Color vs. B&W

When you look at a powerful painting or picture, it makes you feel something. It might be something you can't really put words to, but there is a stirring in your heart and you are moved.

I am friends with several wedding photographers, and for some reason, the photos that stir the most emotion for me from their work are the ones in B&W. When I was editing my friend's wedding, I had to restrain myself from make too much B&W. I kept wondering what it was about no color that had such a powerful pull on me.

Now, this is not just for weddings, by any means. It happens with any portraits sessions. I've been pondering this for a while now and I think I have a hypothesis.

Color is amazing. I am so thankful that I live in a time with color photos and movies that can capture my memories almost exactly as I see them. For many things, color is so important and adds so much to the photo and the message you're trying to tell. However, I think that sometimes it can detract from a moment. Let me show you some examples.

Which photos speak to you more? I'm willing to bet it's the B&W ones.

So here's my hypothesis - I think that color sometimes distracts us. It's like a distracting background. If your background is full of stuff, you don't see the subject. Color works like that sometimes. You get so caught up in the color that you miss the moment; the emotion. B&W images have a more dramatic feel to them in general, which helps, but your eyes are drawn to the face, the eyes, the emotion.

Is this something you've thought about before? Do you agree or disagree?