Well, let's take a look. Here are some shots that I converted last week. Compare them with their color originals:
I converted these in Aperture. It's a very simple process. Almost any photo editing tool will work for that purpose.
Here are others that I grabbed from Aperture that I did not feel looked good enough in color to post, but looked fairly interesting in black and white:
So, that said, when does black and white work for me?
1) When color is actually distracting to me - as much as I love color, it doesn't always work for me. The pool shot is an example. The colors don't add anything to the shot for me. The black and white example is much cleaner and simpler.
2) When I want to portray another era - I hope this is self-explanatory. To me, in this case, these types of pictures make me feel nostalgic for another time.
3) When I don't want to highlight one element over another - As an example, look at the shot with the trees, the sky, and the grass. It's well balanced, but my eyes tend to jump to the green grass. Yours may focus on the sky. Because I feel the picture is "one picture", and not greens and blues, I prefer black and white. This way forces me to view the subject of the picture as the entire picture.
4) Shots with good contrast or with lights - I like how my lights "pop", but not to the point that they distract from the pictures. Shots with contrast ensure that they do not look "dull" or "boring" (highly subjective terms) once converted.
What should you do? Until you know what works for you, I'd suggest trial and error. Take a cross-sample of your pictures, convert them (make sure you back up the originals, of course), and see what looks good to you. Eventually, you'll detect a pattern and therefore understand what your eye likes. Because this is subjective, it's best to go by your own instincts - not mine, and not those of a magazine.
Next time - my monastery adventure.
