Photoshop 101: Convert a Color Photo to Black & White

When taking pictures with a digital camera, by default the picture will be in color. Most point and shoot cameras along with a few DSLR offer a black and white mode. This is great if you’re looking for low contrast and flat pictures. To get the most range from an image, take the picture in color and convert it to black and white with Photoshop or other imaging programs.

Let’s get started! Any picture can be converted to black and white. The better the input image the better the final product will be. If your image is properly exposed, your BW conversion will look better. Images with a reasonable amount of contrast will convert to a powerful black and white. In this example, the light sky against the dark water along with the silhouette seems like a good start for a black and white.

Open the image to be converted

Create a levels adjustment layer; bring the highlights and shadows in if necessary

To create an adjustment layer; from the menu select ‘Layer’|‘New Adjustment Layer’|‘Levels’

Create a channel mixer adjustment layer; ‘Layer’|‘New Adjustment Layer’|‘Channel Mixer’

When the dialog box appears, click the Monochrome check box

Experiment with the values, as a general rule they should equal 100%

Add a curves adjustment layer, this will allow you to fine tune the image output

To make the sky more dramatic, add a levels adjustment layer.

Change the blend mode to linear burn

Select the brush tool, make sure black is the foreground color. Select a soft edge brush that is about 400 pixels. Set the opacity to 40%, brush to reveal the foreground

If you want to make further adjustments, you can do so using the ‘adjustment layers’ created earlier, that haven’t changed the original image or other layers. Use the visibility (the eye) to see what effect a layer has on the image. Once your happy with the conversion, flatten the image, select ‘Layer’|‘Flatten Image’ and enjoy your custom black and white conversion