At The Christmas Market

Molsondog · January 6, 2010

At the Christmas Market. St. Sulpice, Paris.

TonyCooper · January 7, 2010

Bucking the tide here, I don't think necessarily Street = Black and White. In this case, too much is lost for lack of color. I can't figure out what the woman is selling/offering. The pots (?) behind her head are confusing. That fur hat blends into the pots too much.

It's a busy scene, and B&W isn't always the best way to present a busy scene. It works best, in my opinion, when the subject matter is sharp and distinct. She kinda blends into the stuff behind her. From another angle, black and white might work.

Yeah, I know I'm a minority in this, but I think it's the photograph, not the forum, that should determine whether the image should be presented in color or black and white.

bdcolen · January 7, 2010

TonyCooper wrote:

Bucking the tide here, I don't think necessarily Street = Black and White. In this case, too much is lost for lack of color. I can't figure out what the woman is selling/offering. The pots (?) behind her head are confusing. That fur hat blends into the pots too much.

It's a busy scene, and B&W isn't always the best way to present a busy scene. It works best, in my opinion, when the subject matter is sharp and distinct. She kinda blends into the stuff behind her. From another angle, black and white might work.

Yeah, I know I'm a minority in this, but I think it's the photograph, not the forum, that should determine whether the image should be presented in color or black and white.

Yes, of course it's the photograph, and not the forum that should determine whether a photograph works best in black and white or color. But the important point to think about is that when all is said and done, color photographs tend to be about the color, rather than the people. If the color is the real subject of the photo, then by all means keep the photo in color. But if the person is the subject, and you want us to really see the person, 9 times out of 10 black and white will be a better choice. The problem with this photo - in regard to the pots behind the woman's head, is not that the photo is in black and white, but rather that the photographer shot this with the woman's head in the middle of the pots - it should have been framed differently, no matter what the color or tonality of the image.

TonyCooper · January 7, 2010

bdcolen wrote:

Yes, of course it's the photograph, and not the forum that should determine whether a photograph works best in black and white or color. But the important point to think about is that when all is said and done, color photographs tend to be about the color, rather than the people. If the color is the real subject of the photo, then by all means keep the photo in color. But if the person is the subject, and you want us to really see the person, 9 times out of 10 black and white will be a better choice. The problem with this photo - in regard to the pots behind the woman's head, is not that the photo is in black and white, but rather that the photographer shot this with the woman's head in the middle of the pots - it should have been framed differently, no matter what the color or tonality of the image.

I'm going to respond to this, but in a new thread because I'm responding to statements about the choice of black and white or color. It's not fair to Molsondog to drag his Tri-X shot into that discussion.

At The Christmas Market

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