Black &White Pics

[chrismdavis]

I love to shoot in black and white. Problem/hiccup is when I review pics in camera they look great but when I place them on the computer they still look great but I always have to adjust the exposure usually to darken. Any tips?

 

[tirediron]

Don't use the in-camera black and white option; shoot RAW and do your conversion in a suitable editing application. There are several excellent applications such as Nik Silver Efex Pro which allow for great monochrome coversions. As well, calibrate your monitor to ensure optimum "colour" reproduction.

 

[chrismdavis]

I had heard that before about taking the picture in color then convert. I have photoshop elements v7 and do not like the conversions. Is the Nik software that much better?
Before I spend money on more software is there any help or tips with the camera in taking b&w photos? I really like the contrast from the camera. It's a D7000.

 

[The_Traveler]

If you are just desaturating that's absolutely the least satisfactory way to convert.
There are several other ways that I leave to you to look up.

 

[480sparky]

 

[ann]

It is also critical (imho) to learn to see in black and white. It isn't just a matter of clicking away. Black and white is about contrast and tones, shapes and forms.

 

[LuckySe7en]

whenever I edit black and white photos, I always mess around with contrast, blacks, highights, exposure, brightness until I get the effect I'm after

 

[chrismdavis]

Ann, I understand what you are saying. That is why I like it so much. I am still learning with this though cause not every scene/setup works for me in b&w so I then shoot in color.
Do I need to turn my contrast setting down a notch or is there another tip?
To me b&w photos are so much better thats why I like shooting in b&w. I also like shooting in b&w cause while I am taking pics of someone when I look at the review of that pic and the way it looks guides me to the next pose or repositioning the person for better light or contrast.
Does that make sense?

 

[chrismdavis]

whenever I edit black and white photos, I always mess around with contrast, blacks, highights, exposure, brightness until I get the effect I'm after

I do this as well, I was wondering if there was something I could do to limit this tweaking.

 

[480sparky]

Ann, I understand what you are saying. That is why I like it so much. I am still learning with this though cause not every scene/setup works for me in b&w so I then shoot in color.
Do I need to turn my contrast setting down a notch or is there another tip?
I like shooting in b&w cause while I am taking pics of someone when I look at the review of that pic and the way it looks guides me to the next pose or repositioning the person for better light or contrast.
Does that make sense?

Like ann says, learning to 'see' in B&W is crucial.

Also important is to know what tools are available to you, how they work, and which ones to employ to create the desired affect. When shooting B&W in-camera, you are simply desaturating the image. You have zip for control, nada for tools, goose egg choices about the process.




See it in shades of gray, shoot in color (preferable raw), convert w/software.

 

[The_Traveler]

The most crucial ability, imo, in converting to bw is controlling the luminance of the various colors. So a red shirt that really pulls the eye in color can be toned down in BW so it is a dull grey and doesn't distract from the real thing you want the viewer to see.

 

[ann]

In grey scale terms red is middle grey and for that matter so is blue and green, throw all those together and you have a greyscale of less than one stop, which is BORING BLACK/WHite.

Understanding luminosity is very important with converting.

FInd a copy of Vincent Versace "Return to Oz" he discuses practically every know way to convert to black and white

Shooting in jpeg and RAW at the same time can be very helpful in learning to "see in greyscale" use mono for the jpeg, and the RAW will be in color, you can then convert the RAW file in a variety of ways, using the jpeg to review the scene to help understand how colors relate to each other on the greyscale.

 

[photographyxfactor]

What are the various methods people can use to convert color photos to black and white in Photoshop? (I'm using 5.0) Currently, I go to the channel mixer, select monochrome and then adjust the three levels accordingly. (my lab does not accept files in grayscale.) I'd also like to try to achieve more of a soft, warmer black and white. I've seen some black & white shots where it almost has a chocolaty feel to it, not sepia, but definitely a warmer black/white. Is there a way to easily do this?

 

[The_Traveler]

I don't know that any way is 'easy' but I use a bw layer because there is great control.

 

[ann]

Lab as well as channel mixer is what you seem to be doing.
go into duo or tri , quad toning to get the shade your talking about.