BackdoorArts
Senior Member
Better B&W Conversion Using Multiple Hue/Saturation Layers in Photoshop & Elements
I posted this as a blog about a year ago and was asked if I could submit it as a tutorial. Here you go...
I've always found that the basic level of B&W conversion available in Lightroom and Photoshop to be adequate at best, simply desaturating the image and leaving you with an image that is a little flat and one-dimensional requiring you to then tweak it to the best of your abilities. Tools like Nik's Silver Efex Pro 2 do a fantastic job of converting to black and white, but not everyone can or wants to invest in another piece of software, particularly after spending money on Photoshop or Elements. So the question is, how do I convert my vibrant color image to a B&W photo that I'm happy with? Here's a way that I was taught that works very effectively.
(Note: I'm using Photoshop Elements 9 in the photos below since it should provide a basic starting point for most folks here. These techniques should be easily adaptable to newer versions of Elements or to Photoshop.)
The most basic black & white conversion method is simply to take the color image and completely remove any saturation. As you can see, details that are very clear in the color image, like the net and line, are all but lost in the conversion, and playing with brightness and contrast will do little to bring them out.
Starting Image + 100% Desaturated Image (click on an image to enlarge further):
This is because once color has multiple components, Hue Saturation and Luminance, and by removing the Saturation component you can run into collisions and near collisions with the remaining components. Without getting into great detail, here is an example of what appear to be some pretty start differences in colors, and then those same colors desaturated. With the larger blocks you see some colors merge, and with the two greens you can see that the two greens swap in terms of which you considered lighter or darker. This is because of how Hue and Luminance interact.
While there is no easy way to play with the luminance of a desaturated image, my brother, who has a couple decades experience shooting digital as a pro and teaches classes in Photoshop, offered me this tip in how I can make my B&W conversions pop without spending money on conversion programs.
As previously, take your original image and add a Hue/Saturation layer, but this time set the Blending Mode to "Color" instead of the default of "Normal"...
Now add a second Hue/Saturation layer, this time leaving the Mode set to Normal and desaturate as before...
Now, switch back to the first Hue/Saturation layer. Making adjustments here has the effect of applying all sorts of colored filters, but to an exponential level, simply by moving the Hue adjustment bar. By simply moving the Hue to the far right you can see how the bright yellow float in the middle of the net, which disappeared in the original conversion, now pops out again as it did in the color image...
As I move around the Hue slider you can see how different objects will pop and fade depending on the position of the slider. Notice the differences in the Yellow Float, Blue Water and Orange Bucket at the different Hue values...
I now have what I consider a far superior conversion to the original I got with plain desaturation. But this wouldn't be a worthy blog post if I didn't give you my best Ron Popiel and tell you, "Wait, there's more!!" We've just been playing with the hue at the Master Color level. What if I drill down to the individual colors and play with them one at a time? In the layer window I go to the drop down and start moving through the colors, hanging the Blues and Cyans to bring out the detail in the water, tweaking the reds to bring out the bucket on the dock. And remember, you can play with both the Hue and Saturation levels now and maintain your B&W image...
Now I have an image that more accurately reflects what my brain sees when it looked at the original color image and imagined it in Black and White (compare to the simple desaturation)...
Oh, and because I know you're curious, what would this Black & White image look like in color? Just go back to the top layer and add back your Saturation...
Not exactly what I'd call a pure conversion.
Giving credit where credit is due, my eternal thanks to my brother, Tony Kurdzuk, for the lesson. Tony is a full time news photographer at the Star Ledger, as well as a digital photography instructor with experience that goes back to the first batch of Kodak backed cameras in the late 80's/early 90's. He's a pretty darn good photographer (NJ Press Photographer of the Year three times, East Coast Press Photographer of the year once). Feel free to look up his stuff at NJ.com
I posted this as a blog about a year ago and was asked if I could submit it as a tutorial. Here you go...
I've always found that the basic level of B&W conversion available in Lightroom and Photoshop to be adequate at best, simply desaturating the image and leaving you with an image that is a little flat and one-dimensional requiring you to then tweak it to the best of your abilities. Tools like Nik's Silver Efex Pro 2 do a fantastic job of converting to black and white, but not everyone can or wants to invest in another piece of software, particularly after spending money on Photoshop or Elements. So the question is, how do I convert my vibrant color image to a B&W photo that I'm happy with? Here's a way that I was taught that works very effectively.
(Note: I'm using Photoshop Elements 9 in the photos below since it should provide a basic starting point for most folks here. These techniques should be easily adaptable to newer versions of Elements or to Photoshop.)
The most basic black & white conversion method is simply to take the color image and completely remove any saturation. As you can see, details that are very clear in the color image, like the net and line, are all but lost in the conversion, and playing with brightness and contrast will do little to bring them out.
Starting Image + 100% Desaturated Image (click on an image to enlarge further):
This is because once color has multiple components, Hue Saturation and Luminance, and by removing the Saturation component you can run into collisions and near collisions with the remaining components. Without getting into great detail, here is an example of what appear to be some pretty start differences in colors, and then those same colors desaturated. With the larger blocks you see some colors merge, and with the two greens you can see that the two greens swap in terms of which you considered lighter or darker. This is because of how Hue and Luminance interact.
While there is no easy way to play with the luminance of a desaturated image, my brother, who has a couple decades experience shooting digital as a pro and teaches classes in Photoshop, offered me this tip in how I can make my B&W conversions pop without spending money on conversion programs.
As previously, take your original image and add a Hue/Saturation layer, but this time set the Blending Mode to "Color" instead of the default of "Normal"...
Now add a second Hue/Saturation layer, this time leaving the Mode set to Normal and desaturate as before...
Now, switch back to the first Hue/Saturation layer. Making adjustments here has the effect of applying all sorts of colored filters, but to an exponential level, simply by moving the Hue adjustment bar. By simply moving the Hue to the far right you can see how the bright yellow float in the middle of the net, which disappeared in the original conversion, now pops out again as it did in the color image...
As I move around the Hue slider you can see how different objects will pop and fade depending on the position of the slider. Notice the differences in the Yellow Float, Blue Water and Orange Bucket at the different Hue values...
I now have what I consider a far superior conversion to the original I got with plain desaturation. But this wouldn't be a worthy blog post if I didn't give you my best Ron Popiel and tell you, "Wait, there's more!!" We've just been playing with the hue at the Master Color level. What if I drill down to the individual colors and play with them one at a time? In the layer window I go to the drop down and start moving through the colors, hanging the Blues and Cyans to bring out the detail in the water, tweaking the reds to bring out the bucket on the dock. And remember, you can play with both the Hue and Saturation levels now and maintain your B&W image...
Now I have an image that more accurately reflects what my brain sees when it looked at the original color image and imagined it in Black and White (compare to the simple desaturation)...
Oh, and because I know you're curious, what would this Black & White image look like in color? Just go back to the top layer and add back your Saturation...
Not exactly what I'd call a pure conversion.
Giving credit where credit is due, my eternal thanks to my brother, Tony Kurdzuk, for the lesson. Tony is a full time news photographer at the Star Ledger, as well as a digital photography instructor with experience that goes back to the first batch of Kodak backed cameras in the late 80's/early 90's. He's a pretty darn good photographer (NJ Press Photographer of the Year three times, East Coast Press Photographer of the year once). Feel free to look up his stuff at NJ.com
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