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How to Achieve Great Black and White Photos in Editing

26 Jul

The post How to Achieve Great Black and White Photos in Editing appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Nisha Ramroop.

achieve-great-black-and-white-photos

While every image has the potential to convert to black and white, it is no secret that some translate better. Whether you shoot in color (and convert) or shoot monochromatic, black and white photography is an art form from capture to post-processing. If you see black and white/monochromatic photography as a creative choice though, here are a few tips to consider to achieve great black and white photos.

Before delving into some of the simpler ways to edit black and white images, three things to consider when capturing (and processing) are contrast, texture, and composition.

Note: While the terms “black and white” and “monochrome” are used interchangeably they are not identical. Monochrome means a single color, so may contain a tint (of one color). True black and white imagery have no coloring at all, thus is essentially black, white and gray.

1. Contrast

Thinking with the end result of black and white in mind means thinking in contrasts. Thus look out for high contrast scenes when capturing your image. The interrelation between the light and dark areas allows you to create and emphasize shapes, edges, and forms. These include strong or interesting shadows and extremes between areas of brightness and shadow within your frame.

2. Texture

When you choose monochrome, texture is that element that takes your image to the next level. It gives your image added dimension by providing a variance in the tonal range. Texture lends more realistic detail to your frame when it evokes a sense of touch. Some textures that work well in black and white images include dirt, stone, metals, and wood. Trees, water and aged skin also translate well.

3. Composition

Oftentimes you may find it difficult to pre-visualize your scene without color. Your camera (DSLR or DSLM) most likely allows you the option of shooting both RAW and JPEG images simultaneously. By choosing the setting on your camera for black and white (also called monochrome), the images on your camera’s LCD will appear black and white, so you can revise your composition while shooting. In this scenario, you still maintain your color RAW file for processing later on, but can “see” what you will be working with.

As you work more with black and white imagery, you start to see differently. When color is absent, the other compositional elements of the image become more important. Some of these include lines, shapes, framing, and perspective.

The river as a leading line

One of the strongest compositional elements is leading lines that pull your eyes into the frame. Any line or elements that make up a line, that recedes towards the horizon is called a leading line. There are numerous examples of these and they include rivers, streets, coastlines, railway tracks, and even buildings.

Sometimes when you convert an image to black and white, this compositional element becomes even stronger, which makes you reconsider your final crop or presentation of the image.

Black and white editing

When shooting color images to later convert to black and white, you have many options. The simplest is desaturating all the color and ending up with varying shades of gray. This is sometimes the ending point for high contrasts scenes as it may need nothing more.

Do not be so quick to desaturate everything though! Depending on what you want to achieve, these captured color ranges can be used to your advantage.

A high contrast rainy day image is a good candidate for a black & white

HSL (Hue, Saturation, Luminosity)

The HSL Panel can be found in Adobe Lightroom and Camera Raw and comparable to using a Black and White Adjustment layer in Photoshop. It is widely used and thus highly probable to find these three adjustments in other editing software as well. These adjustments are worth learning and are not as daunting as they first appear.

The first step in ACR is to check the Convert to Grayscale box

As the name implies, HSL adjusts the hue, saturation, and luminosity of the color in your image. There are individual color sliders for red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue and magenta. So why exactly is this a factor when the topic is black and white processing?

With the HSL panel, when you convert to black and white, you still have access to the color information of the image. You are now able to adjust these using the sliders and can end up with a drastically different image. You can control how light or dark each color is and achieve greater separation in your tones.

Using the color sliders, and pushing the blue on the HSL panel

Tonal contrast

Where complementary and analogous colors bring the image to life in a color photo; in a black and white photo, tonal contrast can take that image to the next level.

Unlike color photography, black and white has traditionally been a “contrasty” medium. Contrast is the difference between the light and dark areas in your image. Tonal contrast is the difference in the brightness (light intensity) among the various elements in an image. Thus in a black and white image, it is the difference in the range of white to gray to black.

achieve-great-black-and-white-photos

Tonal contrast is one of the main benefits of shooting black and white HDR (high dynamic range) images. HDR refers to the difference between the brightest and darkest areas of your image, thus it is only fitting that it will translate well as a black and white image.

You can easily take control of your contrast though using the various tools available in your editing software. There are a number of sliders and tools to adjust contrast available in the more popular ones like Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop. In Lightroom, these include the contrast slider, which adjusts the global contrast of the image. There are also black and white specific sliders and the HSL panel above. In Photoshop, you can use either the Levels or Curves tool.

Conclusion

The thought process of what will help you achieve great black and white photos, to capture and processing them is a great journey to take. Look for contrast and texture and try to visualize your end result. If you captured your image in color, you can maximize the color range for your black and white post-processing.

Feel free to share some of your monochromatic takes below.

The post How to Achieve Great Black and White Photos in Editing appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Nisha Ramroop.

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Fujifilm plans to bring back NEOPAN 100 Acros black and white film by the end of the year

10 Jun

Fujifilm has announced it will re-start black and white film manufacturing this year and will bring out a new version of its former Acros film. The new NEOPAN Acros 100 II will feature finer grain and the company claims it will be the sharpest black and white film on the market.

