Of all the edits you can do to a photo, perhaps none is more fundamentally transformative than converting it to black and white. However, how do you know when to make that conversion? This excellent video tutorial discusses the topic as it applies to wedding photos and portraits and offers some helpful advice.
Coming to you from Katelyn James, this great video tutorial discusses how to know when to convert a photo to black and white. Some of the simplest and most effective advice I have heard regarding this is to use color when you want to convey information and black and white when you want to convey emotion. Of course, that is just a first heuristic guideline, as there are many other things to consider, such as the light and contrast, but thinking about what you want to convey with your photo is probably the most crucial. Black and white can be a highly effective way to reduce irrelevant distractions you may not have been able to avoid in an image and bring the viewer's attention back to the subject(s). The next time you are feeling a bit stuck, try out a black and white edit. Check out the video above for the full rundown from James.
"...use color when you want to convey information and black and white when you want to convey emotion." I really struggle with this, Alex.
Temperature will influence emotional response in colour, as will toning with a mono.
I don't have any great insight, but it does occur to me when you remove colour, you are removing information/complexity from the image.
Maybe it's related to the way we so often respond powerfully to a detail within landscape being presented in the form of a minimal image.