Remember that the viewer’s attention is drawn to the subjects in the frame. Ensure that you keep the background as uncluttered as possible. Photograph/Riddhi Parekh
Invoking Nostalgia
Take a look at your grandparent’s wedding photographs. What do you feel? This is the effect that black and white images have over their viewers. The medium adds a certain timeless quality to photographs, and evokes feelings of eternal love.
So unless you, as a photographer, can see and capture the romance in the scene, you may not be able to make memorable pictures.
Experiment with Different Lighting
Some moments look good when they are soft, dreamy and in low contrast. This kind of a frame usually occurs when light levels are soft and even. This sort of lighting is excellent for high key photographs, where the whites are predominant.
High contrast lighting, usually found at weddings receptions, are more conducive to some dramatic, contrasty images, which have very little middle tones of grey. Low key photography is possible in almost all kinds of lighting. However, it is for you, as the photographer, to decide exactly what sort of look you wish to achieve in the final print, and then set the exposure on your camera accordingly.
Keep in mind that while colour pictures distract viewers from noticing any glaring photographic mistakes, B&W images are not so forgiving. Photograph/Fijoy Joseph
Create a Photo Story
It is highly unlikely for the bride and groom to ask you to shoot their wedding entirely in the black and white medium. But there is always a way out.
You have the option of presenting your clients with a separate set of B&W photographs in the form of a photo essay. Not only will they have a series of timeless wedding pictures to remind them of their most important day, but it will also be a lovely addition to the wedding photography package.
Masking Imperfections
If you notice that a few of your colour images contain a lot of noise, on account of using a high ISO, the good thing would be to convert the image to black and white. It wouldn’t even look out of place as a grainy image can look much better in B&W.
This article originally appeared in the April 2015 issue of Better Photography.