Graphics Programs Reference
In-Depth Information
Although Photoshop has its own Black & White conversion adjustment layer, I never,
ever use it, but that's only because it totally stinks (I don't know any pros who use it).
I think you can create a much better black-and-white conversion using Camera Raw,
and it's much faster and looks infinitely better. Well, that is as long as you don't get
suckered into using the HSL/Grayscale panel in Camera Raw, which is nothing more
than the Black & White adjustment layer hiding in Camera Raw, trying to sucker in
some poor unsuspecting soul.
Converting to
Black and White
Step One:
We'll start by opening a color image in
Camera Raw (as seen here). Converting
from color to black and white is simple—
just click on the HSL/Grayscale icon (the
fourth one from the left) and then turn
on the Convert to Grayscale checkbox
at the top of the panel (as seen here).
That's all you want to do here (trust me).
By the way, I did two little fixes to the
photo unrelated to the B&W conversion:
(1) I straightened it using the Straighten
tool (it was a little crooked), and (2) the
building (the back side of the Taj Mahal)
had a lens distortion problem, so I ad-
justed the Vertical distortion in the Lens
Corrections panel (as shown here).
Step Two:
Once you click on that Convert to Gray-
scale checkbox, it gives you an incredibly
flat conversion (like you see here), and
you might be tempted to drag those color
sliders around, until you realize that since
the photo is already converted to black
and white, you're kind of dragging around
in the dark. So, the best advice I can give
you is to get out of this panel just as fast
as you can. It's the only hope for making
this flat-looking grayscale image blossom
into a beautiful butterfly of a B&W image
(come on, I at least get five points for the
butterfly metaphor).
