B&W CONVERSIONS IN 5 EASY STEPS PHOTOSHOP

<p>I normally do prefer to shoot B&W; I love how it looks and speaks to me when the subject is shot. I shoot with a Nikon D300 and normally have it set on Monotone. I then take my photos into photshop and work with them a bit to achieve the final photo.</p>

<p>I am not that great or even "experienced" at photoshop, yet I am learning as I go. I just always thought I could achieve much greater detail than I was achieving.<br>

Yesterday my After Capture Magazine, april may 2009, <a href="http://www.aftercapture.com">www.aftercapture.com</a>, came and I sat down reading it this am over my coffee. There is an article about a fine are photographer in Seattle, Washington, USA. She shoots and prefer B&W photos; (VictoriaBjorklund.com)<br>

The article is basically an instruction which she uses for her B&W photos for shows. It is stated in the article to be a somple, powerful RAW conversion workflow for beautiful black and white photos.<br>

I took the article and posted it next to my computer and utilized it this am. The results were fantastic. I was very happy with them. Please see my workspace on Colorado. there you will find three photos of a small abandonded home along hiway 6; one photo is right out of my camera B&W. One photo is adjusted by photoshop without utilizing Victoria Bjorkland's instructions and the third is my second attempt this am using her instructions in the article. I am impressed; what a difference her method achieves.</p>

<p>ps:<br>

I have along way to go, I am just learning, however, this article and method is helping.</p>

<p> This photo is out of camera:<br>

<a href="http://www.photo.net/bboard/photo?photo_id=9098931&size=lg"><img src="http://d6d2h4gfvy8t8.cloudfront.net/9098931-md.jpg" border="0" alt="HOUSE ON HIWAY 6 BW OUT OF CAMERA" width="679" height="451" /></a></p>

<p><a href="http://www.photo.net/bboard/photo?photo_id=9063692&size=lg"></a></p>

<p>This photo is adjusted per the article:<br>

<a href="http://www.photo.net/bboard/photo?photo_id=9098932&size=lg"><img src="http://d6d2h4gfvy8t8.cloudfront.net/9098932-md.jpg" border="0" alt="HOUSE ON 6 BW ADJUSTED IN PHOTO SHOP" width="679" height="451" /></a></p>

 

<p>Might be fewer than five steps in CS4 if we exclude steps that would be done in any case for color such as curves masks, etc.</p>

<p>1. Select Layer -> New Adjustment Layer - Black and white option and choose either default or one of the other filter options.</p>

<p>2. Add a curves layer to adjust black and white point and mid-tone contrast.</p>

<p>Dan</p>

<p>Sounds like you'd be interested in the Channels palette. Try shooting RAW in full color, process it into PS in 8 bits, and then look at the various renditions in Channels. In portraiture, the Green channel gives strongly textured skin a la Marlboro Man, and the Red channel gives the ladies dairymaid skin; in landscape photography, it separates tonalities that would be inseparable in a monochrome image. You can adjust the proportions of each color in PS to produce a black-and-white image with the Image->Adjustments->Black and White, or with Image->Adjustments->Channel Mixer, and you can also add toning.<br>

For that matter, you can do much the same thing in Adobe Camera Raw. The Hues tab lets you adjust the balance of each hue, and there's a checkbox to produce black-and-white images. Lots of ways to produce stunning pictures--explore and have fun!</p>

<p>I'm not impressed to be honest. It's one way allright but hardly the best way. To be honest she loses me right at the start because converting to greyscale is one of the worst ways to convert a photo to b&w. Looking at her photo's it's obvious that a lot of her work is low on contrast and density. while that probably is a deliberate choice on her part I don't think it's a good way to advice such a workflow to beginners. Your photo is merely proof of that. There is a severe lack in tonal range that should have been there. And btw, shooting in monotone like you do isn't something I would advice either.</p>

<p>RAW, Lightroom.</p>

<p>Tom:<br>

Would you advise and prefer shooting in color then converting to B&W in Photoshop?</p>

