pamorl
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photosenior wrote:
pamorl-
I like your conversion!
Can you explain how you did this is some greater detail?
Thanks!
Thank you, Photosenior  Here ya go...
You can do a b+w conversion of a flat, underexposed color image using whatever method you like, then try to punch it up using various techniques, but in order to increase the contrast and give it a 3 dimensional look, the image quality is going to degrade if you have to push a flat b+w image very far.
For this reason I've always found that the best b+w conversions come from good quality color images. By "good quality", I mean having decent contrast and tonal range.
So, my first step in making this b+w conversion was to bring the color version up to an acceptable level first. This is what I meant when I said that I "optimized the color image". Sorry for the confusion
Here are the steps I used:
1 - The original image:
Here are the RGB channels of the original image. You can see that using the channel mixer (or any other conversion method) really wouldn't be useful at this point. All the channels are flat and lack contrast:
2 - So, I used curves and levels to adjust the color image and bring in some contrast:
Here are the RGB channels of the new adjusted (optimized) color image. As you can see, the channels now have depth and contrast. From this point, you can use just about any conversion method to get a good result. Even using the channel of your choice straight up would give acceptable results (select the channel, copy, then paste into a new layer).
3 - I use several conversion methods, but here I used a gradient map adjustment layer to do the conversion. It gives a nice smooth result. I didn't want it too contrasty at this point because I wanted to have room to polish it off. With that in mind, I left it slightly undercooked:
Every b+w conversion needs some final polishing to really make it shine. On this I burned and dodged using levels and curves to get the final result.
I noticed you mentioned something about the shadow detail, Cronic. Remember that everything is under your control. Also, to make an image pop and have depth, contrast is key. That means you need rich dark blacks for the light tones to play off. Too much shadow detail means less rich black areas to give depth, which leads to a flat looking image. It's a fine line you have to ride.
It's also important to distinguish between shadow detail and important shadow detail. Keep important shadow detail and crush the rest to prop up your lighter tones and give good contrast to the highlights. This will give your b+w's punch.
Here's the finished version with a little more shadow detail:
Hope this helps!
Pam
Edited on Aug 28, 2008 at 08:10 AM
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