tone and key whilst letting people still see the colour inside the photos. The colour is in your heart, not in your eyes.” What the advantage do Black and White photos have while the colour photos do not have is the power to control. Even in the landscape photography, we still can find something different from the picture.