<p>I've had good results in Aperture by shooting raw, using the Monochrome Mixer to simulate a color filter, and tweaking highlight recovery, contrast and levels to get the contrast and dynamic range right. Photoshop and Lightroom have all of this (and newer versions of Photoshop have a great film and filter simulation setup), I just like Aperture because of how nicely it works with the versions system - I can compare, for example, different color filters side by side without creating new files. What's important to remember is that you have a lot of DR and contrast latitude with raw files, and you can do a lot with color filters in post - it's not just contrast, it's geting the contrast from the right colors - so don't just Grayscale the image and call it done. You can get, maybe not quite as good as what you can do with good B&W film and really knowing how to use it, but it's a lot easier.</p>

<blockquote>

<p>converting to greyscale is one of the worst ways to convert a photo to b&w</p>

</blockquote>

<p>That's not what she's doing. She's using the ACR (same thing in LR) conversion which is not the same as converting to greyscale in Photoshop. It allows full control on the image, although she chooses one of the preset curves, which isn't a bad idea given how painful the conversion is. Some of her converted images look pretty good, the one above doesn't. </p>

<p>I use Nik Silver Efex, it has as much control as the conversion in ACR/LR but it is a lot more intuitive and doesn't require as much jiggling of individual color sliders.</p>

<p>When I shoot Monochrome and I open the photo is Nikon NX2 it opens B&W. When I open it in Photoshop it opens Color and has to be converted first?<br>

When I compare the photo that was initially opened in NX2 to the photo opened and converted without manipulation in CS4 I personally detect no difference in them?<br>

The contrast is always soft, lighting always needs adjusting and there is always a tint of color, such as blue from the skys or a bit too much in other areas. I am trying to fine tune my abilities so that my photos improve much.</p>

<p> </p>

<p>you're right, I was incomplete. If you export the photo to PS, what she doesn't, you're left with a greyscale image. Not the best way if you want to do some further tweaking in PS and you're not aware of that as I suspect most beginners aren't. And yes, some look pretty good but others don't IMO.</p>

<p>James, yes. That's what I would advice and if you're not that proficient with PS than the Silver Efex plug-in that Jeff uses is way better than that five step conversion.</p>

<p>Ton:<br>

I will take a photo, color, into photoshop and work it. I will then post it here, beginning and end and see what you think.<br>

Jim</p>

<p><a href="http://www.photo.net/digital-darkroom-forum/photo?photo_id=9099574&size=lg"><img src="http://d6d2h4gfvy8t8.cloudfront.net/9099574-md.jpg" border="0" alt="mining town homes bw after photoshop" width="679" height="451" /></a><br>

mining town homes converted to bw in photoshop</p>

<p><a href="http://www.photo.net/digital-darkroom-forum/photo?photo_id=9099573&size=lg"><img src="http://d6d2h4gfvy8t8.cloudfront.net/9099573-md.jpg" border="0" alt="mining town homes color, not photoshopped" width="679" height="451" /></a><br>

mining town homes color prior to photoshop<br>

Opinions?</p>

<p>"James, yes. That's what I would advice and if you're not that proficient with PS than the Silver Efex plug-in that Jeff uses is way better than that five step conversion."</p>

<p>I'd argue SEP is the best route regardless of skill level in PS. If for no other reason than speed and on-the-fly preview of what you are doing.. but I personally like the algorithms they use better than anything LR or PS uses, especially if you want flim-like styles.</p>

<p>Kyle</p>

<p>Hello James,<br>

The first 2 images posted lack a huge amount of depth and are so flat (concerning the b & w tones)...and I wonder why are you interested in limiting it to "5 Easy Steps"....?</p>

<p>I always shoot RAW/Color and do the conversion via the channels mixer, then curves, then maybe dodge/burn, then maybe a curves mask and a little painting with light, then maybe some gamma adjustment, then maybe whatever else, then USM/Smart Sharpen to taste....Ready for print.....</p>

<p>I don't (IMO) think there is just an easy recipe to get a quality B & W conversion...of course each person has their own vision and steps to get to the final product.....</p>

