Taking B&W digital photos.

[neilmcl]

A quick question regarding taking B&W pictures with a digital camera. What is the general consensus about B&W pics. Take them using the camera's B&W effect mode or take them in colour and later convert them to B&W using your favourite editing software. Which is the best approach?

[baldrick]

I wouldn't know but I'd suggest that you'd might aswell capture in colour and then convert in Photoshop etc...!

Makes sense really as you may capture a great colour image that otherwise would be lost!

[stevegreen]

Take them in colour and then adjust.

If you have a program like Photoshop you will be able to convert it and then play with the way the colours affect the black's and white's, this can give masses of different effects and styles. If you take it in black and white, you have no colour information at all so you are limited on what you can adjust.

[Magslad]

Agree with Steve entirely - programs like Photoshop offer masses of options for getting a good B&W conversion.

Just one tip - you may be disappointed if you use a 'desaturate' option in whatever program you use, as they can often make the picture appear pretty flat. You need to play around with levels to get good contrast, shadow etc.

[ScottBT]

Originally Posted by Magslad

Agree with Steve entirely - programs like Photoshop offer masses of options for getting a good B&W conversion.

Just one tip - you may be disappointed if you use a 'desaturate' option in whatever program you use, as they can often make the picture appear pretty flat. You need to play around with levels to get good contrast, shadow etc.

Desaturating an image in PS is a very novice way of doing things. You're better going through the lab colour route.

[PaulBoy]

I agree & would add that the less expensive programs like Paint Shop Pro X (which I use) are excellent at converting to b&w even allowing you add filter effects to bring out those funky cloud formations etc
- Paul

[senu]

Originally Posted by ScottBT

Desaturating an image in PS is a very novice way of doing things. You're better going through the lab colour route.

Does this " novice" method of using desaturation extend to taking the image RAW and then desaturating before even getting to PS?
I have done that in the past and tinkerd with other parameters in Rawshooters to end up with what I thought was reasonable detail and tonal retrieval.
I guess a bit of experimenting to see what works is in order but certainly, most here agree that not allowing the camera do turn the pic to monochrome is infinitely better

[neilmcl]

Thanks all.

[Magslad]

Desaturating an image in PS is a very novice way of doing things

Exactly my point. That's why I was suggesting use of levels adjustments: in PS Elements 4 (which is what I have) adjusting R/G/B levels after creating a gradient map adjustment layer gives a far better result - this is what I always use.

[senu]

Originally Posted by Magslad

Exactly my point. That's why I was suggesting use of levels adjustments: in PS Elements 4 (which is what I have) adjusting R/G/B levels after creating a gradient map adjustment layer gives a far better result - this is what I always use.

Desaturation is an " unsophisticated" way of doing the same thing though.
It is however a starting point if one finds oneself out of depth within PS or APE. I seldom use a gradient map adjustment layer despite Scott Kelbys good advice
My point is that there are good , better and best ways of getting there

[Magslad]

I agree there are many different ways of getting there. The combination of the camera being used, whether shooting RAW or JPEG, which PP software, and how long the photographer wants to spend on post-processing the image plus what effects they want. Like many things in life, there is no 'right' way of doing it, just many different ways that will produce different results. I'm sure that when I (finally) make the move to shooting exclusively RAW I will change the workflow, but for now I personally have not found a method that gives me any better or easier results for the type of conversions I want to do