Should B&W Be its own category?

I've seen some on-line portfolio's where the author puts all B&W into its own category?

I'm not sure where I stand on mixing B&W with color, say B&W wedding with color wedding... maybe this is taboo to mix it in this manner simply from a professional presentation perspective?

Thoughts?

I'd say do whatever "floats your boat" -- there aren't rules, just variations of style and personal preference.

tonylong is right - if you (and your client) like it do it... BW can have a very dramatic impact for the right image.

I think I didn't explain it well enough. This isn't for a client, a portfolio is my showcase. If it floats my boat, that doesn't mean its right. I've seen a lot of stuff where people do stuff that floats their boat, and its not 'right'.

I put them together. To me, B&W is a tool, not necessarily a completely different type of photography. For me, it's just another thing in my bag-o-ticks.

In a way it's almost like asking: What is art?

I don't feel this is one of those things that's either right or wrong. It is just another category. I tend to think in terms of galleries, exhibits and shows. Locally there will be b/w shows, color exhibitions, and competitions that feature both. For my own online galleries I mix them trogether:

http://www.pbase.com/s​apearl/cleveland_flats

and I feel they "present" pretty well in the mix.

Several times each year I judge in a local club's competition. Interestingly enough we view and score all the b/w first, and then do the same with all the color. Once scoring is complete though, we go back and randomly critique all of the work in a general mix of the color and b/w. We only score the b/w separately so it can be judged along with its "peer work" and not be distracted by color submissions. - Stu

lundgrenj wrote in post #9824774
I think I didn't explain it well enough. This isn't for a client, a portfolio is my showcase. If it floats my boat, that doesn't mean its right. I've seen a lot of stuff where people do stuff that floats their boat, and its not 'right'.

The short answer is that it's up to the person presenting it.

My own long answer is that categorization should depend on subject matter, not color or lack of. There are many people who feel that B&W is so special that it is a genre unto itself. While I appreciate a good B&W, I do not share this sentiment.

Here's a thought -- if you think that there is a need to categorize your photos, use an app that includes things like keywording and maybe collections, so that you can with a click display all photos that have the keyword "monochrome" or "grayscale" or whatever. Plus, with online gallery software, use one that allows you to cross-post pics into different categories. For example, I use PBase and I can upload photos for a specific shoot but also "copy" that photo to a different gallery, such as a "grayscale" gallery. That way, I can access photos from more than one viewpoint.