1 The unadjusted image
2 The color cast is removed.
3 Saturation is raised high.
4 Saturation is not raised so high that it will cause clipping.
5 Before and after comparisons of a global conversion
1 – Full color
2 – Vibrance -100
3 – Saturation -100
4 – B&W Mixer with custom settings
Why is desaturating the worst color-to-black-and-white conversion method?
In short, it makes mud.
Here’s why.
When set to -100, Saturation changes different hues to similar neutral values; it loses tonal separation.
Vibrance is a worse choice; when set to -100, it retains some color.
Tools like Lightroom and Camera Raw’s B&W Mixer or Photoshop’s Black & White adjustment layer are much better because they allow you to retain tonal separation and adjust which hues become light or dark. They work very well for basic color to black-and-white conversions.
Photoshop offers even more control, first by allowing color to be adjusted before conversion and second by adding the ability to make local conversions so that the same color in different areas of an image can be converted differently.
So, when you’re making color to black-and-white conversions, stay away from Saturation and Vibrance and choose Lightroom/Camera Raw for basic global conversions, or when you need more, use Photoshop for the ultimate preview of possibilities and the most control.
The fully saturated image
light on dark pieces of paper - a combination that can only be made by localizing different conversions
dark on light pieces of paper - a combination that can only be made by localizing different conversions
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To find the best color to black-and-white solution an image contains, it’s important to explore all of your options. One technique will quickly show you more options than any other – Photoshop’s dual adjustment layers (a Hue/Saturation adjustment layer below a Channel Mixer adjustment layer).
To preview all possibilities dynamically, move the Hue slider all the way to the left and all the way to the right.
But wait, there’s more.
As you’re previewing the many options available to you, remember you can localize the effects with masks. You can go beyond what you see in one mix by combining any of the tones you see in all of the mixes.
Few people can remember all of the possible combinations. So, save multiple copies with different settings and compare them. There’s nothing like seeing many options, side-by-side, to confirm you’re committing to the best solution.
You can read about this technique in more detail here.
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The two solutions above can only be achieved by converting separate areas of the image differently using masks.
The solutions below show the different global conversions which can be combined.
Note no dodging and burning was used to create these solutions. Dodging and burning can’t produce these extreme effects, but it can be used to further enhance them.
Also, note this technique is not useful for semi-neutral images; an image has to have significant saturation in at least one color to benefit from this technique.
Learning to see in black and white has changed. Prior to the 21st century, black and white photographers developed a heightened sensitivity to intensity and direction of light as well as tonal relationships between highlights and shadows. For the most part, they discounted the appearance of hue and saturation, with a few exceptions.
These perceptual skills are still very important for 21st century digital black and white photographers. But, today, previsualizing possibilities becomes much more challenging. Because you can make any hue light or dark, globally or locally, dramatically extending the variability of an image's tonal structure, the two additional variables, hue and saturation, need to be factored in rather than factored out.
Learn what’s unique about black & white and how to best adjust and print it.
Read more in my Black & White lessons.
Learn more in my digital photography and digital printing workshops.
Oz to Kansas 2.0: The Black and White on Black and White Conversions covers advanced black and white conversion techniques.
Plus get free Photoshop actions and a custom Configurator panel to make these techniques fast and easy.
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Looking for an infrared effect? Two options; capture in infrared or post-process to simulate infrared. Either way, the results can be compelling.
Here’s an excerpt from a statement I wrote on infrared techniques sometime ago.
“It looks like another world, yet it’s not. By opening a window into a spectrum we can’t see with the naked eye, infrared photography shows us our world in an extraordinary light … The effects are often unpredictable and almost always surprising. Perhaps, that is why this effect is so compelling.”
Read the rest of my artist’s statement here.
Read other artist’s statements here.
Find out more about black and white in my DVD Black & White Mastery.
Find out more about black and white in my Workshop Black & White Mastery.
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