Black and White conversion methods

[markscholey]

I've seen a couple of methods psted about converting colour to black and white, but here is an overview of 4 methods for turning colour images into monochrome goodness.

This brief tutorial list a few methods for creating black and white images in photoshop 7.

Original Image:


1. Quick and easy convertion is Desturation from the drop down menu choose Image>Adjust>Desaturate




2 Channels. This was the first method i moved onto and had great success with.

In the channels palette (next to the layers palete) you will see the channels for your image, most likely RGB, Red, Green and Blue (plus any other channels that you have set up). Select one of the individual channels, for example red. To do this just click on the channel as you would a layer to select it. Then select all and copy it to the clipboard. Once you have done this select the RGB channel again.

Click on the layers palette and then paste your B&W image into your image ( you must select the RGB channel before pasting, otherwise you will only be pasting into the single coloured channel and not your image)

I found that the best results for this method involved using two or three channels to get the best tones for different elements of an image. Of course you can then use levels or curves to adjust your image once you pasted it in.

RED
GREEN
BLUE



3.LAB, the same method as above but convert you image to LAB colour before selecting the "Lightness" channel




4.Channel Mixer.
In your layers pallette add a "fill or adjustment layer" click on the button that is a circle half black half white and choose Channel Mixer from the list.. Alternatively you can add one through the drop down menu by going: Layer>New Adjustment layer>Channel Mixer.

In the channel mixer select the "monochrome" option and use the RGB and "Constant" sliders to adjust the monochrome effect of your image



And there you have it. Once you have done this you can play around with the images using brightness, contrast levels curves etc... I often use two B&W images and use layer masks and normal masks, as i find it preferable to dodging or burning because it gives you a finer control.


Any questions, just pm me. or drop em in here.

[ap.]

I did some testing awhile back and found the channel mixer method gave the best quality. But, the trick is to start by setting each channel to 33%, and then move the sliders around. As long as all three channel values add up to 100 you'll keep the same overall tone as the original.

Also, if you use the Hue/saturation method, don't slide the saturation all the way to the end. Keeping just a hint of color really helps reduce nose.

[mgbeach]

Alternatively, I like to change the mode to grayscale. I then select different areas of the image which need adjusting and apply curve changes to them individually. This lets you bring details out of the shadows and ring highlights down as well.

[tchiara]

Keeping just a hint of color really helps reduce nose.

Thanks, Andy! That explains why the noses in my pics always look too big.

[ap.]

... noses ... pics ... look ... big.

Oops, that was a funny typo.

[markscholey]

thanks for helping to flesh this thread out everyone!

[jboyd]

Alternatively, I like to change the mode to grayscale. I then select different areas of the image which need adjusting and apply curve changes to them individually. This lets you bring details out of the shadows and ring highlights down as well.

Very interesting - I didn't even see the person pushing the stroller until this version of the photo. I guess what it comes down to, is that you have to experiment and try different methods to find the one that works the best - and we all know there are a ton of different ways to do one thing.

Jackie

[markscholey]

jboyd, true, i didn't bring out the detail by applying any curves / levels to the images, as i wanted to show how each method effected the outcome before adjustments, that way it gives a clearer indication of each method.

Personally, I have found that converting the image to greyscale gives a slightly better image than destaturating, but not as good as using the channels or channel mixer, however, each to their own! you are right, experiment and find the method that works for you