The Cautionary Tale of Black and White Photography
Unpacking my distrust of monochrome.
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For my last post, I published my Somewhat Serious Guide to Photography’s Do’s and Don’ts. The reaction was overwhelming. Most of the readers were in agreement, some took issues, and one person hated my point about Gregory Crewdson’s cinematic style so much that they made a new account on Instagram just to tell me how much I suck. I appreciated the effort.
The most contentious “Don’t” on the list turned out to be the use of B&W. Photographers defended their love of monochrome with fierceness which inspired me to unpack the subject further. There are countless articles waxing poetic about B&W photography, but a critique of it is akin to sacrilege. Luckily, I am never one to shy away from blasphemy.