Why use black and white photography for your company website?
Why you should consider black and white photography for your company website…
The history of black and white film photography
Black and white film was first developed by Joseph Niepce in 1826 and still made and used widely today, it’s reliable, detailed and still very popular. Black and white film was used very often in photojournalism, even after the advent of colour film as it could be used to get a good news images under all lighting conditions, be that a mixture of daylight and tungsten bulbs or fluorescent tubes for example. Film would give some weird and wonderful effects which would dilute the message that the photograph needed to convey.
Black and white for reportage and news stories
So black and white even to this day is still synonymous with reportage and news stories. This can be used to an advantage in website design or marketing materials when images of staff working say, on a factory floor, or directors animatedly discussing something round a boardroom table can be shot in black and white to give it that ‘breaking news story’ feel. Perhaps too a sense of authenticity and realism when colour can be distracting.
Colour photography and colour balance
Getting a good colour balance even today can require extra lighting, to eliminate strong colour casts from office corridors, desk lamps, ghastly overhead strip lights or often worst of all, modern LED bulbs have a range of colours that are not at all consistent in their colour temperature. So if moving lights or studio flash around is too distracting or time consuming in a fast moving environment then black and white is a great alternative.
The portraits can be in colour for example and the working shots in black and white which can change the pace of images in an annual report or company web pages.
More forgiving of changing backgrounds
Black and white photography can sometimes be more flexible if photo shoots are to take place in a variety of rooms at different times, as the background is less dominant than with colour photography.
It also means that if a company has many international offices around the world different photographers can recreate the same look and feel more easily using black and white. Often the brief is to use a simple white or grey background so that the photography keeps the same look of a ‘set’ of images.
To be more flexible with different lighting
Natural lighting or flash photography can be used when lighting images, which will eventually be produced in black and white.
Black and white photography can help with wrinkles
When taking portraits, which will ultimately be reproduced in black and white the complexions and skin imperfections are less obvious so black and white is often kinder and the pictures can be more flattering.
Double the choice!
As digital photographs are taken by the camera and saved in colour and then afterwards the files converted to black and white, the selected pictures can be used in either or both colour and black and white depending on which publication or piece of marketing literature they are to appear in. The company can opt to receive both a set of images in colour as well as black and white.
Creating the final black and white conversion
It is important to ask your photographer to carry out the black and white conversion for your selected images. The reason for this is that professional photographers process RAW files (the original images) through specialist software. This software provides many opportunities to select the type and look of the final black and white image. This might be with plenty of contrast or a more subtle conversion. This is a preference to be discussed with the photographer and depends on what look the designer or client is looking for in the final image.
Prints or Jpeg files
For the client below the final images are provided as prints but for others digital files are supplied for use on websites and in other media.
The above black and white photographs appear on the PR company’s website and also framed on their reception wall so that visitors can view the team when waiting for their meetings to begin.
A black and white corporate portrait taken in 2023 for company’s website team page.
Team page on financial consultancy company’s website, showing black and white portraits.
Black and white office photography –
These selected photographs show how working office photography can be converted to black and white for use on a website.
This gives a different and interesting feel to office photography as well as the London location photography.
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Professional corporate photographer, providing company headshot photography and video for businesses in London, the rest of the UK and Europe. Piranha are commissioned by FTSE100 companies and start-ups alike, for numerous projects, covering a wide range of work and styles. Portraits and office photography for use on websites, events coverage and PR shots for press and publications, as well as Board and location photography for annual reports. Using top of the range Leica cameras and lenses. We process the images promptly and to an extremely high standard.