Black-and-white (B/W or B&W) images combine black and white in a continuous spectrum, producing a range of shades of gray.
A picture which uses only the two shades of white and black would look similar to a silhouette. Therefore, calling a photo a "black and white image" is actually a misnomer.[1][failed verification][2][failed verification] The technically accurate term is "grayscale", or more specifically "grayscale monochrome". A picture which consists only of actual white and black pixels is a "binary image".[]
The history of various visual media has begun with black and white, and as technology improved, altered to color. However, there are exceptions to this rule, including black-and-white fine art photography, as well as many film motion pictures and art film(s).
Since the late 1960s, few mainstream films have been shot in black-and-white. The reasons are frequently commercial, as it is difficult to sell a film for television broadcasting if the film is not in color. 1961 was the last year in which the majority of Hollywood films were released in black and white.[3]
In computing terminology, black-and-white is sometimes used to refer to a binary image consisting solely of pure black pixels and pure white pixels; what would normally be called a black-and-white image, that is, an image containing shades of gray, is referred to in this context as grayscale.[4]