C & C on B&W conversion with LR3

[mc1979]

Ok, so I posted color images of a practice shoot with my son the other day, today I'm posting these two to see what you think of the B & W conversion. I'm using LR3 and just trying to get the hang of this. As stated in previous post, these were shot with 50mm f/1.8G .. I have since learned that I'm staying away from shooting this lens wide open! It's just so darn hard not to do it! LOL So I know there are issues with the shallow DOF. That is why I'm mainly asking for critique on the conversion. Any other comments are also welcome! 1. Jaybw-3 by mchatham79, on Flickr Exposure: 1/500 Aperture: 1.8 Focal Length 50mm Iso: 100 Flash: not fired Program: Manual 2. Jaybw-2 by mchatham79, on Flickr EXIF same as above

And don't ask me how I screwed up this post but I was trying to copy and past EXIF data from Flickr and got this little box around my post..LOL

 

[Robin Usagani]

for some reason on #1 i can still see red around his lips. Maybe my eyes are playing tricks on me. I like the conversion.

 

[mc1979]

for some reason on #1 i can still see red around his lips. Maybe my eyes are playing tricks on me. I like the conversion.

dang...I see it too now! Ok, I must have not backed the slider all the way down! Is this typically how conversion takes place? I desaturated, then increased blacks, and contrast. I believe I adjusted some exposure and WB too. I just can't remember now. But I'm assuming like all things, there are several ways to achieve this.

 

[Robin Usagani]

if you are using LR3 there should be a button next to HSL called B&W. Click that and it should make it B&W. Then you can fine tune it under the b&w sliders and also the curve tone

 

[mc1979]

if you are using LR3 there should be a button next to HSL called B&W. Click that and it should make it B&W. Then you can fine tune it under the b&w sliders and also the curve tone

Yeh I could have done that, honestly I don't know why I didn't. It also has alot of presets already installed for B&W, but I don't really like any of those. But I have just clicked on those before and played around with the sliders. I guess I was trying with this to do it from scratch so to speak..LOL

Can't believe I didn't see the lips until you pointed it out!

 

[KmH]

And don't ask me how I screwed up this post but I was trying to copy and past EXIF data from Flickr and got this little box around my post..LOL

On the page where you compose your post, you can click on the "Switch editor to WYSIWYG mode' up in the left hand top corner (A/A) to turn it off, and delete the Table HTML markup code.

The holy grail of B&W is controlling contrast. #1 here is ok, but #2 comes up a bit short.

Unfortunately, Lightroom/Camera Raw also come up a bit short relative to having tools for converting to B&W. Lightroom is an incomplete editing solution and is intended to be a compliment to the full blown Photoshop, not a substitute for it.

Photoshop's range of selection tools, masking, and layers capabilities are very useful when doing B&W conversions.