Newbie- trying to edit black and white photos..examples!

[courtneyclv]

Hi,

Sorry about my title! I can't think of what to call what I am looking to do. Here is my problem...

I recently got married and received all of the full size images from my photographer. He edited some and they are gorgeous..they are black and white but more darker black and lighter white. I am using Arcsoft Photo Studio to edit. I am making my album and want to put some of his black and white edited photos on a page with my 'convert to 8 bit grayscale' photos. The tones don't match though.

My photos look more gray, and his, more darker black. Here is an example...

EDITED

NOT EDITED

Any advice on how I can make my colored photos, converted grey photos, the same shade of black and white?

I have tried a bunch of combinations on my editor.can't figure it out. I may be able to get Adobe Photoshop if my program will not do it.


Courtney

 

[ann]

there are many methods to convert to black and white, which are you using?

 

[tirediron]

The most rudimentary method is to completely desaturate the image, and then using a combination of level/curves and brightness and contrast, keep adjusting until you get what you want.

It may take a long time to get there; for good results you need good software, and good often = expensive.

 

[rufus5150]

It looks like he's not just done a black and white conversion, but has used a duotone (tritone or quadtone). I don't know of any programs besides photoshop that do those kinds of conversions.

Using a simple desaturate will almost invariably give bland results. If you have something akin to a 'channel mixer' that can do a greyscale conversion, that's probably your best bet for making richer B&W, but his are using some color which is why they look a bit richer.

 

[courtneyclv]

Thanks for the advice, I will try those tools to see if I can get it REALLY black in color, and not gray. I have just been clicking on "convert to grayscale" to get 'black and white' I think I have adobe photoshop 6 on disk..will look and will write back soon. I remember seeing some kind of 'channels' tool on there.

 

[*Mike*]

Out of curiosity... would it be possible for you to have your photographer do your album? That way you be assured a gorgeous book, and you could use the files for prints, posterity, online sharing, etc.?

Wedding albums are so often heirlooms, that I'd suggest getting exactly what you want - in terms of image quality, layout, and album quality. If you can get it yourself, that's awesome! But, odds are it'll be a long, steep, learning curve.

Let us know if we can help. You may want to pick up a copy of Photoshop Elements. It's inexpensive, similar to CS3, and you'll be able to get a lot more step-by-step help and find a lot more online tutorials than with other software.

 

[courtneyclv]

I am using mypublisher.com to do my album. I am almost finished with it..just doing the jacket now and the wording. Here is what I have so far in case you want to look....

My Album


My photographer charges 2-3k for an album. I already splurged on the photos..want to save on the album. I have ordered other albums from mypublisher and have gotten amazing results. I played around with the black and white and got the shades closer. There is only one photo that I need to do that with.

wbs
Courtney

 

[amberlark]

Just wondering if you have a copyright release from your photographer? This can be a snag sometimes. I have heard of images not being printed based on lack of a release.

The album looks great...

Amber
Kubota Image Tools team

 

[courtneyclv]

Yes, of course I have the copyright release. If I didn't, how would I get the full sized images on several disks edited? I had a package with that only, no prints at all, just digital images. I did have a problem once at Walgreens for printing some wallets for the holidays. I brought in my paperwork and it was fine then. I haven't heard anything from mypublisher. Maybe they assume we all have the releases...