; BLACK AND WHITE SHOULD BE MORE THAN AN AFTERTHOUGHT TO COLOR PHOTOGRAPHY A mediocre picture becomes more alive when it is reduced to tones and design. The soft, muted colors still work to make a soft, and lovely black and white. Contrast is the most important thing. Color luminance is too similar for good B&W. Adding a bit of contrast in the B&W gives this headshot more punch in monochrome than color. This image works well in both color and black and white.