Getting a 'real' b&w photo...

[Reyna]

Ok, I'm still trying to figure out how to get a 'great' b&w photo. Here is a picture I took today of my son....

When I try and desaturate it, then go into levels and make it black and white, it still looks grayish. Does anyone have any information on what I could do???

 

[flyingember]

you want to convert where you can adjust each color channel independently. what software are you using? maybe someone knows the method. I know in PS CS5 there's an adjustment layer that does this.

 

[Reyna]

you want to convert where you can adjust each color channel independently. what software are you using? maybe someone knows the method. I know in PS CS5 there's an adjustment layer that does this.

I have CS3, would love to know this info!

 

[ann]

try channel mixer, it will allow you to change the RGB channels independent of each other.

there are a ton of video tutorials on line that should be helpful.

 

[gsgary]

I would worry more about about focus that seems like a bigger problem

 

[oldmacman]

Ok, I'm still trying to figure out how to get a 'great' b&w photo. Here is a picture I took today of my son....

When I try and desaturate it, then go into levels and make it black and white, it still looks grayish. Does anyone have any information on what I could do???

Cute little guy. We have one running around our house getting all excited because there is snow on the ground.

I don't see a huge difference between desaturating and using the channel mixer with a BW + Blue Filter. When you are in the Levels dialog, try using the black point selector and click on something you know is a deep black. I tried with his pupil, then sharpened and then noise reduction to come up with this edit.

The sharpening and NR is just personal preference. You may have wanted a softer look to the print and the illusion of film grain. Going with that real deep level of black hides the details you had in the stockings, so you may want to balance how black you go or do a little masking to save that area. You have a pretty thin plane of focus, as the OOF area starts at his ears, but the eyes are nice and sharp.

 

[Reyna]

Ok, I'm still trying to figure out how to get a 'great' b&w photo. Here is a picture I took today of my son....

When I try and desaturate it, then go into levels and make it black and white, it still looks grayish. Does anyone have any information on what I could do???

Cute little guy. We have one running around our house getting all excited because there is snow on the ground.

I don't see a huge difference between desaturating and using the channel mixer with a BW + Blue Filter. When you are in the Levels dialog, try using the black point selector and click on something you know is a deep black. I tried with his pupil, then sharpened and then noise reduction to come up with this edit.

The sharpening and NR is just personal preference. You may have wanted a softer look to the print and the illusion of film grain. Going with that real deep level of black hides the details you had in the stockings, so you may want to balance how black you go or do a little masking to save that area. You have a pretty thin plane of focus, as the OOF area starts at his ears, but the eyes are nice and sharp.

WOW! FANTASTIC JOB! That looks great! Thank you so much for the help!

Can I ask how you sharpened? Did you sharpen the entire photo or just at his eyes? I did an unsharp mask of 75.3.2 and it doesn't look near as sharp as your edit? Also, if you don't mind me asking, how did you do the noise reduction like that??!!

Thanks, thanks, thanks for your help, and seriously awesome edit!

 

[Reyna]

I would worry more about about focus that seems like a bigger problem

remarks like this is why a lot of people don't want to ask for help. i didn't ask for cc did I? are we not on the BEGINNERS' forum? why don't you try to take a 'perfectly focused' picture of a 4 year old zooming around in low light and get back with me.

 

[white]

 

[clanthar]

Hi,

Here's how to use the Channel mixer in CS3:

untitled_demo

Take Care,
Joe

 

[kundalini]

I would worry more about about focus that seems like a bigger problem

remarks like this is why a lot of people don't want to ask for help. i didn't ask for cc did I? are we not on the BEGINNERS' forum? why don't you try to take a 'perfectly focused' picture of a 4 year old zooming around in low light and get back with me.

He is correct and you have the wrong attitude. The Beginners forum is a place to help you improve your photograhpy. So..... do you want to improve on your photography or rather to be spoonfed a simple post technique that could easily be googled or youtubed?

:er:

 

[reznap]

Black and white doesn't look right without some grain imo.

Converted with a plugin, 'Silver Effex'

 

[oldmacman]

WOW! FANTASTIC JOB! That looks great! Thank you so much for the help!

Can I ask how you sharpened? Did you sharpen the entire photo or just at his eyes? I did an unsharp mask of 75.3.2 and it doesn't look near as sharp as your edit? Also, if you don't mind me asking, how did you do the noise reduction like that??!!

Thanks, thanks, thanks for your help, and seriously awesome edit!

I'm glad you like the edit. I hope it helps.

The sharpening is done by duplicating the layer and changing the blend mode from normal to "linear light". In the filter menu, choose Other and then High Pass. Adjust the slider until the image looks sharp, but watch out for fringing. If you over sharpen, you will get white outlines in some areas. When a pic is badly out of focus and the user has to go too far to bring it back, you will see this crop up. You can also adjust the effect of the sharpened layer by lowering the opacity of the layer. For noise reduction, I use the Topaz Lab Denoise plugin for Photoshop.

 

[flyingember]

why don't you try to take a 'perfectly focused' picture of a 4 year old zooming around in low light and get back with me.

how about a 2 year old. it's super easy with a flash.

Sara Age Two

he's right, your photo is blurry. you should learn how to take better photos in camera. you save lots of time

 

[nahtanoj]

another note to the edits, i would personally try to get rid of, or at least darken a bit of the bokeh balls above his head. to me it is distracting from his face(in the sharper edit). in the grainy edit, not so much. cute pic.