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Fun With Black and White and Color #Photography

Why do black and white photos always look so beautiful? I’m not sure if it’s the play on lights and shadows, or if the lack of color just emphasizes the subjects more, but there is something very powerful about black and white photography– the most whimsical pictures suddenly have an air of drama and mystery. I am trying out the various features on my new dslr camera, and had some fun experimenting with settings and seeing what kind of results an amateur photographer can get in the first few weeks. I spent a few days taking some photos in black and white with the selective color feature on my dslr camera and loves the results (and all on manual, so I could get the hang of focusing and selecting shutter speed and ISO on my own). I photographed outdoors around my own neighborhood, and as always am mesmerized with the vintage, step-into-another-world effect of black and white photography.

romantic neighborhood dslr camera photography

picket fence photograph

I love being able to have a virtual photo album online for my photos, so as time goes by and I learn and improve my photography skills, I can compare to these early photos and see how far I’ve come. What do you think of black and white photos? Do you find them as striking as I do, and have you tried your hand at them as well? I’d love to see, so feel free to share a link to your photos online if you have photos to share.




  • Oh so sweet!! I love the first and last one!!

  • That first pic is my favorite! I love these!

  • I love black and white photos with just a touch of color!

  • Donna

    I love taking black and white photographs and using iSplash to put a little splash of color back in. Just love the look. Yours are beautiful!

  • I do like black and white but on occasion. I love the last photo you took though

  • Anne - Mommy Has to Work

    I love black and white pictures! The photographer who did our family reunion pics, did a whole set in them. Awesome!

  • I love those photos, Penelope. And I agree, there is just something about black and white that makes a picture look so whimsical.

  • Megan

    Beautiful shots! I really like the last one.

  • Great shots! I too adore black and white photos.

  • I like the little bit of color in the photos.

  • Those are some nice photos, I just wish I could do something like that.

  • LOVE these!!

  • Very sweet photos!!

  • I love the subtle pop of the colors so much!

  • I also love black and white photos! I wish I could figure out how to add the pops of color without using Photoshop! LOL

  • Love those shots, they are so pretty with a touch of color

  • Beautiful pictures!

  • April Decheine

    Beautiful pictures, what kind of camera did you get?

  • April Decheine

    Great! I am looking at a Nikon too, great photos!

  • Penelope

    (if you can afford it, get the d7000, it’s a few hundred more but can be safely used in the rain and near water, and autofocuses ALL lenses, this one doesn’t)..i found out weeks after i bought this one, so too late for me to exchange 🙂

  • April Decheine

    Good to know! Thank you 🙂

  • Maureen @ Wisconsin Mommy

    Those are gorgeous – love the daffodils!!

  • I need a tutorial on how to do this so I can be inspired to finally upgrade my camera!

  • I love doing that with my camera.

  • It’s always fun to play with selective color! I’ve gotten to where I really, really like playing with B/W — very challenging!

  • nicole @WriteSpell

    Great post! So glad you’re enjoying your new camera!

  • Beautiful. I’d love to learn to do that

  • So pretty! A new camera is so much fun!

  • Lovely pictures! I also love black and white pictures. So vintage! 🙂

  • I love black and white photography!

  • I love black and white photos!

  • Jenn

    Love the daffodils!

  • I love your photos!! Especially the flowers.

  • Love that last photo! I really need to play around more with my photography.

  • Stefani

    I love black and white photos and love how you added a touch of color. Super neat!

  • Stefani

    I LOVE Black & White photos!

  • Love the little hint of color very cool!

  • I love the way a beautiful black and white picture looks. It’s amazing that you can take all of the color out and be left with a piece of art.

  • I just recently got a camera where I can isolate one color – I used the black & white shot with a dried red rose – it turned out beautifully and certainly was striking.