I am convinced with little argument that certain images are meant to be in bw or monochrome.  Others certainly need and deserve wonderful color.  I remember a "black rose" which struck me as a fine rendering of a rose, yet all in grayscale, mostly a black rose.   Done well, the rose was a statement of its own.

Yet, most rose shots are there to show the wonderful color of the flower.  That is certainly good and I really enjoy well done photos of colorful flowers.

I have been planning a small exhibit and in fiddling around have taken several images and done those in color and in bw.  I am not surprised at the differences in effect and "mood" the images present.  Some are simply terrible in bw and color is the strong point.  Others gain depth of mood when the color is gone and monochrome rules.

Try this with some of your shots and see what you get.  POST A FEW if you will!

I will try to get a couple of photos up here soon., bw or color or  somewhere inbetween.      Thanks.         TomDart.

Color

I prefer the B&W for me it makes a stronger statement and it's easier on the eyes, in the color verision the grass over powers the subject, IMHO.

Yes, I tend to prefer B&W on a lot of photos, especially if it brings out the main feature of the photo.
Tom, have you thought about a selective color on that one? The fence color is a little on the green side, making the definition between the two very similar. In those cases leaving one color and discarding the color on the other would make one of them stand out a bit more. Or you could mask the fence and use a variation or hue change to remove a little of the green tint.

Here is mine. Looking this grave picture next to each other on the colored version I more observe a surounding while on the b&w I am focused on the crypt . I would post the b&w version in my gallery...

@Tom's shots...I like the color picture, just need a bit of  on the tones as bentchick  suggest it.

@bentchick's shot...sad they don't favour B&W realy looks good your photo in mono. Shadow and highlight works well.

Good tread Tom and hope others will join in too.

seeya  Tunde

I prefer the young girl's photo in bw, because puts my focus on her face and really subdues the bg.

Tunde, yours certainly demonstrates how the eye sees differently in bw or color.  I also focused on the central contrast of the bw and did not do that in the color shot.

While I prefer the bw version of my fence shot, the photo has a serious problem in bw:  The tonality of the green grass and the fence rows is just too close to get a decent contrast straight from the photo.  It all blends too much. 

So, the color may actually do better with some desat of the grass..still, tone is too close.   

Helle, I find it very interesting, when looking at portraits, that color and B&W are what really express the "mood". Your grandaughter does not look very happy there, so the B&W expresses her mood better. Had she been smiling the color one would convey a lighter mood!

Tunde, your photo really explains it well! B&W makes us focus on the crypt and feel the somber mood.

When will I ever learn. I just wanted to look at the upper picture and all my text is gone. SIGH!

Tom I like the B/W on the upper one. It makes the image more interesting... in my opinion.

Tunde, i find the B/W excellent for the grave yard.

Bentchick, i am not sure of the B/W as it is there. Maybe the contrast is a little too big. The deep shades make the dark places disappear in only black. Was that what you wanted?
I like the colored ALOT.  The blue shades are awesome.

Yeah,  my gr.daughter knows how to act sad, when I ask her.  !  Dramaqueen :-)))  I agree, that the B/W here is good.

I like the B&W. I think you can see a little more detail on the body, plus, B&W always lends itself to a timeless sort of look, the green grass is a bit distracting in the color version.
I think your shot is another one that would look great in selective color, leaving the wood color of the cross.

@Helanker...B&W is good, her skin looks lovely.

@jeditojan...mono tone works better. Also I would try and see how the details coming out if it would be a sepia.

seeyus  Tunde

Yes, the Christ/Cross is best in my eyes in monotone.   With the green color, it is difficult to imagine this mood and is seen as o a sculpture with no path to carry the cross.   Yes, also sculpture in bw but grass does not take away from the "path" taken by this Christ figure.

I would try for a deeper contrast or darkening of bg if possible. To me, the bw has much more meaning related to the figure while the color one is like, " Oh look,  a sculpture. Let's take a picture." 

As  I look at all the images uploaded, a bw can benefit from a strong element in the composition.  A nice color photo may not have the stuff to make it in bw or monotone.

When I do a portrait, I almost always at least try it in some form of b&w.  I am a bit addicted to the "Fade Virtual Photographer" slider, so I sometimes end up with something in between, where the color is very soft.  Here's a picture of Serenity (she's two years old ... cute, huh?).  The original, a soft color version, and b&w.  (You'll see additional postwork from the original, but that's not the point.) 

I haven't posted this portrait in my gallery yet, so your opinion might influence my decision!  LOL!  I like the soft color version best, because I think it's appropriate to the little-girl look, but b&w always gets my attention!

Keep aware the method of converting to bw can make a huge difference in the mood.  Contrast can be controlled as can levels of tonality across the image.

Now, why does this happen?Please zoom.  Look at the yellow in the original and the results using a simple "desaturate" slider in Photoshop™ and using Virtual Photographer and an action I use  for bw conversions.  The lower right was done with the action commands but the resulting effects on the yellow are the same as a similar bw done in VP.  

Why thank you, Joe!  :)  I think being an Auntie is the best job in the world. 

I tend to use more than one VP process.  I'll apply one, back it off, apply another, back it off, do it again ... cancel the ones I don't like ... it's my favorite program!  So much versatilty.  I like your comparison between the simple desaturation and something a bit "fancier," for want of a better term.  Excellent illustration!

