Advance Notes: Has the B&W (Black and White) photo taken a back seat now that “digital” has come along and made it easier for both photographer and researcher to enhance color images? Don’t give up on the stepchild, B&W. It’s still a strong favorite among certain markets.

BLACK-AND-WHITE… Is It A Digital Stepchild?

"I don’t have a darkroom. I used to. I loved working in B&W. I used to often spend 12 hours a day in the darkroom. It was addictive. Those days are long gone," says Lori Sampson of Sampson Design, St. Paul, MN. "Now I make prints with my desktop [equipment] and still see the light of day!"

She’s talking about her ability to produce high quality B&W prints from transparencies and color negs, using her Epson Stylus Photo EX printer and PhotoShop software.

Jim Whitmer, a stock photographer from the Chicago area, says, "My darkroom has been chemical-less for years. If a client wants a B&W image, I can do a scan from the original negative and burn a CD faster and cheaper than I could ever print an 8x10 image in the darkroom.

"When a client asks me for a B&W print, I ask them what they’re going to do with it. They say ‘scan it’. And I say, ‘Wouldn’t you like to save that step and let me scan it for you? What file format do you want?’"

WHAT DO BUYERS PREFER?

"I love the results of a B&W digital [print]," says Lori Lee. "My only question, will photoresearchers and photobuyers?"

The answer more and more frequently is yes. Photobuyers are more artists than technicians. As long as the photobuyer’s printing house will accept B&W digital prints, the photobuyer can save time and money by accepting digital prints if the content fits the bill.

Another question comes up. With the proliferation of glamorous color and high resolution that’s now available with digital cameras, do photobuyers look askance at the black-and-white medium?

IT STANDS OUT

B&W photos are experiencing a “re-birth” as a welcome counterpoint to the "cacophony" of glitzy color we see everywhere in print and Web communications. It’s a sure bet that if you want one of your images to stand out in your page layout, render it black and white. And who can forget the effectiveness of B&W in the film, Schindler’s List, often voted in the top ten of memorable films? Fashion photographers also realize the impact of B&W; so do documentary film producers on PBS.

ABC-TV recently promoted its prime-time shows with selections of B&W documentary photos of the shows, by photographer, Norman Roy.

"B&W World," "URL Review," and "Alternate Process," are websites for B&W enthusiasts. Don’t give up on B&W.

Rohn Engh, veteran stock photographer and publisher of “PhotoRESEARCHER Newsletter,” has provided on-line targeted information for photobuyers, photo researchers and editors for two decades. No other newsletter brings photobuyers such up-to-the minute, practical information from an experienced picture professional intimately familiar with both sides of the stock photo desk. For more info: http://www.photosource.com/photobuyer/.