I photograph almost entirely in black and white. Not because colour is inferior, and not because monochrome automatically makes an image more artistic.
I choose it because it suits what I am looking for in a portrait.
Less information, more attention
Colour can be beautiful, but it tells many things at once. Clothes, walls, skin tones and surroundings all ask for attention. In black and white some of that information disappears.
What remains carries more weight: light on a face, the texture of fur, the line of a shoulder, a look.
That does not automatically make an image better. It does make clearer what the image is really about.
I already think in black and white while photographing
Monochrome is not a filter I add afterwards. While photographing I am already looking at tonal values, contrast, shadow and form. A red coat and a green wall may look very different in colour and almost identical in grey. That changes how you use light and composition.
The choice for black and white therefore begins before I press the shutter.
An image that stays quiet
I want a Greycard portrait to work years from now. Black and white helps because it is less tied to colour trends and needs less explanation.
It is not a rule everyone should follow. It is simply the visual language in which I can make my work most precisely.