Playing around with different VP bw settings can give either result..yellow going white or going grey.   I believe this has to do somewhat with what sort of "bw film" the effect is emulating.
In other words, from what you have said about using different processes, etc., the results can be quite vaired.

I suggest anyone who has not converted to bw from digital color shots give it a try. Try lots of ways and you will get different results, one of which might be perfect for the photo.

I'm sorry, Tom ... I realized I just called you Joe.  :P  That's what I get for having more than one conversation at a time!  LOL! 

Tom, I love a good challenge, sooooooo when you said the above...

I took your photo, in photoshop: image, adjustment, black & white. Chose neutral density in the preset drop down box, then further customized it by setting the color sliders to:

Red   -25
Yellow 270
Green 220
Cyan 187
Blue 159
Magenta 140

I think this helped quite a bit with the tonal contrast. (although it did blow out the highlights of the grass above the fence)

Wow.  Awesome work!  I did the same thing ... took the image and worked on it ... tweaked the colors before desaturating.  Nicely done!  I like your result much better than mine.

Hmmmmmm ... I think top right.  Don't ask me tomorrow ... I might change my mind!  :)

This tread realy works...goodie. Lot to see and learn just by looking.

@ Tara...I like the 'in between' version. You hang onto some baby pink skin tone what is so lovely, like a porcelan. ..of course she is cute BTW...lol.

@Tom...You gain something and loose something. I would combine the 2 mono so a final picture would have a real good contrast between black and white while a logo would be visible on a t-shirt too.

@LovelyPoetess...Lower left works for me the best. I might would tweek a bit with a burn tool to get a bit more darknes on the black frame and some texture on the wood.

seeyus  T

Poetess, for the moment I choose the upper right one but would like a touch more contrast.   Thanks for the examples.

I submitted the sepia/mono chrome  version to a Billiards website.

A magazine has expressed interest in the color version. (but they did like the sepia)

After looking back and forth at these two images several times, I have to say ... I like them both!  I can see why the magazine liked the color version, though.  It's easier to imagine that one on a glossy page than it is the mono version.  (But I'm really partial to b&w portrait shots.)

Bruce, the lack of back light makes the player stand out dramatically..so the color still has a strong impact.  That contrast makes the color less consequential to the mood of the photo, in my opinion.    (Now, to ask my self, what did I just say!  :  )

For me the color is an eye drawer, whereas the B&W (sepia) puts emphasis on the facial features, the concentration of the moment.

@Bruce...I like the b&w version. The high white tone t-shirt  with a crease lead our eyes from the table/balls to the players face. Working perfectly. On the colored picture I don't have this effect.

seeya  T

Yes, it is fascinating how our eyes/brain react on colors.  My eyes are focusing on the balls on the table and how he thinks about the next move, but in the b/w I look at his expression and his whole figure. ......But I actually like them both. :-)

The " 9 ball" shot  is another fine example how the mood or story of the image changes if in color or monochrome.  Yes, that is fascinating.

Boy, I'm hard pressed to say which I prefer, they are both good, with points in each one's favor.

: ) 

I have to say, this is a good thread...Bruce, your image is very telling in "mood" change from color or monochrome and Tunde's proves more how the eye is guided to a more general or direct portion of the compo.   Yeppie, this has been a fun one and thanks to all who have posted.

I can't say whether it draws my eye to the face first or the ball first, but there is a draw from one to the other.

Personally I think the B&W version works best.

The selective color does catch the eye but to me the effect is negative, taking away from the pull of the basic bw image.    I first saw this and unfortunately the thought came to mind, with a little text ballon over the player, "Yikes, where did that come from? All the rest are black are grays."  It is like a little color balls invaded a private monochrome world...

Good try but for me it does not work as desired..     A lowered satruation on some areas might work to bring a different pull to the color version but I have not tried that.

LOL!!! You reminded me of the movie "Pleasantville" ! I liked the way they started out all B&W and added color a little at a time through out the movie.

I do agree, the B&W has the best feel.

@ Girsempa,

I understand what you tried to do here, but I'm still distracted by all the people, who now resemble statues to me.  If I wanted to focus on the masonry details,  I would have tried to get an image without anyone in the shot. Let the old church stand on its own...really show its character.  I know sometimes that's kinda tricky to do if the place is very busy, but I feel, in this instance, it would have been worth the effort and made more of an impact.  

Joe

I see what you mean, Joe... but on the other hand, is there any better way to show an entrance than by showing people actually entering..? LOL

The idea was to show a place where people have come since 326 AD, when the first church was built by Roman emperor Constantine), and where people are still "entering" after almost seventeen centuries...

Note: the people on the left are seated on the remains of one of the 12m high colums that were used for the 5th-century church galleries.

Both versions of your photo show the church detail to my eye, but differently.  The color version shows all those beautiful shades of the stonework.   I think  desaturating  or toning down the bright colors (RED. ORANGE) on the people clothing would then allow us to take in the image as a whole and not be distracted.

Geert

I find this process with the church very exiting.
It is amazing to see the different between the three photos.
I learn something here. Thank you.

Geert,  I am with helanker on this thought..yes, seeing the differences is quite rewarding to my thoughts.  The slight deemphasis of the bright colors does help a lot in my opinion.  I like the monochrome but aslo like the colorations in the stonework.  A sepia tone might work but then might look a bit contrived unless worked quite gently.           Tom.