In a press release on the Fujifilm Japan website, President Kenji Sono explains that after the company stopped production of monochrome film last year many of its users asked for production to be started again. Part of the issue for the company, he says, was that some raw materials in the film were hard to source. For the new film alternatives have been found and the production process radically changed to account for them.

Using ‘Super Fine particle technology’ the company has achieved an extremely fine-grained emulsion that produces what are described as 3-dimensional results. Highlight details are also much improved over the way they were rendered in the previous film.

NEOPAN Acros 100 ll is due to go on sale towards the end of the year and will be available in 135 and 120 formats.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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CatLABS introduces FILM 80, a new black and white film in 120 format, sheet film to follow

04 May

US film camera equipment store and distributor CatLABs has introduced its own brand of black and white negative film that it claims is unique and not available anywhere else. CatLABs says its FILM 80 is a classic emulsion along the lines of Kodak’s Panatomic-X with a high silver content and very fine grain.

Obviously Panatomic-X was rated at ASA 32 and this new emulsion isn’t quite as slow, but CatLABS says it can be rated anywhere between ISO 50 and 800 with different processing techniques and it will still produce a wide tonal range. It can be processed in a number of different developers but 9.30 minutes is the quoted time for standard work at ISO 80 in stock solutions of Ilford ID11 or Kodak D76. Agfa Rodinal is recommended for down rating to ISO 50.

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The film is available now in 120 rolls, and will soon come out in sheet formats. It will be early 2020 before 135 format can be bought. A roll of 120 costs $ 5.55 or a pack of ten can be had for $ 55. See the CatLABS website for more details.

Manufacturer’s information:

CatLABS X FILM 80 (120) BW Negative Film

CatLABS X FILM 80 is a traditional, slow-speed, fine-grain, high silver content film, designed for a wide array of shooting conditions.

Following in the footsteps of Kodak’s famous ‘Panatomic-X’ (which was used in Polaroid’s equally famous Type 55 film), CatLABS X FILM 80 brings back a classic touch with its unique look.

An ideal “daylight” film, offering versatility and unique characteristics not found in any other currently made film on the market today.

Characterized by its very fine grain, moderate contrast and deep tonal range.
Exhibits a wide exposure latitude under various lighting conditions, and extreme flexibility in processing options.

Rate it at 50 ISO when shooting indoors (under studio lighting) for extreme fine-grain, or push it as high as 800 when shooting in low light conditions.

CatLABS X FILM 80/120 has an IE of 80 ISP.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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This is the first ever photograph of a black hole

10 Apr

Credit: Event Horizon Telescope Collaboration

Editor’s note: It appears the National Science Foundation has taken down the link to the full-resolution image, likely due to the ridiculous bandwidth required to load a 183.3MB image. We will leave the original link in its place for the time being until we can find an officially mirrored image to put in its place.

As promised a week ago, the results of the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) project have been unveiled to the world, showing the first ever photograph of a supermassive black hole.

The picture above, which you can find a full-resolution version of on the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) website (183.3MB TIF), shows a black hole at the center of the galaxy Messier 87 (M87). The black hole, located 55 million light years from Earth, is 6 billion times more massive than our Sun and 1,500 times more massive than Sagittarius A* (Sgr A*), the black hole at the center of our own galaxy, the Milky Way.

The black disk at the center of the image is a shadow of the event horizon. Surrounding it is an orange glow made up of hot gas that’s managed to escape the strong gravitational pull of the black hole. In the words of the NSF, who helped to fund the EHT Project, the image is ‘not simulation or conjecture, but chaotic photons surrounding an unimaginable void.’

From Brussels: “Finally! No more simulations. You are looking for the very first time, at a real black hole.” #EHTblackhole #realblackhole #blackholecam pic.twitter.com/HH3m4v3fHH

— Event Horizon ‘Scope (@ehtelescope) April 10, 2019

The data used to create the image was captured in a week’s time back in April 2017 with the help of eight different radio telescopes across five continents, but it’s taken until now to gather, process and review that data. As noted by The Verge, Davide Castelvecchi of Nature News wrote back in 2017 that ‘A typical night will yield about as much data as a year’s worth of experiments at the Large Hadron Collider outside Geneva, Switzerland.’

Below is a video explainer of the EHT project and its mission.

Once all of the data was captured from the eight telescopes across the globe, the data had to be physically sent to centralized locations where it was parsed through by a supercomputer for months on end to create the image we’ve been shown today.

In addition to processing the data, the final image and accompanying information was stringently peer-reviewed ahead of today’s release, ‘as a part of the standard process of peer-review required for any scientific publication.’

Update (April 10, 2019): This article has been updated to clarify that the black center of the image is not the event horizon itself, but a shadow caused by the activity at the event horizon.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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European officials expected to announce first image of black hole on April 10

03 Apr

European officials are expected to announce the first ever image of a black hole at a press event scheduled for 15:00 CEST on April 10. The conference will be held by the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) project, European Commission, and European Research Council, according to an announcement by the European Organisation for Astronomical Research in the Southern Hemisphere (ESO), and it will involve the presentation of ‘a groundbreaking result from the EHT.’

