How About a Black and White Edit for your Family, Senior, and Sports Photos??

As you all know, I take a lot of pictures. And I have to say, about 95% of my pictures are edited in full color. I love a good color photo. Especially when it comes to family photos. A photo that shows the bright sun, blue sky, the green grass, amazingly color-coordinated outfits, and the beautiful colors of the leaves in the fall & flowers in the spring.

But lately, I’ve enjoyed experimenting with some black and white edits. There’s something about them. They’re kind of dramatic and dark. It changes the entire picture (and mood of the picture) in my mind. But I don’t always enjoy a black and white photo.

I think it both depends on my mood and the mood of the situation that was happening when the photo was taken. If you’re not a fan of the black and white edit, I understand. But you should definitely give it a try sometime if you want something just a little different from your typical, traditional family photos.

In my galleries that I send out to clients, I always include a few black & white edits. And I always make sure that my black & white edited pictures are an exact copy of a color version. So many people prefer color, that I make sure to include both versions of the picture in a gallery – color as well as black & white. Then you don’t have to decide because you have both!

And here’s one more reason to choose a black and white edit for your family photos – if your outfits don’t blend well or match. Did you not make it to the store before your session to pick out coordinated outfits? If so, don’t sweat it. If you have your photos edited in black and white, who will ever know what you were wearing? Right?

There was one year at the beach when our outfits were not coordinated at all, but it was one of our family photos that I thought was pretty cute. We were all relaxed in shorts and t-shirts with our baseball caps on. A true representation of how we are normally dressed. The problem? Our outfits did not match at all! My shirt totally clashed with my son’s shirt.

And the two shades of blue that my husband and daughter were wearing? Not my favorite. We certainly could’ve used some stripes or a cute pattern on one of our shirts. What is the fix for our bad, mis-matched outfits? You guessed it…a black and white edit.

I also use a black and white edit a lot of times when I’m shooting sports at night. I don’t like “noise” in my photos, and when you’re shooting at night, “noise” is just a part of it. But noise is disguised much easier in a black and white edit than in a color edit.

If you have a photo session coming up, ask your photographer to send a few black and whites with your gallery. Who knows…those pictures might end up being your favorites!

If you’re ready to schedule some family, senior or sports photos, you can find me over at Paula Mason Photography. Just let me know how I can help you! Which edit do you prefer? Black and white or color? Can’t wait to hear from you!

Until next time…