10. Working in Black and White

Introduction

Black-and-white photography is an art form unto itself. Thankfully, the Lightroom developers at Adobe have recognized this and have provided you with a “digital darkroom” environment that offers an incredible amount of creative control over your black-and-white conversions.

When you apply the Convert to Black & White command, Lightroom does not convert the color image to Grayscale mode. Instead, it creates a desaturated version of the original color image, which remains in RGB mode. Lightroom blends the grayscale information that is containd in the individual red, green, and blue channels that make up the composite RGB image.

In this chapter, you learn how to convert your color images to black and white using the various controls available in the Develop module. You also learn how to apply white balance adjustments to black-and-white images, as well as how to utilize the Auto black-and-white mix feature.

This chapter also teaches you how to apply custom black-and-white adjustments using the sliders available in the Black & White panel. The final section explains how to apply color tints to the highlight and shadow areas of an image using the controls available in the Split Toning panel.

Converting Images to Black and White

There are two ways to convert a color image to black and white in the Develop module. The first is to apply the Convert to Black & White command or click the Black & White button located in either the Basic panel or the HSL/Color/B&W panel. The second is to manually desaturate the image by dragging the Saturation sliders in the HSL panel all the way to the left. This method differs from the standard B&W conversion in that it gives you access to the Vibrance and Saturation sliders in the Basic panel. As described later in this chapter (in the “Applying Custom Black & White Adjustments” section), you can use these sliders to further enhance your adjustments.

Apply the Convert to Black & White command

From the Library module Grid or the Filmstrip, select the photo that you would like to convert to black-and-white.

Choose View > Go to Develop or click the Develop button in the upper-right corner of the interface.

Lightroom displays the photo in the Content area of the Develop module.

Choose Window > Panels > Basic to display the Basic panel.

Choose Settings > Convert to Black & White, or click the Black & White button in the upper-right corner of the Basic panel. You can also click the B&W button located at the top of the HSL/Color/B&W panel.

Lightroom converts the photograph to black and white.

Desaturate the image using the HSL panel Saturation sliders

From the Library module Grid or the Filmstrip, select the photo that you would like to convert to black-and-white.

Choose View > Go to Develop or click the Develop button in the upper-right corner of the interface.

Lightroom displays the photo in the Content area of the Develop module.

Choose Window > Panels > HSL/Color/B&W to display the HSL/Color/B&W panel.

The HSL/Color/B&W panel displays the last set of controls used. If the HSL controls are not visible, click the HSL button at the top of the HSL/Color/B&W panel.

Click the Saturation button in the upper portion of the HSL panel.

Drag all of the Saturation sliders in the HSL panel to –100, or enter –100 in the value field to the right of the sliders.

Lightroom applies the Saturation adjustment to the image.

Applying White Balance Adjustments to Black-and-White Images

By dragging the Basic panel Temperature slider to the right, you can apply a warm white balance to the black-and-white image and produce much richer tones. By dragging the Temperature slider to the left, you can apply a cool white balance and produce much lighter tones. You can drag the Tint slider to enhance either the green or magenta tones in the image. By following up these white balance adjustments with an Auto black & white adjustment (see the following page), you can produce a well-balanced black-and-white image.

Adjust the temperature of a black-and-white image

From the Library module Grid or the Filmstrip, select the black-and-white photo that you would like to apply a white balance adjustment to.

Choose View > Go To Develop or click the Develop button in the upper-right corner of the interface.

Lightroom displays the photo in the Content area of the Develop module.

Choose Window > Panels > Basic to display the Basic panel.

Drag the Basic panel Temp slider to the right to make the image appear warmer, or drag it to the left to make it appear cooler.

You can enhance the green or magenta tones in the converted image by dragging the Basic panel Tint slider.

Applying Auto Black & white Adjustments

The Black & White panel contains an Auto button, which enables you to auto generate a black-and-white mix for the RGB image that you’ve converted to black and white. By clicking the Auto button, you are allowing Lightroom to auto adjust the color sliders in the Black & White panel. The Auto button generates a black-and-white mix based on the current white balance settings; therefore, it works hand-in-hand with the white balancing technique described on the previous page.

Apply an Auto black & white mix based on the current white balance settings

From the Library module Grid or the Filmstrip, select the black-and-white photo that you would like to apply an Auto adjustment to.

Choose View > Go To Develop or click the Develop button in the upper-right corner of the interface.