<p>"I'd argue SEP is the best route regardless of skill level in PS."</p>

<p>Ok, let's start allover again to avoid any further misunderstandings. If you really want to get good at something than there isn't such a thing as "five easy steps" and yet the article suggests a method for seasoned pro's and newcomers alike. Seasoned pro's know better believe me while newcomers would be best adviced to study in order to create stunning results. In that sense it's one of many articles and misleading at best, best to be ignored IMO. People who are consistently good at this have all, without exception, put in a lot of time and effort.</p>

<p>James, my opinion is just the one. More to the point is what you think and even more importantly want. However, in my opinion your second conversion looks way better concerning tonality although there seems to be less light in the top of your photo.</p>

<p> </p>

<p>I'm still using photoshop CS and channel mixer. There are combos that mimic different b&w films, and you can find these on the web. Tweak with curves and tint with color balance as desired. Works great. </p>

<p>I had purchased CS2 and was beginning to get comfortable with it to some degree. Then CS4 came out with the ability to see RAW, so I obtained it. I like it to some degee much better, however I am just learning it. I think that if I am to be consistently good with it I will work with it.<br>

I much prefer and to shoot Black and White. The photo speaks best to me when it can be comfortable with itself. The subjects and subject matter I address compliments Black and white as well as the black and white compliments the subjects.<br>

I have had a digital camera for a little over a year now and while it seems best for me, it is still taking time to get used to. "Baby Steps"</p>

 

<p>As a side note, GIMP has a simple options to turn a color image to B&W - "desaturate" by lightness, luminosity, or average on the active layers. This is not simple grayscaling.<br>

Took the liberty to use your color jpeg for comparison.</p><div></div>

<p>Thank you John.</p>

<p>I find the Alien Skin Exposure 2 plug-in to be a great tool for coverting to B&W. It has presets for dozens of B&W film stocks.</p>

<p>James, I took the liberty of working on one of your images to see if it can benefit from just a few steps in PS. It depends what you want to achieve, but it's actually much easier to work with raw format, because you can influence tonality of each color independently.<br>

Anyway here is your photo:</p><div></div>

<p>Here it is after few minutes:</p><div></div>

<p>James,<br>

I'll simply echo what most have already said about shooting in RAW and then converting to B/W. For the most part, digital cameras in B/W mode can't touch the tonality a good B/W film gives you. Try playing around with the different filters (Blue, Green, Red etc.) available in PS under the B/W presets. Also, try messing around with the 6 individual color %'s to get a feel. Have fun and tinker with them and don't feel like you're tied down to one way of converting your images.</p>

<p>This is hard to do on this JPG file that doesn't have much contrast, so I'm just going to use one of mine.</p>

<p>Photo I took of a friend's dog who was hanging out under the table, using bounce flash and my old D60:</p>

<p><img src="http://www.andylynn.net/Site/files/kofi_color.jpg" alt="" /></p>

<p>That was pretty nice but I didn't like the color and I wanted to do a B&W. Here it is with simple desaturation:</p>

<p><img src="http://www.andylynn.net/Site/files/kofi_desat.jpg" alt="" /></p>

<p>Booooooooooooooring. But that's not actually what I did. Here it is, using B&W with a blue filter effect, contrast enhanced, tweaks on the highlight and shadow ends, a bit of levels (on the color channels) and 5 minutes of Photoshop:</p>

<p><img src="http://www.andylynn.net/Site/files/kofi_bw.jpg" alt="" /><br>

I'm going to go back and redo the top of the head and do an 8x10 for my friend. The filter actually did such a job on the background that only a small amount of burn was required. It loses a bit, being shrunk - full screen, the whiskers pop. Aperture was a huge help because I was working on a stack of corrections on top of the color image, that included the B&W as part of the stack, so changes updated in real time in B&W while I tweaked color channels. Doing it manually like that you quickly understand what the colors are contributing to the B&W.</p>

<p>Thank you all again. Tell me, Andrew, what filter did you use on the background?</p>