The Event Horizon Telescope project has been operating with the goal of capturing an image of a black hole. Until now, all videos and images of black holes are simulations based on what scientists know about them. As explained on the EHT website, the project involves radio dishes around the world that are linked together to form ‘a fundamentally new instrument’ for observing a black hole.

The EHT project has focused on Sagittarius A* (aka, SgrA*), the black hole at the center of the Milky Way, and M87, the black hole at the center of the Virgo A galaxy. ESO’s press conference invite didn’t specify whether the EHT announcement will concern SgrA* or M87, however. Given EHT’s goal, it’s reasonable to guess that the team will unveil humanity’s first image of a black hole.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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Experimenting with Low Key Black and White Photography

28 Mar

The post Experimenting with Low Key Black and White Photography appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Kevin Landwer-Johan.

Think dark, moody shadows. Sparse illumination and a somber atmosphere. No color. This is low key black and white photography.

Experimenting with Low Key Black and White Photography Dark Male Portrait

Usually one main light, or ‘key’ light, falls on your subject and the background fades to black. It’s all about the highlights and shadows and how they define the shapes in your composition.

Subject selection for shape

Low-key lighting will not suit every subject. You will find bold subjects and bold composition of subjects are best for low-key photography.

Busy scenes with a lot of detail end up looking jumbled and are best avoided. Or at least composed in such a way as to make the content in your photo minimal.

Experimenting with Low Key Black and White Photography Novice Monk Portrait

A novice monk in a shrine was the center of my attention. Around him was clutter. Bright sunlight shone through an opening with a grid, making the light directional.

By selecting to make my exposure based on the highlight on his face I have made the scene work in low-key black and white. The candles, people, Buddha image, and other distractions in the background are insignificant. Had I included them in my composition the impact of the simple outline of his face would be lost.

Exposure choice is essential

Low-key lighting is as much about the shadows as it is about the light.

Let the darkness envelope all but your main subject. Even let it consume most of your subject. So long as it enhances what you want to show.

Taking an exposure reading from the highlight area, when the light is harsh and the background is darker, creates a moodiness.

Experimenting with Low Key Black and White Photography High Structure Harsh in Silver Efex Pro

Small Buddha statue photographed on a bright, sunny afternoon

Set your ISO for the overall amount of light. Outside on a sunny day you need to keep your ISO low. Inside, or in other situations where there’s not much light, choose a higher ISO.

Balancing your aperture and shutter speed to the brightest parts of your composition will expose well.

This method of exposure will provide you highlights with detail and shadows rendering black, (or close to black.)

Experimenting with your settings will help you understand this principle. If you haven’t tried this, don’t make one exposure, make many of the same subject at various settings. When you view them on your computer, look at the metadata for the settings you used and make comparisons. Which settings give you the most pleasing results?

See in black and white

How will the tones of what you are seeing in color translate to black and white?

Complementary colors will help provide contrast in your black and white photos. Blue, violet and red convert to darker tones. Green, yellow and orange will convert to lighter tones.

Experimenting with Low Key Black and White Photography Muddy Ceramin Artist

Setting your camera monitor display to grayscale will help you learn to see in black and white. When you try this at first look at the colors in your composition and see how they are shown in grayscale.

Color contrast is more critical when the light is softer. When the light is soft, it’s more challenging to make low-key photographs because the overall tone values are evener.

Squint your eyes to help you see

When you’re not sure if there’s enough contrast in a scene for a low-key black and white photo, squint your eyes. Doing this reduces what you see and contrast becomes more apparent.

Compare the brightest and darkest areas in what you are looking at. Train your eyes to understand when there will be enough contrast.

Experimenting with Low Key Black and White Photography Low Key Bottles

With your eyes open you can see a broader tone range than your camera is capable of recording. By squinting your eyes you are effectively narrowing the tone range which is visible to you.

The importance of post-processing for low-key digital photography

Even though your camera records a reduced tone range compared to what you see, it’s still recording more than you want for a low-key photo. Certainly more than photographing with black and white film.

Post-processing your photos to achieve the contrast and minimal tone range requires a different technique than it does for images showing a wide range of tones.

When you’ve made photos where you expose for the highlights it’s easy to darken the shadows during post-processing.

Experimenting with Low Key Black and White Photography Low Key Eyes

These are the tools I most frequently use when processing low-key photos to reduce the shadow detail:

Contrast
Blacks
Shadows
Highlights and Whites
The Burn tool (or similar)

Enhancing the overall contrast boosts the highlights and diminishes shadow detail. Increasing the blacks and decreasing the shadows will help gain the effect you want also.

Manipulating the whites and highlights will help you keep some detail in the brightest parts of your image. If the detail is totally removed low-key photos can still look okay, but it’s good to be mindful of this and make sure it’s a deliberate choice.

As with all post-processing there are many different ways to achieve the same or similar results. Experiment and find what works best for you with each photograph you work on. The more you try different methods the more skilled and quicker you will become.

Plug-ins and apps can make post-processing easier

I love using the Silver Efex Pro plug-in with Photoshop. There’s a good selection of presets which can also be customized after you have applied them.

Don’t get stuck thinking you need to use the Low-Key presets. If you’ve got your light and exposure right, other options will be more effective.

