Photoshop CS3 Black and White

[r.e.]

As many of you may know, the current version of Photoshop has a new way of converting colour to black and white. I'm just beginning to try it out.

Two questions:

What are your views/suggestions on this utility for converting to black and white?

What are you views/suggestions on using this utility on a black and white negative that has been scanned RGB?

Thanks

[SamReeves]

It's an interesting addition to CS3, but I still feel most comfortable with the channel mixer.

[Daniel_Buck]

I haven't used it, but it looks to be what you could get with the aforementioned channel mixer, hue/saturation and selective color layer types (when stuck under a desaturate layer or channel mixer->monotone layer).

That being the case, I don't think you'll see any benefit when used on scanned B&W film/prints. Because basically what those tools do is tell which particular color to make brighter or darker (when doing a B&W) so scanning something that is already B&W will have very little effect with those tools. If you look at the RGB channels of a B&W scan (even if scanned in color mode) you'll find that the channels are almost identical. So, at most you'll probably just push scanner noise/grain around. and get no real change to the image tones.

On color film/digital, this tool will probably be very useful, I've seen other tools like this in other software, and it's pretty handy for converting color to B&W. Though if you are used to the other tools that already exist in Photoshop, you probably won't get much better/different results, it'll just be a bit faster. You'll just have to watch out if you start cranking on the colors to much, as the channels don't always line up perfectly (chromatic abberation, or what have you), and you'll end up with edging in fine details or lines (like a horizon line, or a tree outline) and enhanced noise/grain. For relatively mild tweaking, there should be no problems.

[Asher Kelman]

I think that for colored images, the best approach is to explore and compare a number of B&W derivatives

• mode: Gray Scale
  
• LAB Luminence channel only
  
• RGB desaturated in hue Sat
  
• Single channel chosen from the 3 RGB channels
  
• and then as mentioned aboveby Daniel, some more complex procedure for reassigning hues as luminosity values so one gets distribution in the B&W image that gives the most satisfacotry image to the photographer's mind.

I find that it is useful to combine different parts of the image derived from these different methods as one needs.

This way, one has immense control of what is possible. Thus for example, one can make a pattern in an old building show well even though the brightness and contrast of the paint or bricks would normally give close hardly distinguishable tonalities.

One has to be careful that in doing this one uses color reassignment sparingly and be careful not to ruin shadows by extreme changes. I find it helpful to do ones best and then blend this back with say 4-20% of the simply made greay scale conversions (L channel, one RGB channel, Greyscale mode or desaturated RGB file. That way one protects the image from extremes that happen fropm concentrating on effects rather than the whole image.

Asher

[bob carnie]

I really like the convert to B&W function , it is quite flexible and great for separating colour tonalitys to record well as different tones in BW.
Wonderful feature IMO

[Kirk Gittings]

The new convert to B&W function is a great tool for mimicking the effects of b&W filters in virtually infinite combinations. But as JP Caponigro says your ability to manipulate tone in a conversion is all about the saturation of the original color file. The more saturation the more tonal shift you can accomplish.

[Robbie Shymanski]

The RAW conversion in CS3 is brilliant using the saturation sliders. Much as I hate to admit, I'd prefer to shoot BW in digital as a color file and convert in CS3. It is disgusting how quick and easy it. The tonal variation is amazing.

[Kirk Gittings]

One example. I was in the Canyonlands earlier this week with Don Boyd. Overall I was shooting filtered B&W Acros. When we encountered some great faded reddish pictographs on yellow sandstone, though I switched to color negative for conversion. Why?....in my experience with similar sites there is no filter which will help separate these two complimentary colors. With color conversion though I can neutralize the yellows, saturate the reds and then get superior separation of the pictograph from the sandstone background in the b&w conversion.

[Marko]

Adobe Camera Raw 4.1 also has a set of b&w conversion tools, including split toning. I don't know why they didn't include that in the regular b&w conversion, but ACR will now also open jpgs and possibly other formats, not just RAW files.

[Oren Grad]

ACR will now also open jpgs and possibly other formats, not just RAW files.

Yes, ACR now opens TIFFs as well.