Hi there. I am new to this forum - I normally shoot sports and post a bit in the SportsCorner forum. I thought I'd try some B&W conversions on a few holiday shots. These were done using Calculations, blending the red and green channels in various configurations. I generally like the results, but I'm not sure my eyes are tuned in to the nuances of B&W conversions. I would really appreciate some feedback.
Travis, are you really surrounded by that many women? And no guys? That's either very good or very, very bad!
Anyway, nice conversions - #3 in particular. As for other options, there are a bunch of B&W actions out there. I like the one from Rob Carr, as well the ones from the "Photography Instructor". I usually end up tweaking them at the end, but those actions get me pretty close without much effort.
My favorite thing to do with B&W is go a bit crazy with the contrast. This feel flat to me, but thats because of what I am used to... Otherwise, these are good B&W conversions!
Travis, you ladies man, you. What would your wife say? Then again, she's probably related to some of the these people.
I agree with Kevin above, they are a bit flat, and even though I sometimes like the low contrast B&W look, it's don't work as well for these. Also check your focus on 4.
You have done really well in your conversions. I esopecially like the tonal range you have preserved in every photo. I can see great detail in the dark as well as the light areas. The white jumper/cardigan in NO.4 has amazing texture and detail but there is also detail the darker subject next to her. The same goes for all the photos except for NO.3 where the white plates have lost detail and just look like circles of light. There is nothing you could do about this as the plates are white! and thye are directly lit by the room lights. The faces (most important to me) retain great tones, so I don't mind the plates being totally white.
