Black & white prefrence for wedding photos

[jennifer_brown4]

This might be an odd question,a nd i tmight be in the wrong category, so if it

is I appologize.

 

I was going over the photos I took yesterday and wanted to convert some to

black and white. I know there are several ways to do this. I have done it

before and know I can't seem to get them they way I want.

I wanted to see if there was "correct" way to get a true "black and white"

photo? Or is it all just opinion what looks right? There are several ways I

know of in CS3 like channel mixer, greyscale, desaturate, black and white

(from a drop down menu). I can't tell much of a difference. Is there one? I

want my black and white photos to pop! Thnaks everyone!

[pia]

If you check out www.action central.com (downloads) there are alot of nice actions that will change your images to black and white nicely.

Peg

[rannbphoto]

Yeah, a really great action is a good easy way to go. www.totallyradactions.com sells a pack that includes 5 or 6 black and white conversions that all yield different results.

 

If you're not interested in purchasing an action, you may just want to make sure that you have an absolute white and an absolute black somewhere in the picture. This will insure (I'm told) that it's been correctly done. That's probably going to get some opposition, but that's what I've always heard and learned. I'd also bump up the contrast a bit to make your b/w pics look extra crisp.

 

Lots of luck!

[paul_sokal___dallas__tx]

Jennifer, there are a bunch of ways to do it, but no right way. It really is a matter of preference. Personally, I love the new B&W adjustment layer of CS3. I've custom tweaked it to give me the result I want for wedding work and skin tones.

 

As a general rule though, if you want your black and white conversions to pop, you need to make sure you cover the entire tonal range. When I see flat looking B&W images and check their histogram, there is usually lots of room at either end of the curve. This can be corrected with levels. After conversion, I will add a little contrast with a curves layer too.

 

Paul

[pulpmojo]

If you can't tell much of a difference then I would go with the easiest option. I personally like the channel mixer because it gives a lot more control, but it can be kind of tough to use sometimes. Most of my pictures I just desaturate in batches (ctrl+shift+u) and then tweek individually in curves and levels. I try using actions sometimes but unless the lighting is very close to exactly the same in every image you're batch processing, then there's going to be a lot of variation from photo to photo. I was actually going ask a similar questoin a while ago and I am very curious to see how everyone else does their B&W conversions.

[pulpmojo]

I think that's a good rule of thumb Rachel but of course as with everything, there are exceptions. If there is nothing white (or black) in the picture to start with, and you try to force it you might end up with blown highlights. That's always my initial assumption when I start on an image though, I just assume there should be something black and something white somewhere in the image. Then if it looks screwed up, I just go back and try it again.

[annealmasy]

There's nothing I hate more than a flat b&w image. I'd rather see some blown highlights and

clipped blacks than something with grayed-out skin tones and dull midtones. It's all

personal preference, but don't be afraid to break a few rules to get the b&w where you want

it. :)

[stefanie1]

I've written a BW conversion action that I absolutely love, you can see some typical results in this photo. Here's the steps:

- Auto Levels (gives some nice contrast)

- channel mixer (I believe it's 50% red and 50% green, could be something different though)

- gradient map (black and white again, more contrast)

- Photo filter with 25% sepia

[stefanie1]

Heh... would help if I attached the photo hey...<div></div>

[michelle a.]

http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=00EmTd

 

Some what of an old thread, but it works!

[jennifer_brown4]

Thanks everybody. I can't stand flat black and white either. I will try everyone's recomendations. Thanks again!

[captjack]

Brown- the two basic methods in Photoshop are- (orig.RGB file)<br>

<img src=http://i10.tinypic.com/62ydbfb.jpg></p>

Image > Mode > Grayscale.<br>

<img src=http://i10.tinypic.com/62rrv5w.jpg></p>

The- Custom RGB - Grayscale (default) in all Photoshop versions at least back through V.6<br>

<img src=http://i10.tinypic.com/4qnce8m.jpg></p>

Remember that any file that is converted back to Grayscale- by whatever method/action must then be converted back to an RGB file or a Fuji Frontier printer, or Agfa printer will not recognize the Grayscale file- they only see RGB files (even if they are Grayscale/B&W)