7 May 2008
TWIP Podcast Episode #24 - Converting to B&W in Photoshop
Posted by Scott under: Screencast .
Episode #24 is available in the iTunes feed. I teach you how to create a black&white image from a color image in Photoshop. Enjoy.
PS: There are many ways to do the steps shown in this screencast. I make no claim that these are the only methods you can use or that they are the best methods. These are simply two methods I use on a regular basis. I hope you learn from them. If you like this sort of thing, let us know what other screencasts you’d like to see. Thanks.
12 Comments so far...
David Schexnaydre Says:
7 May 2008 at 10:01 am.
Very educational. Thanks. I would like to see the same thing done in Aperture.
lao nguen Says:
7 May 2008 at 3:09 pm.
and i would like to see a link to the podcast.
chaos pilot Says:
8 May 2008 at 12:10 am.
Here is some info to use for presets in Aperture or in Photoshop’s Channel Mixer:
http://www.adidap.com/2006/09/08/photoshop-tutorial-bw-conversion-formulas/
It provides some great starting points for creating great b/w images.
Also…Scott’s tutorial is fine - but I’d suggest using an adjustment layer instead of running the black and white tool on a pixel data layer copy of the original.
Enjoy your b/w!
chaos pilot
Scott Says:
8 May 2008 at 3:56 am.
@Chaos Pilot I reluctantly approved this comment but want to point out that people’s lust for formulas like this is usually misplaced and typically leads to a lack of understanding that could be developed by experimenting on your own.
Also, note that the person providing the formulas (you?) admits he/she is no expert. Interesting.
I am glad you think my tutorial is “fine.” You mention that you’d suggest using an adjustment layer. Why? Is the net result any different?
Thanks for your comment.
William Bay Says:
8 May 2008 at 11:59 pm.
Scott,
I actually came to comment about you not using adjustment layers and saw Chaos Pilots comment. No disrespect, but he is right, I think it’s a bit old school (a few versions old school) to not use adjustment layers.
And the standard (very loose term) is to use the adjustment layers.
The reason for using adjustment layers is so you can see multiple adjustments singularly or in multiple combinations. You can also use the opacity sliders to pull back any adjustment that you made that is *just* a bit strong.
With your method you are limited to that single copied layer.
One more reason is that the files become exponentially larger compared to using adjustment layers. This is something that may not concern everybody, but may be an issue for others. Especially beginners without much for resources, e.g. hard drive space.
I know you mention that there are multiple ways to go black and white (I prefer to use Lightroom, before that Phase One), and I think that the norm for the industry should at the very least be represented in a tutorial. I mean… they are called “adjustment layers” and they’ve been around since version 5.
Again, no disrespect. I actually caught a bit of your thing you did for Lynda.com a friend had and have been a fan since and I’m glad to hear you every week.
Keep it up!
Scott Says:
9 May 2008 at 12:11 am.
William no problem. I like old school. Since the purpose of this demo was to simply convert to B&W, I had no need to worry about multiple adjustments or further changes. I also still had the ability to adjust opacity on a duplicate layer. And of course I flattened the layer so there’s no problem with overhead.
I suspect that it’s just a matter of style. But I’ve never cared for Adjustment Layers unless they’re absolutely necessary. Since I spend no more than two minutes in any Photoshop image, I can recreate the image in that same time if I need to make a change later - but never seem to need that change.
As I said in the screen cast there are many ways to accomplish the goal. If you want to use Adjustment layers you should - but there’s absolutely no need to. None.
When these discussions turn to much to the minutia - some of the beginners get lost so I hope these comments haven’t confused anyone.
Thanks for the kind words.
William Bay Says:
9 May 2008 at 1:33 am.
Scott,
Thanks for thinking I’m not just being a jerk.
Do you remember the Print Recipe Pad that Fred Picker used to sell through Zone VI? I had a ton of them. They were a snapshot of what you did to your print while printing in the darkroom. Overall exposure, a little dodge here for 3 seconds, a little burn here for 6, burn the edges for 3 seconds each, etc.
Without those Recipes I’d forget what I did on any given print and have no consistency when printing the same neg at subsequent times.
I equate the adjustment layers to that. I never flatten the image so I always have a record of what I did. I can always come back in and adjust something if I get a new printer that acts differently than my current one, or plain just change my vision for the final image 6 years from now.
You might just want to give it another try… I think you’d start to understand the benefits after a few images. I know you’re old school, but that seems to be a paradox in this world we live and photograph in. 
Talk about old school - I can still probably develop 15 sheets of 4×5 by hand (with my eyes closed even. haha).
chaos pilot Says:
9 May 2008 at 2:32 am.
@Scott: Presets…..I found the presets very helpful when I was starting out with b/w from my raw digital captures. I just thought others would find them equally helpful.
I still find myself using them to get a “feel” for what an image might look like in b/w, before starting to work on it in earnest.
And no, I did not produce the presets. As I said, I was just trying to point people at a resource they might find helpful when trying out different things and getting a feel for b/w work.
William Bay has eloquently explained why pointing people at adjustment layers for this kind of work in Ps from day one is a Good Thing(tm).
Scott Says:
9 May 2008 at 8:31 am.
@William all your comments are valid. It’s just that this tutorial was designed to be about converting to B&W - not about layers/adjustment layers. I am of course familiar with adjustment layers and do use them when I think something might need to change at a later date or an art director might want a different look. I can and will do a tutorial explaining both at some point. I was just trying to keep this thread on topic regarding B&W conversion - but it looks like that ain’t gonna happen so we can just hope that those who wanted to learn B&W conversion will not be too confused.
As for the old school stuff - I spent 20 years in the wet darkroom so I am right there with you on the 4×5. I guess if I had found an analogy like the Pickler Pad early on - I might have become a bigger fan of adjustment layers. I always need an old school link to my new school methods
Nils Says:
9 May 2008 at 4:04 pm.
I realize this is off topic but what do you use to produce the loupe effect around your cursor and enlarging the foreground window during the presentation?
I’m a Mac newbie so bear with me …
JeffShepard Says:
10 May 2008 at 8:56 pm.
Thanks for the screencast on converting to black and white. I can appreciate learning about the settings for ourselves, but I hope you will give us some gems from time to time (like the velvia action - that was great).
Steven Says:
11 May 2008 at 5:09 pm.
Scott - I’ve heard you make the comment on several occasions that you are opinionated. I disagree. Educated, yes, intelligent, yes, but opiniated, not exactly. I really appreciate your style of teaching. I hsve watched your screencasts and appreciate the fact that you never, ever, give the impression that your way is the right way. I had some very pompous, and what I would call opnionionated professors when I was in school that made it quite clear that their way was the right way. I think you would give Scott Kelby a run for his money if you decided to specialize in offering online training products. After that being said, I have to say that I really enjoy the whole group that makes up TWIP. You’re a GREAT group of guys, with a fountain of knowledge and information. I appreciate and respect all of the hard work and sacrifice of time and personal finance that goes into the show. And I have one thing to say to all of those listeners who actually have the stones to write in and submit complaints about the podcast; it’s FREE! If you have a problem with the podcast, its content, how it is produced, what format it is provided in, get off your butt and go out and start your own.
