Black and white photo converter full#

Converting images in Lightroom with the Targeted Adjustment Tool (the icon to the left of the Black & White Mix) makes for more dynamic adjustments, but you have to know it’s there.Īfter I’ve done my TAT adjustments, I focus on more specific areas I want to adjust. You can build contrast into your black-and-white shot and increase tonal range using this technique. The beauty of the TAT is that it chooses the right mix of the color sliders to adjust the area you’ve chosen. Place the TAT on the image area you want to adjust, click and move the tool up or down to lighten or darken this area. This tool is located in the left corner of the HSL/COLOR/B&W panel. But a far more effective method is to select the Targeted Adjustment Tool (TAT) and click on the image area you want to adjust. One approach to tonal adjustment would be to move the individual sliders and watch what happens to the image. In the HSL/COLOR/B&W panel, you can see the slider values Lightroom has applied. With my image already converted to black-and-white, my first step is to evaluate the auto adjustments that Lightroom applies. Lightroom offers the tools I need, and the Develop module has a few options Photoshop Camera Raw doesn’t offer. Honestly, I create most of my black-and-white images in Lightroom. Knowing effective black-and-white image characteristics will influence the adjustments we make later. Finding scenes with depth and dimension also creates compelling black-and-white images. Since color is absent, we rely on other graphic elements to create a dramatic shot. Next, graphic shapes, patterns and textures are important in black-and-white imagery. Contrast is a critical element in black-and-white imagery, and an important aspect when considering tonal range. Pure black and pure white anchor the black-and-white image, while shades of gray help define the subject.

Black and white photo converter full#

You want to have a range of tonalities from black to white, including the full range of gray tones.

You’re ready to start making adjustments.įirst, look for an image that has a clean black and a clean white. Then scroll down and open the HSL/COLOR/B&W panel, and the various color channels will be displayed. In the Basic Panel at the top, simply click Black and White as the treatment. Open your image and go to the Develop module. White Sands National Monument, New Mexico.įirst, let’s look at converting an image in Lightroom. We’ll revisit some of these sliders later to touch up our black-and-white image.

The beauty of working in Camera Raw is that your adjustments are nondestructive. I also apply Sharpening and Clarity at this point. Increasing these would affect some tonalities in the black-and-white version, but I’ll adjust this later after converting the image to black-and-white. These adjustments include setting the white point and black point, adjusting exposure, reducing highlights and often opening up shadows. Before I convert my image to black-and-white, I start with my basic image adjustments that I do on every image. The sliders are oriented differently but perform the same functions, but in Lightroom I can go back and readjust the RAW file-in Photoshop the conversion is the first step and any later changes are performed from that starting point. The Camera Raw engine is the same in Lightroom and Photoshop. If you’re using Lightroom, Camera Raw is embedded in the Develop module and is what you use on all supported file types (RAW, JPEG, etc.). Since we’re shooting in RAW, the Camera Raw editor will open by default in Photoshop. Converting a color image to black-and-white is similar in Lightroom and Photoshop.