B&W Urban Landscapes

My eye is naturally drawn to structures and shapes. This meant that I had to push myself to take more photos involving people, and overall it's something I'm interested in pursuing more of. I also had a decent idea of what photos would look good in color and without, but I also just let myself shoot whatever I was drawn too, and then in editing I would notice the color and no color differences. I think one of my biggest realizations through this project is that ironically, color and black and white is not "black and white" it is a spectrum. I think before, I was really drawn to lots of color in my photos, but after the photos I took for this project, I realized I actually really enjoy low saturation photos. I found that there is a sweet spot right before complete black and white where you still get interesting values and a bit of color, where it's not completely dull and not very bright or colorful either. I used this style a lot in my photos.

I do think my inquiry project was a success. I struggled at first trying to figure out how to highlight the differences between color and no color, but after my second shoot, I think I figured it out. The process was definitely very experimental for me, and I learned a lot about black and white photography. It inspired me very much. I hope to do more black and white photography in the future. As for the answer to my question, I don't think I can say for sure when exactly a color or no color is better, but I definitely now understand the importance of using both methods.  Shooting in black and white taught me more about lighting and value than I would have expected, and I have for sure come out of this project with more photography knowledge. I ended up with over 100 edited photos, so check those out in the link below.