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Thread: Is b&w still acceptable by the general public?

  1. #1

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    Is b&w still acceptable by the general public?

    We are probably not the most objective group among which to seek an unbiased answer, but here goes.

    In essence, I’m wondering if black & white is, for all intents and purposes, culturally considered dead. Sadly, I am beginning to suspect it is.

    When I was first hired by an industrial product studio in 1970, the default medium was 8x10 b&w, contact-printed onto ferrotyped AZO.

    Short-run b&w lithography (Kinkos) and color anything was much too expensive. So nearly all widget photo assignments called for a shot and 500 glossies.

    In those days, all model’s head shots and comp sheets were in glorious b&w. Newspapers, driver’s licenses and passports had no color. Highschool yearbooks and quality portraits were routinely done in monochrome.

    Fast-forward to today and now (virtually) everything commercial is done digitally. For all its flaws and strengths, the main point is that digital makes color easy. There is nothing in money nor labor to be saved by “limiting” oneself to black and white in this medium. Unless you only want to attract attention with a “special effect”.

    Some photographers who still attempt to market b&w photography to the general public do it as a “camp” nostalgic old-fashioned gimmick. They shoot on a vintage wooden camera and may offer “old-time” costumes for the sitters to wear.

    But the main point of this post is the question, is it still possible to produce b&w as a modern medium and market it to the general public with a straight face?

    I know my old advertising agency buddies have no use for my current b&w efforts any more.

    But what about portraits?

    Could I offer to make a First Communion photograph of the neighbor’s child out on their front lawn and present the family with a beautiful LF b&w print without getting raised eyebrows? How about a wedding?

    Or am I now limited to doing only “personal work” and esoteric arty stuff for the camera club and wealthy private collectors, but nothing intended to be seen by the general public.

    Will I, from now on, be labeled by ordinary folk as "that nice old man who still makes funny-looking old-fashioned pictures"?

  2. #2
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    Is b&w still acceptable by the general public?

    Don't know about commercial/advertising photography, but I have noticed that in contemporary fine art photography B&W is all but dead. If you pick up a few back issues Blind Spot, for instance, color work outnumbers B&W by a huge margin. I don't think that has anything to do with the advent of digital, since it was a trend well before that in both camps. The parallel trend is interesting, though. B&W still sells or Kodak would have ditched it completely by now. Maybe it's all going to wedding photography and western fine art landscapers?

  3. #3

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    Is b&w still acceptable by the general public?

    Hello: Suburban parents who want non-stereotyped baby pics often have B&W stylized (abstract) photographs of their new borns made.The photographers appear to be using roll film.

    yours
    Frank

  4. #4
    Moderator Ralph Barker's Avatar
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    Is b&w still acceptable by the general public?

    I think you also have to consider the demographics of the "general public", John. Although things may have shifted somewhat in recent years, at one time wealthier, typically "old-money" families preferred relatively small B&W prints for portraits, baby shots, and weddings. Less well-to-do folks preferred color, and wanted the prints as big as they could afford. Thus, I think one has to narrow the view of the market, and adjust the technology offered accordingly.

    That said, I'm confident that at some time in the future the average "snap shot" will actually be a snap video, or more likely a voice-activated 3-D hologram, stored on a little chip. A still photograph? How quaint! ;-)

  5. #5
    Craigclu
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    Is b&w still acceptable by the general public?

    I routinely use B&W in 645 and 67 to do school activity related shooting on things that my high school son (and daughter prior to this) is involved in. It's been the perfect chance to test film/developer combos while I'm optimizing homebrews, etc. It's gratifying to see parents use these as centerpiece, primary display photos at their kids' graduation parties. They appreciate them very much and enjoy them over the years even more than the typical color snaps that they accumulate. In fact, as years pass, there is something about the B&W images that draw your eye in and they seem more meaningful somehow. I suppose there is also something to the fact that there a growing uniqueness to seeing B&W as the medium fades from common duties. I also scan and share via email but my favorite time and pastime is my darkroom time and I don't really see that changing for a long while, if ever.

  6. #6

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    Is b&w still acceptable by the general public?

    Twenty years ago family and friends used to ask me for color pictures of my kids when I gave them B&W. Now they ask for B&W when I give them color.

  7. #7

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    Is b&w still acceptable by the general public?

    It is so different from what people are bombarded with, that they'll stop and look at it (b&w), they'll talk about it. If things are rare. they become special. I have my b&w pictures on my waitingroom- and office walls, and the feedback is very positive, more thasn I ever expected. It leads to a sale every now and then. One person asked me if I am depressed, only working in b&w! I can't comment on the commercial aspects, have no idea if you can make a living in producing b&w, but I am not interested in that anyway.

  8. #8

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    Is b&w still acceptable by the general public?

    Here in Omaha and Kansas City the highest paid portrait photographers shoot exclusively B&W, the one in Kansas City specializes in Platinum portraits of Brides, children, senior protraits for about $2000 a pop. The couple who own the studio in Omaha shoot mostly digital but I know they still shoot some film with 8x10.

    Do you ever notice what they hang on the walls in TV shows and movies? It is almost always B&W prints. Maybe this is becuase it is non obtrusive as a background or maybe it is simply a cheap way to hang something on the walls of the set. Or maybe it is Hollywood's idea of what is in right now.

    I have always felt that for portraits B&W (if competently done) goes far beyond the artifice of color and is able to better define a person.

    I don't know about today, but a couple of years ago PDN had an issue featuring doing New York weddings in B&W and how the B&W shooters were commanding top dollar in the city.

    And there is always the popular photographer/artists who shoot with B&W in LF. Greenfield-Sanders comes to mind with his 11x14 B&W film portraits and Jock Sturges who shoots 8x10 on film.

    Open up any consumer magazine and you will find plenty of B&W in advertisements. The current flavor is heavily toned and selective focus.

    Personally, the more everything switches to color the more uniuqe becomes B&W.

  9. #9

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    Is b&w still acceptable by the general public?

    I've noticed that many of the folks I work with who have newborn's or young children bring photos to work to show us coworkers and these are often done black and white. I'm talking about professional people who can afford to get someone to take these photos and make prints for them. They seem to think the black and white images are more appealing than color. Perhaps it reminds them of the black and white family photos they have from thier childhoods. It appears most of these black white photos are done with a digital camera, however. So, I don't think black and white will ever loose its appeal, but the use of black and white film may continue to decline, since black and white is so easy to produce digitally.

  10. #10

    Is b&w still acceptable by the general public?

    If you're interested in taking the pulse of the general public (although I'm not sure why you'd want to) take a look at most publications depicting room environments; these might include home or architectural magazines or catalogues such as Crate and Barrel. The walls are very often decorated with black and white photographs.

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