Experimenting with Low Key Black and White Photography Fine Art Process with extra burning in

I used the Silver Efex Pro preset ‘Fine Art Process’ and added extra burning in. © Kevin Landwer-Johan

Conclusion

Photography is very subjective. Like any form of creative expression, I believe there’s no real right or wrong way to express yourself.

Most important is that you take your photos and post process with intent. Knowing what you want before you press your shutter release will help you obtain the look and feel you want.

These few techniques outlined here are by no means exhaustive or complete. I want to encourage you to experiment. I hope these points give you some foundation to work on when experimenting with low key black and white photography.

Once you’ve had a chance to try some on your own please post your pictures and leave your comments below.

The post Experimenting with Low Key Black and White Photography appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Kevin Landwer-Johan.

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Using Color Temperature in Black and White Conversions

26 Mar

The post Using Color Temperature in Black and White Conversions appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Adam Welch.

Digital photography has opened up enormous possibilities for black and white photography. The ability to first shoot in color and then convert the image to black and white offers photographers a way to express themselves in ways that reach beyond the influence of color. Well, for the most part.

You see, advanced black and white conversions take advantage of the different luminance values present in our RAW files so that we can individually manipulate those values after we have converted the color image to black and white. Usually, this is done via the HSL (BW) Panel in Lightroom or other processing software.

color-temperature-black-and-white-digital-photography-school-adam-welch

But there is one ingredient of the black and white pie that gets constantly overlooked during the average photographers (let’s pretend) black and white conversion process; color temperature. I know, the operative word here is COLOR and black and white photos…you know…don’t really have a lot of color.

In this article, we’re going to take a cruise aimed at getting a little closer to understanding how much of a role color temperature plays in our digital black and white conversions. We’ll look at how we can leverage this constantly neglected aspect of digital black and white photography so that we have many more opportunities to make even more impressive monochromatic images.

I also intend to make at least one black and white related pun before the end.

Let’s get started!

A quick refresher on color temperature

When we talk about color temperature, we are referring to the hue-based Kelvin scale (there’s a temperature-based one too) which measures the hue of color and thus relates to white balance; which is the theoretical absence of color cast within an image. More blue or “cool” colors have a higher Kelvin number, and more red or “warmer” colors have a lower Kelvin number.

“Adam…but wait! Most image processing software shows lower Kelvin color temperatures as blue and warmer colors as red!”

Yes, you are precisely correct. You paid excellent attention in science class!

color-temperature-black-and-white-digital-photography-school-adam-welch

In short, the color temperature sliders in most photo editors are in fact reversed from the true Kelvin scale. From what I’ve gathered, this inversion is due to the approach that white balance adjustments in digital photography are based on “compensation” rather than direct cooling or warming of colors. This means that if a photo is “cool” out of the camera, we will tell the software to “warm it up” by increasing the Kelvin value to bring the white balance closer to the original scene. Thereby, making the photo perceptibly warmer.

Yeah, it’s confusing.

Luckily, we don’t have to worry about any of that.

For our purposes, we are just concerned with how the cool or warm the colors are within the image regardless of actual numeric Kelvin temperature.

Thank goodness for that.

How color temperature affects black and white photos

The remainder of this article assumes that you are shooting in RAW format or at the very least in color JPEG.

We need the color information from the image file to exploit the impact of color temperature on luminance values after the black and white conversion. This means it is imperative that you do not shoot in a dedicated monochromatic mode.

Got it? Good.

Now that we’ve got that out of the way it’s time to experiment.

Let’s first convert an image to black and white in Lightroom Classic CC and see what happens when we begin to adjust the color temperature. I just happen to have a photo ready to go right here. It is a RAW file with a relatively well-balanced color temperature that I converted to black and white.

color-temperature-black-and-white-digital-photography-school-adam-welch

Color temperature slider set to 5050K in Lightroom

First, let’s slide the color temperature slider entirely to the left and “cool” the image.

Color temperature slider at 2000K in Lightroom

Next, we’ll move the color temperature slider all the way to the right to “warm” the image.

Color temperature slider set to 50000K in Lightroom

From this, we can see that there are some readily apparent changes in contrast based solely on the adjustments in color temperature.

So, what exactly is happening here?

Let me show you.

Have a look at the original histogram with conventional white balance:

color-temperature-black-and-white-digital-photography-school-adam-welch-1-2

HIstogram with normal white balance

Now with a much cooler color temperature…

Histogram at 2000K

And lastly, with warmer color temperature.

Histogram at 50000K

When we cool down the image we are causing the colors to become more blue, purple and magenta in hue; hence the shift in the histogram and resulting contrast change. The same is true for the warmer color temperature where the photo becomes more red, orange and yellow.

What we are doing is setting a bias towards certain colors which in turn augments their luminosity when converted to black and white. The benefit here is that these drastic changes in color temperature allow us to make some impressive adjustments to the luminance values beyond what might usually be possible once you have converted it to black and white.

Practical applications

Advanced digital black and white conversions rely heavily on specific adjustments in luminance values based on color information contained within the image file. If we increase the amount of a particular color within an image, we then have more latitude in manipulating the brightness values of that color in relation to the other colors within the photo.

