When the first camera was invented and the first photos were developed, they were all black or had a tint of sepia. This was all due to the chemical process and chemicals used back then, and the process was only available then. As time progressed, and this is where we are now, colour photographs became a world standard.
However, trends and fashions change, and we are suddenly big on black and white photography. Black and white, or sepia, is simple and calm. No vibrant colours, and no worries that someone wore a bright-coloured dress or shirt that everyone had to comment on. With black and white, the imperfections of the composition are hidden.
My wedding photographs were fifty percent sepia. The photographer did the magic, but to my surprise, when it came to selecting final photographs for our parents album, no black-and-white images were added to their collection. It was simple: "We want to see all details, including colour." So in the end, it is personal preference; however, is a black-and-white photo what we want? As the slogan of this blog says, "Photographs are the Blue Prints of the Past," the black and white photograph will not give us all the details of the coloured photograph.
With rising software development technologies, this may not be an issue. The photos taken in colour can be easily converted to black and white, or sepia colour, by mapping each colour to a different shade of grey, but this is not the case if you want to reverse from black and white to colour.
A human memory is then necessary to tell us what colours are behind the black-and-white photograph. I did digital photo restoration that included colour correction or full colour restoration. I tell you it was not easy at first, then got better, but it is still a lot of work getting the right colours as they are usually verbally described.
To conclude this, avoiding the loss of bits and pieces of information may be trendy now but not practical later; I would stick with coloured photos and have them converted later. Lastly, there may be cameras that take photos in both schemes. Just investigate further.
~ Anna
However, trends and fashions change, and we are suddenly big on black and white photography. Black and white, or sepia, is simple and calm. No vibrant colours, and no worries that someone wore a bright-coloured dress or shirt that everyone had to comment on. With black and white, the imperfections of the composition are hidden.
My wedding photographs were fifty percent sepia. The photographer did the magic, but to my surprise, when it came to selecting final photographs for our parents album, no black-and-white images were added to their collection. It was simple: "We want to see all details, including colour." So in the end, it is personal preference; however, is a black-and-white photo what we want? As the slogan of this blog says, "Photographs are the Blue Prints of the Past," the black and white photograph will not give us all the details of the coloured photograph.
To conclude this, avoiding the loss of bits and pieces of information may be trendy now but not practical later; I would stick with coloured photos and have them converted later. Lastly, there may be cameras that take photos in both schemes. Just investigate further.
~ Anna
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