904. Can a dreadfully color-balanced photo be made TTG-eligible by converting it to monochrome/black-and-white?

Yes, it can.

When the photographer thinks the colors are so far off that they cannot be corrected enough to meet P7, converting the photograph to monochrome is usually an option.

Note that tonal values cannot be reversed when converting color photos to monochrome / black-and-white (see FAQ #886).

A long past and a long future

Contrary to popular belief in our color-filled culture, there is nothing “elitist” or “exclusive” about monochrome photos.

Anyone in the world — including smartphone users — can easily make (and put online) TTG-eligible monochrome photographs, even if the image was originally recorded in color.

Monochrome photographs are as old as photography itself, and one-color images have been valued for all of human history — from ancient cave paintings, to Asian calligraphy and ink-and-brush paintings, to various cultures’ pencil and pen-and-ink drawings — including innumerable works by accomplished artists who had full access to color tools.

Thousands of newspapers still print all or most of their news photographs in black-and-white.