There are many ways of getting a black and white image from colour original. We have a page devoted to collecting different methods which you may like to try out. There is no 'best' way a lot depends on the image and the effect you want.

Please note. The images in this tutorial section are for personal non commercial teaching use only. They may not be used in -any- other way without the express consent of Northlight Images - see our usage and copyright page for more information.

Open the image BWconvert.jpg

There are several different ways of going to black and white.

Remember, that when we look at a black and white photograph it is variations in brightness we are looking at, and it is the mapping of different colours to different greys that we are doing in the conversion (much as black and white film does when capturing an image)

Red and green may look very different to us but if they both end up the same grey, then red flowers in a picture could easily blend in with leaves.

The simplest method is just to desaturate the image (remove colour)

Layer based conversions

A much more powerful technique uses two Hue/Saturation layers.

In the example below we have duplicated two copies of the original image (Background). The top layer (Background copy) shows where we did a simple 'remove colour' and have de-selected the 'eye' so as to hide this layer. The two Hue/Saturation layers are going to affect our view of the layer 'Background copy 2'.

One of the reasons for all this complexity is to allow you to flip between different conversions and compare effects. You can always delete unwanted layers later.

Create a H/S Adjustment layer but do not make any adjustments with it.

Change the layer blend mode (just below the layers tab) to Colour

Create another H/S Adjustment layer with Sat at -100.

Return to first H/S layer and tune the black and white effect using the Saturation and Hue sliders

First try with the hue slider – notice things like the clouds.

Newer versions of Elements have more complex B/W options, but the all work similarly to those described here

There is considerable scope for fine tuning your conversion from black and white to colour. Using multiple layers you can compare effects and decide which you like the best.

For more methods look at our conversion page and the section of the site devoted to Black and White digital photography.

Experiment with some of your own pictures. Black and white is -the- original photography - digital just added another way of doing it.

The techniques

Northlight Images also provides commercial photography training courses for businesses, including specialist Photography training for Estate Agents and for Product Photography.

Explore our site... Digital Black and White photography and printing - some of Keiths thoughts, techniques and tips for those interested in a digital approach to black and white. We've lots of original Photography Articles and Photography Reviews on the site to help anyone interested in photography. New site content appears on the What's New page.

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