@loganlamar, @blessingscaptured, @hayhand02, and @frazer-family,
Thank you so much for your helpful tips and insight into this area of photography. I’m assuming that the edited pictures attached above were processed using Lightroom/Photoshop.
@loganlamar and @blessingscaptured, to summarise what you have said, I think B&W would be used in the following situations:
1. Subject or scene is only black and white.
2. Excessive colours detracting from the scene.
3. Bland colours in the scene.
4. Poor lighting conditions.
5. Significant exposure contrasts.
If the color contributes or enhances the feeling I want to convey with the photo, I’ll keep it and sometimes make it more vivid by boosting the saturation and vibrancy in post production.
If, however, the use of color detracts or distracts from the feeling I want to convey with the image, I’ll convert it to black and white
Good points to keep in mind whenever I’m taking pictures.
May I ask how you edited the sunrise picture? I really liked the post-processed image. Over the weekend, I downloaded the free photo-editing software, RawTherapee, and have been playing around with it, using some of the tips from @buddingphotographer on previously captured pictures. I would love to know the steps you took on editing the photo, so that I could apply them on some of my sunset pictures.
A neat B&W effect I’ve tried is called Color Splash Effect or Selective Color Effect.
@hayhand02, I’ve been thinking about this effect as well and I think it is a good way to make a subject of a picture “stand out.” I wonder if RawTherapee could be used to achieve this effect. Perhaps @buddingphotographer could advise on this.
@frazer-family, the reverse of the Selective Colour Effect does improve the picture of the cat. I prefer the third picture which has more vibrancy and contrasts in colour compared to the first picture.
@loganlamar, the Selective Colour Effect draws the eyes of the viewer to the subject and would convey the intended feeling.
Once again, thank you all for your wonderful ideas and illustrations on the B&W Colour Effect.