Any recommendations on good plugins for photoshop to convert color to black and white?
Any recommendations on good plugins for photoshop to convert color to black and white?
Ed Richards
http://www.epr-art.com
One I have seen reviewed is Convert to B+W Pro:
http://www.luminous-landscape.com/re...ust-have.shtml
I find using the LAB colorspace does all that I need. See if your local library has The Canyon Conundrum, lots of useful info.
http://www.amazon.com/Photoshop-LAB-.../dp/0321356780
Hi Ed,
I think the NIK plug-ins has a very good one. it comes bundled with other filters.
I don't think you need a plug in to make good B&W conversions.
Make 2 seperate Hue/sat layers
ON the top sat. layer slide the sat. slider all the way to the left
on the sat layer that would be between the top sat. layer and the background layer
slide the sat. slider to the right at about 50
set the blending mode to soft light on this layer
now use the hue slider and slide either left or right until the desired effect
use some curve layers to fine tune
Hope this makes sense this assumes you have photoshop.
BR
www.brianreedphotography.com
Last edited by brian reed; 6-Dec-2006 at 16:12.
The best---and least expensive (free)--I have used is from TLR (The Lights Right Studio). Google the name and go to the site--full of great photoshop scripts and actions. I use thier pro sharpener with great results.
Hope this helps.
You don't really need a plugin at all, you can do very simple and yet very effective conversion yourself:
1. Create an empty layer above the image
2. Fill it with pure black
3. Change blending mode to "Color"
4. Create a "Hue and Saturation" adjustment layer between that layer and the image
5. Adjust tonality by using Hue slider on this layer.
5a. As a variation, you can try checking "Colorize" box on.
5b. As another variation, you can also play with Saturation slider
That's all to it, no more complicated than learning how to use a plug-in.
Once that is done, you can do the following:
1. Convert to Grayscale
2. Convert to Duotone and pick the duo/quadtone you like
3. Convert back to RGB
4. Adjust saturation - usually in the range of -15 to -30, but this is entirely optional and a matter of taste and of selected duo/quadtone.
I sometimes have to convert color to B&W for clients, and the best plugin I`ve found is B/W-styler. Works with familiar darkroom terms.
B/W-styler
Amund
_________________________________________
Digital is nice but film is like having sex with light.
I have a good PS action from Caponigro. It is what he describes in his book. Email me if anyone wants it.
Thanks,
Kirk
at age 73:
"The woods are lovely, dark and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep"
Lots of options here for sure. However, if you are used to working in a traditional B&W darkroom I feel you will find Convert to B&W Pro a very useful tool:
You choose lens filtration color and strength; then choose your film color response (several presets to match Tri-X, FP4, Delta, etc or you can create your own); then you adjust negative exposure, paper exposure and contrast; then you can tone the final result if desired. All of this is done on the active layer, so it is easy to blend/mask different versions done on different layers for maximum control over the final result.
By the way this conversion action is 87 steps long. I own most all the plug=ins, Convert to B&W Pro, Fred Miranda's etc and this action is the best, quick and it gives you maximum possible easily. As someone who spent twenty years shooting nothing but Tri-X and the next ten shooting T-Max, I found Convert to B&W Pro to not even come close to appoximating those films and really no conversion program will. It is an entirely separate medium.
The key to dramatic conversions is saturation. For instance the more saturated a blue sky is the darker you can render it in B&W.
Thanks,
Kirk
at age 73:
"The woods are lovely, dark and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep"
If you asked for and didn't get the action already, email me again. So many people asked for it that I may have missed a couple.
Thanks,
Kirk
at age 73:
"The woods are lovely, dark and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep"
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