Photoshop Tip | Black and White
I get a lot of questions on how I do my Black and White images. Let me start off by saying there is no magic bullet. I use a lot of different pieces of software to achieve specific looks but ultimately you have to start off with a great image! You can’t hide a bad image with B&W, you will just wind up with a bad grayscale image instead of a bad color one. I am going to use one example and show you different ways of processing it using Nik Filters Silver EFX Pro and Alien Skin. Depending on the look I want or how much control I want will depend on which Plug-In I choose.
To start with, I generally know at the time I take the image if it is going to be B&W. It changes the way I shoot the image. In addition, I process an image from RAW differently than I would a color one. I tend to my like my B&W’s moody so I slightly underexpose them in camera. I leave the brightness and blacks a little under when I process them. That way, when I bump the contrast I get creamy skin tones and I don’t clip the blacks into nothingness.
Raw Image: This is straight out of camera shot in RAW with a 5D Mark I. I underexposed it a touch so I could bring up the exposure in Lightroom but leave the mid-tones a bit dark.
Processed in Lightroom: I brought up the exposure and brought down the brightness to keep the skin tones neutral.
Silver EFX (Nik Silver EFX Pro): This is my favorite of the conversions and I had the most control. Using Silver Efex Pro I left it on the default setting and added +10 contrast and +10 structure. Then I added 6 control points around the subject and brought down the brightness to taste. Finally I used levels to bring up the skin tones a hair.
Delta 100 (Alien Skin): Standard Conversion. I use Delta 100 a lot! It has a great tonal range with bright whites and deep blacks. It also adds a little bit of grain for a film look but not too much.
Tri-X 400 Push 1 (Alien Skin): Standard Conversion. Tri-X replicates the old film stock really well! Sometimes I want to give something an old film look and I love the grain here. I use the Push 1 setting to enhance the grain and give it a more photojournalistic look.
3200 (Alien Skin): Standard Conversion. I don’t use it that often but if I want to give something a really grainy ethereal look I use 3200 speed to replicate a really low light situation. I generally use it on brides who are facing away from me and walking down a dark corridor or street.
OK, so I don’t have either of those plug-ins what do I do?
Well, there are two ways to handle that. You can turn the image grayscale and use the contrast slider to add drama. Then do a curves layer to bring the mid tones up or down.
OR you can do a channel mixer (More Advanced)
Using the “create new adjustment layer” button at the bottom of the layers palette, choose Channel Mixer.
Check the monochrome box.
Now play with the sliders until you get the look you want.
Final Result:
I added +20 of contrast from the Image>Adjustments>Brightness/Contrast Menu to give it a little more punch.
Hope this helps, feel free to ask any questions in the comment field and I will do my best to answer. Now go have some fun and play around with your own images!
9 comments
Ryan, these tips have been invaluable! Really appreciate the time you take to show each step of your creative process. As a prosumer, it really helps knowing the tools the pro’s use.
Cheers!
Hey Ryan, Thanks so much for your recent inside look into your workflow. We all really appreciate the time you spend going step-by-step and showing us what’s going on behind the curtain.
While this may be a little off topic, I have a question that I’m sure others are struggling with as we get close to the holidays. I have enough cash for ONE piece of quality glass. I shoot Canon and have my eye on the 24-70mm f/2.8 L. What would be your recommendation if you could only have one piece of L glass?
I shoot with a 50D body (so no full-frame) and primarily shoot family/indoor/party and travel quite a bit.
Thanks for your help!
Jeff
Thanks for sharing these tips!
Hey Jeff, great to hear from you! Glad you like the posts. This is a tough question because there is no single perfect lens for anything. The 24-70 f2.8L is a decent lens and really versatile but it doesn’t really do an amazing job at any one thing. In addition it is less sharp than Canon’s other lenses. I shoot with mostly prime lenses so I can get a really shallow depth of field, great sharpness and a great Bokeh.
I shoot with 2 cameras and use the 35mm 1.4L and the 85 1.2L 90% of the time. If I could only afford one lens it would probably be the 50mm 1.2L. You can get wide shots and portraits with it. Because the 50D is not full frame, you will actually get a little more distance out of it. One thing to consider is whether you are a wide shooter or not. I am a close up shooter in general and prefer longer focal lengths. If you generally shoot wide, you might want to try the 35mm 1.2L since it will act more like a 50mm on your 50D (56mm to be exact.) This is just my opinion and you will hear lots of different things from different shooters; Ultimately you have to decide what is right for you and your style of shooting. I highly recommend you rent both lenses and go out and test them.
As for prime lenses, there is an old saying “Zoom with your Feet.” I believe it will make you a more dynamic shooter. Instead of just zooming in from where you are it forces you to reposition yourself and re-craft your shot. I promise it will make your images better!
I love the NIK filter sets and use them most of the time myself. There is a Viveza upgrade coming soon that looks amazing!
Thanks, Ryan! Your recommendation of the prime lenses makes a lot of sense and fits closely with the type of shooting I enjoy the most. I am taking a week long trip to New Orleans next week and have rented the 24-70mm 2.8L, 35 mm 1.4L and the 50mm 1.2L lenses.
It also like the “zoom with your feet” advice and can see how it will help break me out of zoom-lens laziness. I’ll report back next week.
Thanks again.
Hi Ryan,
My question is do you shoot wide open all the time because the pictures are so sharp/ amazing? What is your favorite lens, technique?
Also, if you had pieces of advice to give a beginner,(like me) what would it be?
I appreciate any advice I can get! Thank you so much in advance. :)
Mai
Part of it is the use of prime lenses not necessarily shooting wide open…. the other part is technique. You have to develop a stance and watch your breathing when you shoot. It is second nature to most shooters but when you are beginning you don’t realize how much you are moving. I also see some people holding the focus or zoom ring when they are shooting and if you move it a little it is going to show up in the images. As for prime lenses, they are much sharper then zoom lenses. If you are shooting wide open (low apertures 2.8 or below) you have to be even more cognizant of your stance because you have a much larger room for error with such a shallow field of focus.
Favorite technique is using an 85mm 1.2L and shooting down at the subject so just the eyes are in focus and the rest of the picture blurs out. I use that technique often.
One other thing to consider:
Most pro’s use some sort of sharpening at the end of their work. The file straight out of camera is a bit soft and manufacturers usually leave it up to the photographer to decide how much sharpening they will apply.
Hey Ryan,
I love your black and white shots!! Do you only pick color or b/w for certain photos. Or do you show cilents both? If you only show it one way and they ask to see both, will you show them?
Great question! I actually have to deal with this a lot. For weddings I choose what I want B&W and don’t show the color option. If the client asks for a file in color, I reprocess it from RAW and send it to them. For Portraits you can use ProSelect to duplicate a file and turn a copy B&W so that the client can see both and then if ordered, you can do a full B&W conversion.