Black & white vs Colour

[tipsinartok]

Are there any "rules" or guidelines as far as choosing whether to display a particular picture in black and white vs colour? Or is it mostly personal preference? I find I tend to lean towards colour, but a friend of mine seems to prefer black & white. I know that if the colour is a main focus of the picture (bright blue eyes, a rainbow, etc.) it's better to keep it in colour, and if the colour is distracting it's nice to go black and white, but is there any other criteria to go by? I find it hard sometimes to judge, especially when I've been working on a particular picture for a while and I start having trouble deciding what I like or not like about it at all.

[Biarien]

Like most art, it's personal preference. Find out what you like, and go with it. :D

Personally, I've been trying to focus more on black and white lately, following a general rule to only use color when the color really adds to the photograph. But of course this is just for me.

—Brendan