Whats best for B&W

hyakuhei · Jun 13, 2007

Hi all,

Basically, I'm wondering the pros and cons of taking the picture in B&W mode or taking a colour picture and applying a B&W filter in Photoshop...?

deanimator · Jun 13, 2007

I guess if you REALLY want the shot in B&W then go ahead and do it with your camera settings...maybe it will just save some time later. That´s what I usually do...and maybe tweak it later in PS.

I know others who always do everything later in PS, with the idea that the original data, which is in colour, may be required at another time = covered bases.

I tend to pre-visualise a lot...meaning if I want it in B&W I´ll shoot it in B&W. Most of my stuff however is still film, and I don´t like mixing different projects, meaning I prefer to work in one medium until the project is finished, and not try to do a colour project at the same time...I would need two heads for that!

Understand your way of seeing, and choose the most appropriate method of working.

sabbath999 · Jun 13, 2007

Personally, if it is me, I shoot it in color and convert it later... I guess my answer would depend on if you feel the quality of your camera's black and white software is better than your image processing software (be it PS, Lightroom, Aperture, Capture NX, Gimp or whatever you are using).

I like seeing it on a big screen, where I can see in fine detail what adjustments are made...

Then again, I rarely shoot in B&W, so keep that in mind.

BTW my first thought was "B&W? Shoot Plus-X for portraits and Tri-X for action..." but then again, I am a geezer.

Wolff · Jun 13, 2007

I've never really seen the up side of shooting in BW mode, although that doesn't mean there isn't one. I would rather spend the time converting it later than retake it if I later change my mind and just want de-saturated color or selective color. (of course, part of it may be that I don't like messing with my settings any more than I need to) That being said, I think it's always going to be a personal preference. If you know you want it in BW then it doesn't really mater how you get there.

Mad_Gnome · Jun 13, 2007

I prefer shooting in color and converting to B&W later with the Channel Mixer tool in Photoshop, and here's why. When shooting in B&W mode on your camera, you're merely recording the image in grayscale. When converting with Channel Mixer, you're working with three channels. You'll find that your B&W images will have a wider range of tones, and will typically have better contrast. It also allows for better control of the tonal qualities of an image, as some info in one section may have been recorded mostly in red, while a different section may have been recorded mostly in blue. When manipulating the different channels, you can adjust the tonality in ways that would be extremely difficult to do with a straight B&W image.

Doing it this way also allows you to have a color version of the image later. If you suddenly decide you want to see what the color version looks like, VOILA! Go get it printed. Good luck converting a color image to B&W.

MikeR · Jun 13, 2007

Mad_Gnome said:
I prefer shooting in color and converting to B&W later with the Channel Mixer tool in Photoshop, and here's why. When shooting in B&W mode on your camera, you're merely recording the image in grayscale. When converting with Channel Mixer, you're working with three channels. You'll find that your B&W images will have a wider range of tones, and will typically have better contrast. It also allows for better control of the tonal qualities of an image, as some info in one section may have been recorded mostly in red, while a different section may have been recorded mostly in blue. When manipulating the different channels, you can adjust the tonality in ways that would be extremely difficult to do with a straight B&W image.

Doing it this way also allows you to have a color version of the image later. If you suddenly decide you want to see what the color version looks like, VOILA! Go get it printed. Good luck converting a color image to B&W.

I agree, well said.

kombizz · Jun 13, 2007

Usually I take images in colors. Then I convert them to B&W with PS software.

fightheheathens · Jun 13, 2007

shooting in color and then converting in software later allows you to have far greater control over the final image then the in camera settings. I would never shoot digital black and white using in camera settings.