In fact, B&W suits itself for nearly every subject, but it's not always a matter of removing the colours. It's important to learn to see the luminosity contrast while shooting, as opposed to the colour contrast (which can fool us into thinking some parts are lighter or darker than they actually are)Wish I could shoot in B&W, when I tried it I just ended wishing I had shot in colour and when I edit to B&W I'm never happy with the result. Mind you I think it's because I don't photo people, most the best B&W photos I've seen have been people.Thank you! Good ideas too!
With people-images, backgrounds become much less distracting due to the lack of colours, and emotions are emphasized. This makes that people-shots often have a higher impact in B&W.
But urban landscapes also work well in B&W, In fact, in B&W you have more options, such as a more abstract approach with high contrast, or a more vintage look with grain and low contrast, etc.
I think the easiest way to try & learn is to shoot raw, with the purpose of making B&W. Then back home, try and develop some images with the most promising composition.
I've been shooting the Leica Monochrom almost exclusively for a year now. An interesting side-effect is that I also have become much more aware of colour... which isn't registered at all by the camera!
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