Here are three separate versions of the Golden Gate Bridge photo from earlier. The first photo was processed using the HSL/BW Panel to brighten the bridge and darken the sky.

color-temperature-black-and-white-digital-photography-school-adam-welch-2

Next, I went to work on the 2000K version from earlier. Seeing as the blue tones had skyrocketed, I was able to achieve some interesting results.

color-temperature-black-and-white-digital-photography-school-adam-welch-2

Last but not least is the warm-toned version which clocked in at 50000K. Which if you recall, would make the photo cooler instead of warmer if we were operating in the world. However, we’re not. This is photography.

color-temperature-black-and-white-digital-photography-school-adam-welch-2

These extreme swings in color temperature are useful almost exclusively in the domain of black and white digital photography. Outside of that, the only result will be gruesomely unappealing white balance.

color-temperature-black-and-white-digital-photography-school-adam-welch-2

I mean really unappealing (caption)

color-temperature-black-and-white-digital-photography-school-adam-welch-2

Just look at it…terrible.

Ok, I’ll admit that maybe I low-key like that last one.

Final thoughts on color temperature and black and white photos

We can get caught up with the idea that there are certain “rules” which must always be adhered to when we process our photos.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

While it’s true that color temperature plays an important role in rendering colors within your image accurately, we must remember that we are still allowed to paint outside the lines whenever we choose. Perhaps the benefit of this free-thinking mentality is no more apparent than when it comes to working with our black and white photos.

Making drastic changes to the white balance of your black and white images is not only allowed, but it can make for some exciting outcomes and boost your creative thinking.

Even though your mind may not immediately jump to color when you think of black and white photography, the fact remains that even though we may not see color within a photo, the inherent color information remains (as long as you shoot RAW) and that information is still wholly adjustable, including white balance. The role color temperature plays in processing your photographs is never black and white. See, I told you I would work that pun in there somewhere.

Experimenting with some interesting black and white conversions using color temperature? As always, we’d love to see what you’ve been up to, so feel free to post your photos in the comments below!

The post Using Color Temperature in Black and White Conversions appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Adam Welch.

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How to Develop Better Black and White Photos in Lightroom

08 Mar

The post How to Develop Better Black and White Photos in Lightroom appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Darina Kopcok.

Achieving great looking black & white images in Lightroom is not about converting your colour images to grayscale with the click of your mouse and calling it a day.

Black & white photography is subtle, and it takes experience to see and understand its nuances. Lightroom has a fantastic set of tools to help you create stunning black & white images.

Here are some tips and some mistakes to avoid.

Develop Better Black and White Images in Lightroom-Darina Kopcok-DPS

Converting to black and white

There are several ways to convert your color images to black & white in Lightroom.

You can use one of Lightroom’s presets or completely reduce the color saturation.

Or you can convert your color image to grayscale in Lightroom by simply hitting “V” on your keyboard, or clicking on Black & White under Color Treatment in the Basic panel.

Whatever you decide to do, know that you will have to make some tweaks in Lightroom to get the best possible result.

Develop Better Black and White Images in Lightroom-Darina Kopcok-DPS

Using Black and White Mix

Once you have converted your image, a panel called Black & White Mix will appear under the Tone Curve panel.

The sliders here give you control over the way colors are translated into grey tones in Lightroom. When you convert to grayscale, all the colors will be at zero.

Develop Better Black and White Images in Lightroom-Darina Kopcok-DPS

Making some simple adjustments in this panel can make a dramatic difference in the quality of your photos.

For example, if you’re working on a landscape image, using the blue sliders will help you adjust the sky.

If you’re new to black and white processing in Lightroom, play around with the sliders to see how each of them affect your photo. With a bit of experimentation, you’ll get a feel for which sliders alter the various tones in your image in a way that helps you achieve the look you’re going for. You’ll also develop your signature black and white editing style.

Develop Better Black and White Images in Lightrppm-Darina Kopcok-DPS

Boost Tonal Contrast

In addition to tweaking the Black & White Mix sliders, you should make other manual adjustments in Lightroom to adjust the tonal contrast in your photograph.

Tonal contrast is the differences in brightness throughout your image. If there are stark differences between your tones – say, a very light subject against a dark background, then we would say the photo has a lot of tonal contrast.

One benefit of actually shooting in black & white is that you don’t have to ignore color and try to understand your scene in terms of light or dark tones. Shooting with your DSLR camera in Monochrome Mode will help you with your composition, especially if you’re new to black & white photography.

Develop Better Black and White Images in Lightroom-Darina Kopcok-DPS

Boost texture in your images

A key way to enhance your black & white photographs in Lightroom is to boost texture. Bringing out the texture emphasizes the details in a photograph.

One of the easiest ways to enhance texture in your black & white images is with the Clarity slider.

Clarity increases the contrast in a photograph, but not as drastically as the Contrast slider does.

You have more leeway with clarity in black & white than you do with color.

In Lightroom, there are to ways to work with clarity. One is to use the Clarity slider in the Basic panel. This is a global adjustment that affects the entire photo. You can also selectively add Clarity with the Adjustment Brush.

You want to do this when it makes sense to boost the texture in a certain part of the photo.

If you have an image where the subject is in focus but the background is blurred out, there is no point in adding clarity to the whole image. Focus on the area that you want to enhance. This will increase sharpness. Since the eye tends to go to sharper areas first, it makes sense to boost sharpness selectively. Adding clarity is one way of doing that.

