Definitive Color to B&W Digital Techniques?

[bradracino]

I'm trying to find a list of techniques or sites that give really good processes of converting color to B&W digital photos. I've tried a variety of techniques over the years but I haven't come across one technique that i've loved enough to stick with for all my conversions. Any recommendations?

Thanks all.

 

[skieur]

Nik Software as in www.niksoftware.com has some good software filters and a conversion program that perfectly fits the bill in that the challenge is to create a broad range of tones on the grey scale of a B & W.

skieur

 

[Hertz van Rental]

I use Nik Software's Silver Efex Pro and can recommend it.
You can even select a film 'type' to mimic, although how close they are to the gelatin films they purport to emulate is open to question.
It works as a plug-in for both Aperture and for Photoshop.
You can download a trial version from their website.

Tiffen do a digital filter suite that I think includes B&W conversion.

You can achieve good conversions using Photoshop or any image processing software but it can be time consuming.
A dedicated plug-in makes life so much easier.

 

[ksmattfish]

...I haven't come across one technique that I've loved enough to stick with for all my conversions...

I'd be amazed if such a thing existed. I used different films, developers, techniques, papers, etc... in my BW darkroom; it's the same for me in Photoshop.

Here are my favorite digital processing links though

http://www.ronbigelow.com/articles/articles.htm

http://www.clarkvision.com/photoinfo/index.html

http://www.normankoren.com/#Tutorials

http://www.cambridgeincolour.com/tutorials.htm

http://www.adobe.com/digitalimag/ps_pro_primers.html

http://www.naturescapes.net/home.htm

http://www.luminous-landscape.com/tutorials/

http://www.earthboundlight.com/phototip-archives.html

http://av.adobe.com/russellbrown/ColortoBW.mov

 

[Big Mike]

I use an action made by Wally. I believe he used to be a member here, but he's made the rounds on the internet photo forums.

 

[pm63]

Photoshops Ctrl+Shift+Alt+B has always worked well for me, as it allows to you control the brightness of each individual colour as a tone in the B&W. I shoot mainly landscapes, so darkening those skies for punch is essential.

 

[reg]

I haven't come across one technique that i've loved enough to stick with for all my conversions.

You're never going to.

The easiest advice is desaturate then adjust curves, or Ctrl+shft+alt+B. I don't know what that's a shortcut for, but I'm sure it's something along those lines, an adjustable desaturation.

There is no "one size fits all" because photos are DIFFERENT.

 

[Helen B]

Here's a short thread about conversions, with a link to a tutorial written by a TPF member: link.

Best,
Helen