Black and White VS Colour.

Is black and white film superior for your street photography? - A comprehensive review.

Since it's invention in the 1900's, black and white film has graced the photography industry with stunning images. Street photography became popular in the 1930's, with famous photographers such as Henri Cartier-Bresson pioneering this genre. Consistenly used for it's timeless quality, black and white film is hugely popular amongst street photographers.

So, what actually is Street Photography?

Often described as elusive and raw, street photography focuses on the unmediated and random encouters of humanity. Likened to viusual poetry, it's popularity rose from hidden feelings, stories and questions hidden within images which black and white helps position so well. The idea of semiology, conventionally associated with academics such as Roland Barthes can be applied to these hidden meanings in photographs. According to Barthes,

"Anything in culture can be a sign and send a specific message"

Breaking this theory down, a photograph, and the elements within it, are 'signs' which consumers like you and I then interpret into our own percieved meaning. Street photography is a fantastic art form which can look so simple, yet hide deeper meanings of society and the world we live in. Adopting this into your photography is essential if you want to take photos that will impress an audience. One of my favourite ways to think about street photography is that:

"A picture really does hold a thousand words."

Why Black and White?

Firstly, silhouettes and shadows really stand out. Our gaze is automatically drawn to the human shape in a photograph and this helps remove distracting and inevtiable colourful objects such as rubbish bins, traffic lights and graffiti which can overload an image. By removing the colour, you are drawing the attention back to the subject which is the core of street photography.

Secondly, we don't see the world in black and white. This might be an obvious fact, but it can make these images more interesting to analyse. When you take a picture of a subject in colour you are just photographing their clothes. In black and white, you are photographing their souls, emotions and experiences.

Street photography is not all about people, architecture is a huge element and capturing the differing shapes and lines can make or break an image. Contrast helps create added tension in an image and a sense of place.

Why colour film?

I'm definitely not disrespecting colour film in this blog post, it is beautiful in it's own right but can it match black and white for a genre so heavily influenced by it's monochrome rival?

Well, sometimes colour can be seen as an integral part of the story you are trying to represent. Take this image below, there is something so captivating by the bright, neon lights that help place the subject and delivers a sense of inclusion that black and white might fail at.

Another positive of using colour film for street photography is creating added meaning that does not need to be hunted down. Nature also looks better in black and white. City streets can appear very glum and a direct opposite to our natural world. When implementing colour photography in city parks, bright colours of leaves and flowers can help cement emotions in images.

Colour is very attractive for audiences who prefer the scene being created over the wider meaning. Photography does not always have to be serious and hide lots of built up emotions, it can just be a photograph.

So what would you choose?

Personally, black and white film is timeless. It has a history that colour cannot compete with. However, colour film can be more realistic and remove the serious nature of black and white. Either way, I think you should try both and see what works for you, but remember, black and white film is hugely respected in the street photography community and you may find you create more meaningful images.

So, maybe I am saying black and white is better...