Develop Better Black and White Images in Lightroom-Darina Kopcok-DPS

Mistakes to avoid

Common mistakes that photographers make are related to misuse of texture and contrast.

If you’re converting your color images to grayscale, you’ll notice that they look a little flat. You need to add some contrast, but the problem is that it’s easy to go too far and lose details in the highlights and shadows.

Look closely at your images. Are they too dark in the darker areas? Do they look muddy, or even “crunchy”–with angular rather than blurred edges?

This gives images an over-processed HDR look, which is not desirable in most cases.

Do add contrast and clarity, but fine the right balance for each particular image. The same goes for clarity.

Develop Better Black and White Images in Lightroom-Darina Kopcok-DPS

Again, the amount you add will really depend on the photograph. For example, you may want to add clarity to a portrait of a male to bring out the textures in the skin and hair, but use negative clarity to smooth the skin in a female portrait. Clarity can bring out wrinkles and imperfections in the skin and make the subject look older if not applied with care.

Another mistake photographers make when editing their black & white photos is to over-sharpen them.

When sharpening, I recommend using the Sharpening Mask.

To do this, choose the sharpening level you desire in Lightroom. Hold down the Alt/Option key and slide the Masking slider. You’ll see the image change to look something like an x-ray. This is showing you where Lightroom is intelligently sharpening your photograph.

Developing Black and White in Lightroom-Darina Kopcok-DPS

In most photographs, you don’t necessarily want every single bit of the image sharpened, the same way you don’t need texture in every part of the image. By using Sharpening Mask, you can apply the sharpening to the most important part of the photo. I often leave mine in the range of 70-90.

Plug-Ins

There are a host of plug-ins available for Lightroom that can really enhance your images and your editing process, such as Topaz Black & White, or Perfect B&W.

However, a lot of black & white photography photographers say the gold standard of plug-ins for black & white photography is Silver Efex Pro.

Silver Efex Pro has a tool called Structure, which works in a similar way to Clarity in Lightroom, but has four sliders that help you tweak your tones with a great deal of control. If you shoot a lot of black & white photography, or plan on doing so, this is definitely one plug-in I would recommend that you purchase.

Develop Better Black and White Images in Lightroom-Darina Kopcok-DPS

In Conclusion

To achieve better black & white photos in Lightroom takes a subtle hand and training your eye to look at tones instead of color.

The good thing about Lightroom is that your files are non-destructible, so feel free to tweak your images to your heart’s content. Everything is undoable with the click of your mouse.

With a bit of practice and experimentation, you’ll be developing brilliant black and white images in no time.

If you have any other tips or black and white photos you’d like to share, please do so in the comments section.

The post How to Develop Better Black and White Photos in Lightroom appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Darina Kopcok.

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GoPro Hero 7 Black Review – 5 Things I Love and Dislike About this Camera

11 Feb

The post GoPro Hero 7 Black Review – 5 Things I Love and Dislike About this Camera appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Suzi Pratt.

The GoPro Hero 7 Black is hands down the best action camera on the market right now. With meaningful updates such as incredible stabilization, improved built-in sound, and better app integration, GoPro makes a compelling case for even its most loyal user base to upgrade to the latest model. If you’re on the market for an action camera, read on to find out 5 big reasons why the GoPro Hero 7 Black is the best one for you.

GoPro Hero 7 Black Review

Specs

GoPro released three new action cameras in September 2018: the Hero 7 Black, White, and Silver. The Hero 7 Black is their most premium model at US$ 399, with the other two being stripped down versions. GoPro’s mid-tier camera is the Hero 7 Silver. Priced at US$ 299, the Silver has most of the features of the Hero 7 Black minus Hypersmooth; it’s also capped at taking 10-megapixel photos compared to the Hero 7 Black’s 12 megapixels. GoPro’s new entry-level camera is the Hero 7 White. At US$ 199, you get the same 10-megapixel sensor as the Hero 7 Silver. Most features are retained except for the ability to shoot in 4K video.

Besides the price difference, the Hero 7 Black is also the only model to receive three new key features: HyperSmooth, live streaming, and TimeWarp video. More on all of these features below.

Look and feel

The Hero 7 Black retains the same rubberized design that was first introduced with the Hero 5 Black. Side-by-side, it looks almost identical to the Hero 6 Black. Both cameras have the same 2-inch touchscreen, button placement, and the same ports (USB-C and micro HDMI). They even use the same replaceable batteries.

Before you gripe about GoPro retaining the same camera design, consider this: reusing old designs means you can keep using the same GoPro accessories. This is key as GoPro, and many third-party manufacturers such as Joby have created some truly helpful accessories to get more use out of the camera. So if you have mounts, cages, or adapters for the Hero 5 or 6, rest assured that you can use them all with the Hero 7 Black as well.

GoPro Hero 7 Black Review

5 things I love about the GoPro Hero 7 Black

1. Hypersmooth

Hands down the best feature about the GoPro Hero 7 Black is Hypersmooth. GoPro claims it is the very best in-camera video stabilization on the market, adding gimbal-like stabilization to video footage. After profuse testing, it’s hard to argue. Shooting with Hypersmooth enabled does indeed produce ultra-smooth footage akin to what you would get if you used a gimbal. In turn, this seems to kill the GoPro Karma Grip gimbal as it seems the Hero 7 Black can record video just fine without it.

