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**Tamlin** · 05-23-2007

This thread is specifically for Phoenix as I promised him some links to tutorials for converting colour images to black & white, but I thought I'd post it in the forum as others may find the info useful.

First of all, here are three tutorials that explain various methods of B&W conversion:

Converting a Digital Color Photo into Black and White
Digital Black and White in Photoshop - Photo Tips @ Earthbound Light
Black & White Conversion Tutorial With Adobe Photoshop

If you prefer to let Photoshop do the work, there is a whole section of B&W conversion actions at Action Central: Downloads
(scroll down the page about half way).

Finally, for the truly lazy (and I'm counting myself among them) there are some third-party plug-ins that will do the job for you:

Virtual Photographer (Welcome to optikVerve Labs - Home of virtualPhotographer) is FREE and includes quite a few B&W presets. I have to say, although I do occasionally use Virtual Photographer, I tend to find that the presets are a bit aggressive on their own - I generally fade the filter after applying it or lessen its effect by manipulating layer opacity and/or blending modes.

Alien Skin's Exposure (Exposure) also includes B&W presets which are reasonable, although I'm not sure they're worth the $199 price-tag.

My weapon of choice when it comes to filter-based B&W conversion is B/W Styler by Photo Wiz (http://www.thepluginsite.com/product...yler/index.htm). This really is a neat little filter with lots of presets that hark back to the good old days of wet film processing (you can select things like Ilford HP5+ film, extra-long development and soft grade paper). At $49.95, it won't break the bank, either.

05-23-2007	#1 (permalink)
Tamlin Janitor of Lunacy Join Date: May 2006 Location: Sitting in the Wishing Chair Posts: 5,312	Black & White Conversion in Photoshop This thread is specifically for Phoenix as I promised him some links to tutorials for converting colour images to black & white, but I thought I'd post it in the forum as others may find the info useful. First of all, here are three tutorials that explain various methods of B&W conversion: Converting a Digital Color Photo into Black and White Digital Black and White in Photoshop - Photo Tips @ Earthbound Light Black & White Conversion Tutorial With Adobe Photoshop If you prefer to let Photoshop do the work, there is a whole section of B&W conversion actions at Action Central: Downloads (scroll down the page about half way). Finally, for the truly lazy (and I'm counting myself among them) there are some third-party plug-ins that will do the job for you: Virtual Photographer (Welcome to optikVerve Labs - Home of virtualPhotographer) is FREE and includes quite a few B&W presets. I have to say, although I do occasionally use Virtual Photographer, I tend to find that the presets are a bit aggressive on their own - I generally fade the filter after applying it or lessen its effect by manipulating layer opacity and/or blending modes. Alien Skin's Exposure (Exposure) also includes B&W presets which are reasonable, although I'm not sure they're worth the $199 price-tag. My weapon of choice when it comes to filter-based B&W conversion is B/W Styler by Photo Wiz (http://www.thepluginsite.com/product...yler/index.htm). This really is a neat little filter with lots of presets that hark back to the good old days of wet film processing (you can select things like Ilford HP5+ film, extra-long development and soft grade paper). At $49.95, it won't break the bank, either. __________________ Religion: It's all fun and games until someone gets burned at the stake...