Lightroom displays the photo in the Content area of the Develop module.

Choose Window > Panels > Basic to display the Basic panel.

Drag the Basic panel Temp slider to the right to make the image appear warmer, or drag it to the left to make it appear cooler.

You can enhance the green or magenta tones in the converted image by dragging the Basic panel Tint slider.

Choose Window > Panels > HSL/Color/B&W to display the HSL/Color/B&W panel.

The HSL/Color/B&W panel displays the last set of controls used. If the black-and-white controls are not visible, click the B&W button at the top of the HSL/Color/B&W panel.

Click the Auto button in the Black & White panel.

Lightroom applies the Auto adjustment based on the current White Balance Temperature and Tint settings.

Applying Custom Black & White Adjustments

The Black & White panel enables you to control how light or dark certain colors appear in the converted black-and-white image. By dragging the eight color sliders in the Black & White panel, you can customize the black-and-white blend used in the conversion. Images that have been manually desaturated (see “Converting Images to Black and White” earlier in this chapter) can be customized by dragging the Luminance sliders in the HSL panel. The Luminance settings can be further enhanced by dragging the Saturation and Vibrance sliders in the Basic panel.

Create a custom B&W mix

From the Library module Grid or the Filmstrip, select the black-and-white photo that you would like to work with.

Choose View > Go To Develop or click the Develop button in the upper-right corner of the interface.

Lightroom displays the photo in the Content area of the Develop module.

Choose Window > Panels > HSL/Color/B&W to display the HSL/Color/B&W panel.

The HSL/Color/B&W panel displays the last set of controls used. If the Grayscale controls are not visible, click the B&W button at the top of the HSL/Color/B&W panel.

In the Black & White panel, drag the sliders for the colors you’d like to brighten or darken in the image.

Lightroom applies the adjustment to the respective colors.

Fine-tune a desaturated image

From the Library module Grid or the Filmstrip, select the desaturated image that you would like to work with.

Choose View > Go to Develop or click the Develop button in the upper-right corner of the interface.

Lightroom displays the photo in the Content area of the Develop module.

Choose Window > Panels > HSL/Color/B&W to display the HSL/Color/B&W panel.

The HSL/Color/B&W panel displays the last set of controls used. If the HSL controls are not visible, click the HSL button at the top of the HSL/Color/B&W panel.

Click the Luminance button in the upper portion of the HSL panel.

In the HSL panel, drag the Luminance sliders for the colors you’d like to brighten or darken in the black and white image.

Lightroom applies the Luminance adjustment to the respective colors in the desaturated image.

Amplify the Luminance settings by increasing the Saturation level in the Basic panel.

Creating a Split Tone Image

The Split Toning panel enables you to apply a color tint to the highlight and shadow areas of a monochrome image. You can select which colors to apply using the Color Picker. The Hue and Saturation sliders in the Split Toning panel enable you to adjust the tint and vividness of each color. The Balance slider can help you fine-tune the blend between shadow and highlight colors.

Apply a color tint to the highlight and shadow areas of the image

From the Library module Grid or the Filmstrip, select the black-and-white photo that you would like to work with.

Choose View > Go to Develop or click the Develop button in the upper-right corner of the interface.

Lightroom displays the photo in the Content area of the Develop module.

Choose Window > Panels > Split Toning to display the Split Toning panel.

To access the Color Picker, click the Highlights color swatch in the Split Toning panel.

Select a color by clicking inside the color ramp, or by clicking one of the color preset swatches located at the top of the Color Picker window.

Click the Close button in the upper-left corner of the Color Picker window.

If necessary, adjust the hue for the chosen highlights color by dragging the Hue slider in the Highlights portion of the Split Toning panel.

Adjust the vividness of the chosen highlights color by dragging the Saturation slider in the Highlights portion of the Split Toning panel.

To access the Color Picker, click the Shadows color swatch in the Split Toning panel.

Select a color by clicking inside the color ramp, or by clicking one of the color preset swatches located at the top of the Color Picker window.

Click the Close button in the upper-left corner of the Color Picker window.

If necessary, adjust the hue for the chosen shadows color by dragging the Hue slider in the Highlights portion of the Split Toning panel.

Adjust the vividness of the chosen shadows color by dragging the Saturation slider in the Highlights portion of the Split Toning panel.

Fine-tune the balance between the highlight and shadow color toning by dragging the Balance slider in the Split Toning panel.