Posted by Angela Classen on September 11, 2011 at 9:53 PM
I shot this yesterday from the Porcupine Rim trail, overlooking Castle Valley. It was storming in the valley. I'm wondering if this might look good in b/w? If so, could someone send me some tips and/or a tutorial on how to convert to b/w? The only program I have is Photoshop CS4 (can't afford any other programs at this point). I like good b/w images but don't really know where to start, other than just screwing around & moving sliders around.
Posted by Sarah Marino on September 11, 2011 at 10:39 PM
Hi Angela –
I convert all of my b+w images using CS4. The only additional tool that I use is Tony Kuyper’s luminosity mask actions, which are very affordable (goodlight.us). The luminosity masks allow you to adjust specific tones within the image, which gives you the ability to make a lot of fine adjustments without worrying about creating complicated masks or creating halos.
Without luminosity masks, you could take the following basic steps to get started:
-Open the image up in CS4 in color
-Brighten it up with a levels adjustment (bring the white point in, black and midpoints to taste)
-Add a black and white adjustment layer
-Experiment with the color sliders to see which adjustments you like (for example, maybe bring down the blues to darken the sky and bring up the reds to add some contrast in the rocks)
-You can also experiment with the channel mixer to bring out different tonal variations (sliding the green to the right would add some interesting texture to the foliage in certain areas)
-Curves adjustments and masks to selectively darken and lighten specific areas of the image
If you use luminosity masks, for example, you could select the brightest tones (like the clouds) and lighten them selectively for a more dramatic effect. I also use the dodge and burn layer that comes along with the luminosity mask actions to put some finishing touches on an image. I probably do not do anything correctly in Photoshop, but these methods work well for me.
Hope this helps. Feel free to email me if you have any more specific questions.
Posted by Morris McClung on September 12, 2011 at 2:49 PM
I'm afraid I am a convert and slider user, too, so I'm no help. But, I love this shot, Angela! Nice pano comp, and the rain moving across is excellent. Maybe a touch brighter, but hard to judge with my old monitor.
Posted by Stan Rose on September 12, 2011 at 7:56 PM
Sarah's tips sound good to me, Angela. I do most of my conversions in CS4 after processing in LR. Looking at the channels is a good way to see what channels/colors will be most effective in the conversion (for example, if the red channel shows you the classic 'A Adams' sky look...). One general rule of thumb (and it doesn't always apply, but often does) is that the original image should have a good tonal range from shadows to highlites--this image seems uniformly mid-tone, other than the clouds, so it might not make the best conversion, although it is fairly monochromatic so it's worth a shot...
Discussion
3 repliesI convert all of my b+w images using CS4. The only additional tool that I use is Tony Kuyper’s luminosity mask actions, which are very affordable (goodlight.us). The luminosity masks allow you to adjust specific tones within the image, which gives you the ability to make a lot of fine adjustments without worrying about creating complicated masks or creating halos.
Without luminosity masks, you could take the following basic steps to get started:
-Open the image up in CS4 in color
-Brighten it up with a levels adjustment (bring the white point in, black and midpoints to taste)
-Add a black and white adjustment layer
-Experiment with the color sliders to see which adjustments you like (for example, maybe bring down the blues to darken the sky and bring up the reds to add some contrast in the rocks)
-You can also experiment with the channel mixer to bring out different tonal variations (sliding the green to the right would add some interesting texture to the foliage in certain areas)
-Curves adjustments and masks to selectively darken and lighten specific areas of the image
If you use luminosity masks, for example, you could select the brightest tones (like the clouds) and lighten them selectively for a more dramatic effect. I also use the dodge and burn layer that comes along with the luminosity mask actions to put some finishing touches on an image. I probably do not do anything correctly in Photoshop, but these methods work well for me.
Hope this helps. Feel free to email me if you have any more specific questions.