Black and White Photography
The influence of black and white photography has lasted throughout time, finding itself a sought after method for its unique attractions. For the photographer this requires a different set of skills and techniques. Shapes, contrasts, and light must all work harder to tell the story within the image. But when this art is mastered, the effects are amazing.
Some digital cameras come with a black-and-white mode, but even if yours does not, black and white can still be done. Many times it even works better to shoot in color and convert to black and white in editing. The Photoshop software provides an amazing variety of techniques for converting color to black and white, otherwise called grayscale. These techniques allow you to control this ability to a degree that would be challenging to match from behind the lens.
The most simplistic method of converting color to black and white is to simply change the mode to grayscale (Image > Mode > Grayscale). While this will work, there are other methods.Lets take a look at three other methods that will convert color to grayscale (black and white):
Desaturation is the first method.. This is the elimination the observable color information while keeping the RGB status of the file. This would permit you to add a tint at a later time without having to change color mode again. Follow Steps: Image > Adjustments > Desaturate (or press Ctrl/Cmd + Shift + U).
One effect of desaturation is a potentially a flat, uninspiring version of the original picture. This can be improved on however by looking at the picture in parts. You can increase textures in one area by darkening the shadows and midtones, or increase contrast in another to remove haziness. To do this, take a feathered section to work with and press Ctrl/Cmd + J to copy and paste the selection to a new layer. Add a 'Levels Adjustment Layer' to it, combining the two layers as a clipping mask. Drag the Black and Gray point markers toward the right to bring out texture or to the left to decrease. If you see a dividing line alter making the Levels adjustment, remove by adding a layer mask to the newly made level (set to Reveal All) and paint on the mask in black until the edge disappears using a soft brush at a low opacity setting.
While a Levels adjustment layer would add contrast, a different method would be: Follow Steps: Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Curves This will add a Curves adjustment layer to the background layer. Apply the curve shown to increase midtone contrast, but at slight decrease to the highlights and shadows, however this lessens the haziness effect.
Combine Red and Green Channels to achieve a slightly less dramatic result, using the Multiply blend mode. The difference is subtle, but it shows the fine control you have in this technique. Along with the idea of mixing and calculating channel values, another option called Channel Mixer. This allows the mixing of values of each of the channels, allowing a wide range of combinations. To do this make sure the RGB composite channel is active, and go to Image > Adjustments > Channel Mixer. Enable the Monochrome checkbox. If you change the percentage values for each of the Red, Green, and Blue channels, it will dramatically affect the image.
After choosing the filter effect you desire, use this keyboard shortcut sequence to make it into a new document: Ctrl/Cmd + A (selects all) Ctrl/Cmd + C (copies the selection to the clipboard) Ctrl/Cmd + N (creates a new document of the same proportions as whatever we have on the clipboard. The document will also be a grayscale as we only have one channel selected) Enter/Return (to confirm the settings. No changes are necessary) Ctrl/Cmd + V (to paste the contents of the clipboard to a new layer) You can then use Levels and Curves to fine-tune the result.
Use this method if the automatic setting of the channels are not what you are looking for in order to increase the range of tones or strengthen the color effects. Choose the channel you want and while keeping it active go to Image > Calculations. If the Red channel was active, the Red channel will appear in the Calculations dialog box. Source 1 and 2 are set to the same document, layer, and Red channel, which means they will all be combined for the calculation to take place. Set the blending drop-down to Multiply, working in the same way as the normal layer blend methods. Multiply will darken the image, but based on the red channel. As a result blue elements or elements with a blue cast will become darker than other elements. Set the Result drop-down box to New Document to create a new multichannel file based on the calculated result.
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