Posted by Doug Koepsel on April 28, 2011 at 4:20 PM
Tried a conversion of a late afternoon sunny shot of the Fire Wave in VoF. Chose this image since the feature had some contrasting stripes to start with. After converting in PSE9, played with the RGB sliders in levels and the contrast to get what pleased my eye.
I have not done much B&W conversion, so I can use any suggestions.
Posted by Doug Koepsel on April 28, 2011 at 4:36 PM
Well, it works but I just prefer the color version, as this formation lends itself so well to color.
Here's a much better way to convert color to b&w using E9. I used to use this technique before PS got a dedicated b&w converter.
This technique is particularly elegant because it allows you to apply any of the entire spectrum of color filters just by dragging the hue slider. This allows you to quickly figure out which of the many combinations of color filters work best, without necessarily having one in mind when starting.
Open the image and create two separate 'Hue/Saturation Adjustment Layers' ( Layers->New Adjustment Layer->Hue/Saturation). Each window will be named 'Hue/Saturation 1' or '2'.
On the top adjustment layer, set the blending mode to "Color" and move the saturation slider to its minimum of '-100'.
On the bottom adjustment layer, change the 'Hue' slider to apply any of the entire spectrum of color filters. This is the main control for adjusting the look from this technique.
The saturation slider can also be adjusted in this layer, but this time it fine tunes the magnitude of the filter effect for a given hue. Once all adjustments have been made, flatten the layers to make these final, or save the layered file as a master TIF file.
You can also use this technique twice on one image. If, for example, you like the way the sky converts using one 'Hue' adjustment, save that image, and then using a copy of the original color image and set 'em up again. Adjust the 'Hue' slider for an optimum b&w adjustment of the landscape, move one file on top of another and use a layer mask as you would when blending two images for max. exposure dynamic range.
Posted by Richard Olsen on April 28, 2011 at 6:43 PM
I really like the color version best, though the BW is interesting!
Well I'm known for being the Contrary one at home, work and here. I love the Black & White because of the detail it allows you to see that Color tends to hide from the eye. I love the color for the mood it sets.
Posted by Joseph Kayne on April 29, 2011 at 12:41 AM
Well, it works but I just prefer the color version, as this formation lends itself so well to color.....
ditto
Posted by Kurt Bowman on April 30, 2011 at 12:26 PM
Doug, I am torn between the two....I love both.
Posted by Doug Koepsel on April 30, 2011 at 12:54 PM
John, thanks again for the good help and tip. I liked the variations produced with the Hue slider.
I too prefer the color version, but thought this image would also make a good B&W experiment since there was good contrast and shape in the formation, and no nice sunset to lose.
Here is a redo with John's alternative method. Sky is substantially lighter now.
Discussion
10 repliesI have not done much B&W conversion, so I can use any suggestions.
Here's a much better way to convert color to b&w using E9. I used to use this technique before PS got a dedicated b&w converter.
This technique is particularly elegant because it allows you to apply any of the entire spectrum of color filters just by dragging the hue slider. This allows you to quickly figure out which of the many combinations of color filters work best, without necessarily having one in mind when starting.
Open the image and create two separate 'Hue/Saturation Adjustment Layers' ( Layers->New Adjustment Layer->Hue/Saturation). Each window will be named 'Hue/Saturation 1' or '2'.
On the top adjustment layer, set the blending mode to "Color" and move the saturation slider to its minimum of '-100'.
On the bottom adjustment layer, change the 'Hue' slider to apply any of the entire spectrum of color filters. This is the main control for adjusting the look from this technique.
The saturation slider can also be adjusted in this layer, but this time it fine tunes the magnitude of the filter effect for a given hue. Once all adjustments have been made, flatten the layers to make these final, or save the layered file as a master TIF file.
You can also use this technique twice on one image. If, for example, you like the way the sky converts using one 'Hue' adjustment, save that image, and then using a copy of the original color image and set 'em up again. Adjust the 'Hue' slider for an optimum b&w adjustment of the landscape, move one file on top of another and use a layer mask as you would when blending two images for max. exposure dynamic range.
And thank you, John, for the technique. I'm gonna try it.
ditto
I too prefer the color version, but thought this image would also make a good B&W experiment since there was good contrast and shape in the formation, and no nice sunset to lose.
Here is a redo with John's alternative method. Sky is substantially lighter now.