From the medium’s formative years to the modern era, monochrome photography has changed the way we see the world, and this collection of inspirational quotes from some of the medium’s most eminent figures will help provide inspiration, advice, and encouragement on your journey.

1. “I’ve been forty years discovering that the queen of all colors is black.” – Henri Matisse

2. “Black and white is abstract; colour is not. Looking at a black and white photograph, you are already looking at a strange world.” – Joel Sternfeld

3. “To some extent, the cult surrounding black-and-white photography is based on nostalgia” – René Burri

4. “I believe that the essence of photography is black and white. Color is but a deviance.” – Ruth Bernhard

5. “Black and white are the colors of photography. To me, they symbolize the alternatives of hope and despair to which mankind is forever subjected.” – Robert Frank

6. “Color is descriptive. Black and white is interpretive.” – Elliott Erwitt

7. “Black and white photography is truly quite a ‘departure from ‘reality’, and the transition from one aspect of visual magic to another was not as complete as many imagine.” – Ansel Adams

8. “Black and white photography erases time from the equation.” – Jason Peterson

9. “I work in colour sometimes, but I guess the images I most connect to, historically speaking, are in black and white. I see more in black and white – I like the abstraction of it.” – Mary Ellen Mark

10. “Color is everything, black and white is more.” – Dominic Rouse

11. “Black and white photography has the potential to make any photographer a better photographer.” – Rob Sheppard

12. “There’s something strange and powerful about black-and-white imagery.” – Stefan Kanfer

13. “In black and white there are more colors than color photography because you are not blocked by any colors so you can use your experiences, your knowledge, and your fantasy, to put colors into black and white.” – Anders Petersen

14. “My experience of learning in the darkroom with black and white film had limitations that were helpful. There were fewer choices.” – Annie Leibovitz

15. “Black-and-white always looks modern, whatever that word means.” – Karl Lagerfeld

16. “Although humans see reality in color, for me, black and white has always been connected to the image’s deeper truth, to its most hidden meaning.” – Peter Lindbergh

17. “Black and white creates a strange dreamscape that color never can”– Jack Antonoff

18. “All the beauty of life is made up of light and shadow.” – Leo Tolstoy⁠

19.  “Life is in color, but black and white is more realistic.” – Samuel Fuller

20.“To see in color is a delight for the eye but to see in black and white is a delight for the soul” – Andri Cauldwell

Looking for more motivational insights? – Check out our Top 50 inspirational quotes for photographers

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