You can shoot in Hypersmooth even when shooting at 4K 60fps at full resolution. Just be mindful that Hypersmooth can’t be enabled when shooting in 4:3 aspect ratio, and also when shooting in Full HD at 240fps and 120fps.

2. TimeWarp

Also new on the Hero 7 Black is a feature called TimeWarp. In a nutshell, this is timelapse video with HyperSmooth applied. The resulting effect is being able to capture timelapse videos that are ultra stable. This is key for time-lapsing anything with movement, such as driving, hiking, walking, running, or biking. When using TimeWarp, you have the option to record at several different speeds including 2x, 5x, 10x, 15x, and 30x.

3. Same form factor as Hero 5 and 6

On the outside, GoPro made almost no change to the Hero 7. It looks exactly the same as the Hero 5 and 6, and even uses the same batteries. This is actually a good thing. If you’ve invested in GoPro cages or batteries before, you can reuse them with the Hero 7. Also, many third-party companies have created accessories for the Hero 5 and 6. You can use these just fine with the Hero 7.

One design change I’d love to see in future GoPros: a camera that comes with its own mount and doesn’t need to be put in a cage.

4. Touchscreen with revamped UI

While GoPros have had touchscreens for several models now, the user interface has been revamped in the Hero 7 Black. Key information such as resolution and framerate are condensed at the bottom of the screen, while battery life and remaining memory card space are in the upper portion of the screen. Portrait mode has also been added, allowing you to shoot vertical photos and videos for platforms such as Instagram Stories or IGTV.

Speaking of social media, the Hero 7 Black now allows for live streaming. Using WiFi or cellular service, you can conduct a 720p live stream on Facebook. At this time, live streaming to other platforms (ie. YouTube) isn’t yet enabled.

GoPro Hero 7 Black Review

5. Seamless smartphone integration

One of my biggest gripes about modern cameras is how terribly unreliable their smartphone integrations are. While most cameras offer Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity for remote control via smartphones and easily transferring images, it’s always hit or miss whether or not these features will work. With the GoPro, connectivity is the most responsive and reliable I’ve ever seen on a camera. This makes it very easy to use your smartphone to control the GoPro and review photos and videos immediately after capture. Well done, GoPro.

5 things I dislike about the GoPro Hero 7 Black

For all of the things that GoPro improved in the Hero 7 Black, there is still room for improvement. Here are 5 features in particular that I would like to see refined and improved in future generations.

1. Unresponsive screen

While the Hero 7 Black’s touchscreen is largely improved, it has one major shortcoming: it’s not very responsive! This problem also extends to GoPro’s other two buttons. In general, it’s hit or miss whether the GoPro will react to buttons being pushed or the touchscreen being swiped. This can be very frustrating, especially when trying to shoot spontaneously.

GoPro Hero 7 Black Review

2. Voice commands are unreliable

Another feature that is hit or miss is voice control. New on the Hero 7 Black are two voice commands that can control the GoPro: “GoPro capture,” and “GoPro Stop capture.” While useful in theory, these voice controls seem to work about half of the time.

3. No mic jack

In the past, GoPro was notorious for having awful built-in microphones. All of that changed with the Hero 7 Black, which offers remarkably improved in-camera sound. However, there are still instances that require enhanced sound capture via a lavalier (lapel) microphone or shotgun mic. Unfortunately, GoPro has withheld the mic jack from the Hero 7 Black, opting instead to give us USB-C and micro HDMI ports. GoPro does offer a solution in the form of a mic jack adapter. However, it is bulky and expensive, and you must use GoPro’s adapter (other brands will not work).

GoPro Hero 7 Black Review

4. Battery life

Of all the things GoPro improved in the Hero 7 Black, one thing that remains unchanged is battery life. It’s hard to give an estimated battery life as it depends on how you are using the camera. But in general, one battery lasts about an hour when shooting in 4K. Luckily, all three Hero 7 models come with a USB-C port to allow for charging via a wall socket or external battery. However, it is still a wise idea to carry several spare batteries with you.

GoPro Hero 7 Black Review

5. Low light performance

All three Hero 7 models have an f/2.8 aperture. This means they are decent at shooting in low light, but the video and photo quality still leaves room for improvement. In the case of the Hero 7 Black, it also seems that HyperSmooth is automatically disabled in low light conditions, further worsening the low light performance. In general, you’ll get the best photo and video performance out of your Hero 7 if you use it in daylight or good lighting conditions.

In Conclusion

Despite some shortcomings, the GoPro Hero 7 Black is easily the best action camera on the market right now. GoPro made significant and actually useful improvements on this camera and it is worth using not only for action scenarios but everyday use as well. Agree or disagree? Let me know in the comments below!

GoPro Hero 7 Black Review

What is the Gradient Map?

The Photoshop Gradient Map is essentially just what it sounds like; a way for you to map out and control the color tones of different luminance values within your photo.

