Why I shoot in Monochrome

There was a time when shooting in black and white was the only option. Photography was first developed in monochrome and even after the availability of colour photography it continued to be the main option for photographers, especially the ones that clearly used it for artistic reasons.

Nowadays we see a different scenario. Colour photography is the strongest sibling. It is everywhere, no matter for what purpose. And technology both in film and in digital cameras is so advanced, the colors are so accurate, so perfect… that only a fool would discard that option in favour of the monochromatic child.

So well, maybe yes I am a fool, but for me what was once the only option it is now a creative choice. I get to decide how I shoot, and I think that choosing black and white is a strong statement in itself. I have my reasons, though.

It motivates me

To be really good at something, you gotta put passion, effort, time and you have a choice to make. You simply cannot excel at everything you do. Very few people in this world can, so… You have to chose where to focus your attention. I decided go almost exclusively monochromatic because it deeply motivates me. Colour photography doesn’t really have the same effect on me. I’d say that has something to do with the fact that we live sorrounded by colour photography. It doesn’t interest me anymore. I just couldn’t be bothered.

And yes, of course, there’s so many people in this world, so many photographers, that even if just a percentage of them shoot in black and white, that also means millions of photographs… but still is the minority. And being part of the minority motivates me, too.

It differentiates me

As I said in the paragraph above, there are a lot of photographers who shoot monochrome… but still, shooting BW is an easy way to stand out.

Take Instagram or Threads, for instance. You’re endlessly scrolling down, photograph after photograph, and suddenly a black and white one. You’re kind of forced to take a pause and look at it. And no, I am not a photographer looking for easy likes. I couldn’t care less. If that was the case I’d go photographing everything in f/1.4 to get those insubstantial bokehs that you see everywhere on social media platforms.

And hey, monochrome is very niche. It’s difficult to gather a big audience just focusing on it. So I understand that my numbers will be small, but I hope to attract a more mature audience instead.

I find it easier to edit

This is a very specific thing, and maybe you don’t agree with this one, which is fine. But let me explain it.

I am not talking here about the technicality of it. I am very familiar with the use of Lightroom, I’ve edited in the past lots of colour photos, but… it bores me. It just does. I find it very difficult to work past this boredom and check if all the colours look nice playing with the slides, intensity, saturation and everything. It doesn’t motivate me enough.

And so, my process editing photos in black and white is so much simpler. No colours, just shadows, highlights, exposure, blacks, whites, texture, clarity and a little bit of grain, lately. Ok, maybe that sounds like a lot to the untrained photographer but you do this in a breeze, believe me.

So yes, this one is very unique to me, I think. But that’s what this game is about. It has to appeal to you.

The looks of it

I mean… black and white photography is so badass, so classy, so sexy. I always crave for more. I am never full of it.

There are photographs and photographs, but if you happen to take a very good monochrome photo it easily becomes an instant classic. It’s almost magical. Depending on the background and clothing of the subjects (winter helps) you can’t even place these photos in an exact moment in time. They just have this atemporality kind of embedded in them.

Final words

Everyone has their own reasons to do what they do, all perfectly valid. These are just some of the ones that work for me. I still love good colour photography and for sure I’ll be posting some colour photos that really say something to me. But for the most part, monochrome has my heart and I really love the looks of my desaturated world.