Black and White Wedding Photography
Melbourne & Mornington Peninsula
Weddings are a celebration. They are a rich tapestry of emotions, shapes and form. However, taking your wedding photographs in black and white does not mean that you will lose anything from the images, as some may think.
In fact, black and white concentrates the eye to view a photograph very differently. In many cases your treasured day will appear more dramatic by being compositionally stronger. It encourages the viewer to look deeper into the purpose and narrative of each photograph. You will see colour differences in the foreground and background on items such a clothing and cars stop taking the focus away.
Colour can often be distracting. This is one of the key reasons the bride and groom prefer a classic, black and white photograph to capture such a special day. Black and white can not only be compositionally stronger, but simpler and cleaner for the eye to assess the relationships between the subjects and appreciate the emotion.
Black and white can draw a viewer into the shot by showing them the raw, natural wedding photography depicting uninhibited moments captured between a couple on one of the most important and probably emotional days of their lives.
I use black and white to create emotive, documentary style wedding photography centred around human interaction. This technique portrays the emotion quickly, clearly and sensitively. Whereas, colour can evoke the complete opposite by being bold and drawing the viewer’s eye from the narrative.
A common reason many couples want to have their wedding photos taken in black and white is because it lends a certain timeless quality to the photographs. It is classically elegant, and time cannot detract from the content.
Black and white photography moves between the blackest-of-black and the whitest-of-white. Such a working gradient allows for a unique subtlety limiting the distraction to the eye caused by bold makeup or skin dis-colouration. Subjects become more natural looking and the simplest of pictures become a work of art.
From the earliest days of photography, black and white photography has endured. Today, many of the top fashion photographers have built their entire career on shooting in this seductive and sensitive style. Photographers such as Yousuf Karsh and Ansel Adams, still inspire and encourage all types of reportage wedding photographers.
Black and white photography is seen as a beautiful art form that holds a great deal in the hearts and minds of both photographers, publishers and the artistic world and still survives to this day to help educate, inspire and move people from all walks of life in various different ways as these moments are brought to our eyes in a more artistic and emotive way.