Toning with the gradient map can be shockingly simple (as with this lesson) or as delightfully complex as you choose to make your adjustments. Ok, enough talk, let’s get started. Let’s take a RAW color photo and begin the process of converting it to black and white, followed by toning it with the gradient map in Photoshop.

Begin with basics

To begin, I highly recommend you use a RAW image file. Doing so offers you the greatest amount of wiggle room to adjust the values within the photo after you convert it to black and white.

I’ve started with a photo opened in Lightroom to complete some basic edits. However, you can complete the entire process right inside of Photoshop. Preferably, converting the image to black and white and toning with the gradient map should be one of the last steps in the process. Of course, editing can take on a life of its own, so don’t hesitate to dynamically adjust your photo at any stage. Here we have the RAW file after some core edits in Lightroom.

You may be asking “why not just convert to black and white right now?” I don’t recommend converting the photograph to black and white before opening it in Photoshop. The reason for this is because it completely robs you of the vital color information that allows adjustments of the individual color luminance values.

Next, I’ll kick the image over to Photoshop….

Now the real fun begins! Come on…it really is fun.

Conversion and Toning with the Gradient Map

After you open your image in Photoshop, convert it to black and white. To achieve this, add a black and white adjustment layer.

Although it’s not necessary to do so, feel free to name this layer something specific. At this point, you can adjust the individual color luminance values to your liking. See, I told you there was a reason to hold off on converting until this step.

Now that you have a nicely converted black and white photograph you can jump into the toning process by adding a Gradient Map adjustment layer. Click on the Gradient Map icon just as we did with the black and white adjustment layer.

Doesn’t that look magical!

Kidding.

There are a couple of things we need to do after we select the Gradient Map. Depending on your default Photoshop settings, your view could appear slightly different than mine. Don’t worry, though, the steps are the same.

To select your gradient, click on the gradient drop down:

Then click the Settings Wheel to open up your toning options and make sure that Photographic Toning is selected.

You’ll be prompted to confirm you want to change to a new gradient. Click OK because you absolutely do.

Each of those little boxes represents a color gradient scheme you can select to tone your image. Think of these as gradient presets. For this photo, I’m going with an old favorite of mine, Platinum.

Don’t be afraid to experiment and find the flavor that you like for your photo. Remember, everything here is non-destructive so simply click the “undo” button at the bottom of the gradient map window to start over.

At this point, we are nearly finished with the bulk of our toning using the gradient map! Yes, it is that easy. However, before we go, I want to show you how to customize the gradient should you choose to do so. A gradient map adds color across the tonal values of your image. You can control just how it applies this by clicking the gradient (and even create new ones). Doing so opens up the gradient adjustment panel.

From this panel, we can adjust the individual values of the gradient to change color density and contrast. There are limitless combinations and color schemes available. So again, allow yourself to tinker, tweak, test and otherwise go completely wild with your gradients to see how they affect your photo. I’m not joking; the possibilities are endless. Didn’t I tell you this was fun?

Last but not least, you can also adjust the layer blend mode and opacity of the gradient layer in the Layers Panel. Play with the percentage levels until you get the effect right.

Now you can further adjust your photo right here in Photoshop, or back in Lightroom. Or, if you are finished, you can save and export.

Final thoughts on Gradient Maps and Black and White

With just a few simple layers in Photoshop, we went from this…

to this…

to finally this…

Black and white photos are more than…well, just black and white. Think of some of your favorite black and white images. Are they merely two colors or are they something more? Whether it be film or digital, most “black and white” images that move us possess color tones that create a sense of mode or aesthetic comfort that touches us on a creative and emotional level. Using the Photoshop Gradient Map to tone your black and white photos is one of the easiest and most effective ways to create advanced black and white’s that stand out. Once you begin making use of the Photoshop Gradient Map, you may wonder how you ever managed without it in the first place!

Do you use the Photoshop Gradient Map? Share with us some of your images below.

The post Create Powerful Black and White Photos with the Photoshop Gradient Map appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Adam Welch.

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Posts Tagged ‘Black’

1. Contrast

2. Texture

3. Composition

Black and white editing

HSL (Hue, Saturation, Luminosity)

Tonal contrast

Conclusion

CatLABS X FILM 80 (120) BW Negative Film

Subject selection for shape

Exposure choice is essential

See in black and white

Squint your eyes to help you see

The importance of post-processing for low-key digital photography

Plug-ins and apps can make post-processing easier

Conclusion

A quick refresher on color temperature

How color temperature affects black and white photos

Practical applications

Final thoughts on color temperature and black and white photos

Converting to black and white

Using Black and White Mix

Boost Tonal Contrast

Boost texture in your images

Mistakes to avoid

Plug-Ins

In Conclusion

Specs

Look and feel

5 things I love about the GoPro Hero 7 Black

1. Hypersmooth

2. TimeWarp

3. Same form factor as Hero 5 and 6

4. Touchscreen with revamped UI

5. Seamless smartphone integration

5 things I dislike about the GoPro Hero 7 Black

1. Unresponsive screen

2. Voice commands are unreliable

3. No mic jack

4. Battery life

5. Low light performance

In Conclusion

You may also like these reviews from Suzi:

What is the Gradient Map?

Begin with basics

Conversion and Toning with the Gradient Map

Final thoughts on Gradient Maps and Black and White