Why I Don’t Do Selective Color

Before I left on vacation, I posted a side-by-side comparison on my Facebook page. I asked my readers which photo they preferred.   It was a close race with the majority choosing the color version.  However, I did have a few people suggest a third option: a BW version with color accent. I found it to be the perfect opportunity to explain why I don’t do selective color in my work. Let’s start with the side-by-side comparison:

In the color version, the composition draw the eyes from the face, down her shoulder and arm to the bouquet and back up again. The colors in the shot help guide the eyes through the composition, but still the focus reverts to the subject’s face.  In the BW version, the eyes are immediately drawn to the subject’s eyes, though stunning in the color version, don’t have as much impact as they do in the BW.  In both the color and BW versions, the focus is always the subject.

In the selective color version: the focus is now on the flowers detracting the attention from the subject’s face.  I find this to be the case with most selective color images I’ve encountered and why I am not a big fan of the effect, especially since my aim is always to bring the focus to my subjects. But here’s the bottom line: selective coloring is just one of the many photography trends that may look cool today, but will most likely date your photos in a few years. Like all trends, it has a limited shelf life. My hope with every session is to create memories that will stand the test of time. I try to keep all “extras” to a minimum and focus on creating images that you will love today and  hopefully, for a very long time!