When digital came on the scene years ago, it provided photographers with a quick and easy way to capture all sorts of moments in our lives. There was one drawback though – how to do black and white? Digital cameras usually have a black and white mode, but the results are often times somewhat dull. And up until a couple years ago, black and white digital printing quality was very poor compared to traditional film based black and white prints. Basically, old inkjet technology could not reproduce the black depth that silver halide prints could offer and also metamerism was a factor. The alternative was to get machine prints, which didn’t have the black depth either. Current high end inkjet technology has overcome these issues and most printing companies offer a “true black and white” that helps compensate.

Since these hurdles have been overcome, this article is here to help you get some great black and white from your digital camera.

When to Shoot Black & White

When to make a photo in black & white is perhaps the most difficult part of this process. There is no definitive ruling on the matter, but what I can tell you is why some people, including me, like black & white. Many photographers are drawn to black & white because of the medium’s tendency to reduce a photo down to the emotion. There are some subjects where we feel that color will distract from the message of the photo. But perhaps most importantly don’t worry, you are shooting digital, you can always take the photo in color and make the decision for black and white later.

Color

Color, surprisingly, is one of the most important elements in black and white photography. Color is important in terms of visualizing how something will look in the finished photo. For example, if you put a green filter on your camera, or use photo software to increase the green channel, then grass will turn a lighter shade of gray. Or, if you were to use a red filter on your camera or decrease blue in photo software, then your sky would turn dark gray or even black. But before you run out and buy filters or modify photos, read on and I’ll explain how this all comes together.

Contrast

Contrast, as you’ll recall from some previous articles, is the range of tones in a photo. And contrast is where black & white really comes alive through inky blacks, bright whites, and silky grays. To get great contrast in a black & white photo, we combine proper exposure and color.

Making It Happen

So what is the point!? Alright, fair enough – let’s pull this together and show some real steps in converting a photo to black and white and let the beauty of this medium really shine through. Depending on the type of software you have, there are a couple different ways to do a black and white conversion.

If you use an online service such as Picnik, there is a black and white effect that can be placed on the photo (in Picnik, it is found under the “Create” tab). Once you click on the black and white effect, you’ll see an area for “Color Filter”. This is what I was prepping you for in the paragraph about color. In the Color Filter, if you click on a color in the box, it essentially makes the areas of the photo that were that color a little bit lighter. Tip: for portraits, put the filter on red, orange, yellow, or pink, depending on the complexion of the subject – but all skin tones are a bit red and thus by putting the filter on a reddish color, you help create glowing skin tones.

If you use an advanced desktop editor such as Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Lightroom, or Adobe Photoshop Elements, your options open up somewhat. In these programs, you have a channel mixer available where you can adjust multiple color channels at the same time. You are performing the same edits as described for online editors, with the ability to adjust multiple channels at the same time you can create more complex mixes. For example, if you have a portrait of someone in the grass, you can increase the red to make their skin glow some, and decrease the green to make the grass darker, thereby introducing an extra element of contrast to the image.

Once you have the color adjusted for the best black and white you can muster out of your photo, you can fine tune it with contrast adjustments. In this step, use the tools you are most comfortable with to adjust the contrast.

After the last few paragraphs you may be thinking that it’s time to drop some money on a more expensive editor like Adobe Lightroom. However I’ll caution that a tool is only as good as you are comfortable with it. Some applications can be cumbersome and are designed to be used by those whose careers rely on it. So I’d recommend that before purchasing any, you download a free trial and be sure that you like how it works.

Have Fun!

Of course the most important piece of this process is to have some fun and explore your options with converting between black and white and color. One thing is for sure – you are all but guaranteed to get better black and white results by taking color photos and then converting to black and white in an editor later. So click around – explore and experiment! There are lots of elements to this that can only be discovered by playing with the editing tools available to you!