10. Turning Color into Black-and-White
by Uwe Steinmueller, Juergen Gulbins
The Digital Photography Workflow Handbook
- The Digital Photography Workflow Handbook: From Import to Output
- Foreword
- 1. Introducing the Digital Photo Workflow
- 2. The Basic Workflow
- The Five Phases of the Workflow
- Phase 1: Shooting
- Phase 2: Image Transfer and Management
- Phase 3: Image File Conversion and Optimization
- Phase 4: Output
- Phase 5: Digital Asset Management
- The Influence of Individual Tools on the Workflow
- Increasing Efficiency
- Develop Your Own Approach to the Workflow
- 3. Color Management Know-How
- Understanding Different Color Models
- Understanding Color Management
- Mapping Color Spaces
- Creating Device Profiles
- Profiling Your Monitor
- Photoshop Color Management Settings
- Printer Profiles
- Installing and Uninstalling Profiles
- Soft-Proofing and Gamut Warning
- Color Temperature and Hue
- Complementary Colors
- Working Spaces II
- 4. Image Processing Basics
- Don’t be Afraid of Photoshop
- 8-bit or 16-bit Color Depth?
- Image Size and Resolution
- Choosing a File Format
- File Information and Logs
- Image Alignment
- Simple Corrections
- The Art of Sharpening
- Color Corrections
- Selection Tools
- Retouching and Repairing Images
- Speed Up Your Workflow with Photoshop Actions
- Photoshop’s History Panel
- Additional Information and Overviews
- 5. RAW Editing and Conversion
- Some Initial Thoughts
- Important Aspects of RAW Processing
- Non-destructive Editing
- Which Processing Steps are Performed Where?
- What to Look for When Choosing a RAW Converter
- Other Features of RAW Converters
- Graphical User Interface (GUI)
- Color Management
- RAW Browser
- Preview Image Size
- Saving and Applying Image Settings
- Selective Image Corrections
- Batch Processing
- Printing from a RAW Converter
- Integration in the Workflow
- Image Browser Integration
- Multi-Core Processing
- Arguments For and Against Auto Correction
- Other Useful Features
- Adobe Camera Raw (ACR)
- ACR Preferences
- Workflow Options
- Sample of a Real World ACR Adjustments Workflow
- Synchronizing Image Adjustments
- Optimizing Dynamic Range
- Image Optimization Using Tone Curves
- Selective Tonal Corrections
- Saving and Discarding Changes
- An Overview of the ACR Interface
- ACR Image Adjustments Panel
- Effects Tab
- ACR Presets
- Batch Conversion
- Other RAW Converters
- Even More RAW Converters
- 6. All-in-One Workflow Tools
- 7. Photoshop Layers
- Layers Panel
- Your First Layer
- Using Adjustment Layers
- Making Selective Adjustments Using Layer Masks
- Flattening and Merging Layers
- Smart Cropping
- Removing Moiré Effects
- Auto Color Correction for Better Contrast
- Blending Layers Using Layer Styles
- Dodge and Burn Using Layers
- Loading Image Files into a Stack and Aligning Layers
- Smart Objects and Smart Filters
- Organizing Layers
- Other Aspects of Working with Layers
- Getting a “Layer Feeling” without Using Layers
- Selective Adjustment Using U Point Control Points
- More Tips for Working with Layers
- 8. Advanced Photoshop Techniques
- Correcting Saturation Selectively
- Some Tricks for Improving Saturation and Contrast
- Correcting Perspective Distortion
- Correcting Lens Errors
- Correcting Color Casts in Shadows
- Using Masks to Increase Luminance
- Correcting Images Using Brush Techniques
- Advanced Sharpening Using Photoshop Layers
- Adding Digital Sunshine to Your Photos
- Brush Off Noise
- Enhancing Midtone Contrast
- Enhancing Local Contrast
- Content-Aware Fill
- Fine-Tuning After Upsizing or Downsizing Images
- 9. Multishot Techniques
- Common Steps in a Multishot Workflow
- Increase Your Angle of View Using Stitching Techniques
- Maximizing Depth of Field Using Focus Stacking
- Increasing Dynamic Range Using HDRI Techniques
- 10. Turning Color into Black-and-White
- From Color to Black-and-White
- Black-and-White Conversion Using the Channel Mixer
- Enhanced Black-and-White Conversion
- Black-and-White à la Russell Brown
- Black-and-White Conversion Using the Black & White Command
- Black-and-White Conversion Using Photoshop Plug-ins
- Black-and-White Conversion Using a RAW Editor
- Colorizing Images
- 11. Printing and Image Presentation
- Publishing Images and Image Data
- Printing Images on Paper
- Printing on Photo Paper
- Printing Using Inkjet Printers
- The Print Workflow
- Printing Your Image
- Specialty Printing Software and RIPs
- Creating Contact Sheets
- Printed Frames
- Publishing Images on the Web
- Creating Digital Slideshows
- Other Ways to Present Your Images
- 12. Useful Photoshop Plug-ins
- 13. Data Management and Backup
- Managing Your Image Library
- Data Security
- A. Resources
- Index
- About the Authors
Black-and-white images are still photographically relevant, even if we shoot our photos exclusively in color. The advantage and the attraction of monochrome images lies in their high degree of abstraction and their strong graphic appearance.
As we are not actually talking about line drawings here, the correct term for “black-and-white photo” is actually something like “black-and-white halftone image” or “grayscale image”, but to keep things simple, we will nevertheless use the terms “black-and-white” and “monochrome” in this chapter.
If you simply convert an image from RGB format to grayscale using Photoshop, the results are nearly always disappointing. The steps necessary to produce authentic-looking black-and-white images are much more complex. The tools and techniques for doing just that are the subject of this chapter.
Converting color images to black-and-white can be really rewarding. Let’s compare the basic steps involved in processing analog and digital monochrome images using Photoshop:
The simplest way to create monochrome images using Photoshop is to convert an image from RGB to grayscale. However, this produces unsatisfactory results that don’t look like real lab-processed black-and-white images at all. We have to get into more complex digital processing to achieve the results we want.
Most RAW editors include black-and-white conversion functionality, although this involves either completely desaturating the image colors or simply producing RGB images made up of grayscale tones. The latter is the method used by Photoshop to create monochrome images, but both solutions are not very satisfactory. Adobe Camera Raw (version 4 and later) and Lightroom (version 1.3 onwards) both include a fairly usable black-and-white conversion function that is extremely similar to the Photoshop Black-and-white dialog.
Converting to black-and-white using a RAW editor has the advantages of working non-destructively and using disk space-saving virtual image copies.
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