I had a wonderful time photographing this sweet family recently. Mom and Dad wanted to fill a wall with framed b&w portraits, so I helped them make their selections for a wall grouping, and we selected one lovely portrait of their son for a larger fine art framed canvas for display in color in their entrance. The resulting display is gorgeous and shows both the power of color and black and white to tell your family’s story. Later this summer, I will show you display ideas, but today I’ll discuss black & white vs. color. I get asked this question so many times: Should we order portraits in b&w or color? I tell my clients there is no right answer. I personally love b&w. It is classic and timeless. I process my b&w portraits to produce a warm-toned print, very pleasing to the eye. But I also love color when it is warranted. So I advise my clients to select prints in color if the color is special, unique or memorable — not just ordinary. For example, with a portrait taken against the backdrop of fall leaves, the bright orange hues would be important to that portrait. Or in this case, the bright aqua blue t-shirt of this couple’s son really makes him stand out. But we also liked the b&w portraits, so we selected one in color and several others in b&w for their wall grouping. I’ve posted photos in both b&w and color so you can see how the same image can look different and evoke a different feeling.
