Good source for converting digital to B&W?

[Flybye]

I see tons of little tutorials on the internets about how to convert your image to B&W, but am really unsure about one thing. Which is the real way? A lot of little things bug me a lot. Are 1900-1950s B&W pics supposed to be (in good lighting) grainy, have a soft hue, powerful contrast, etc.

I'm just wondering if any of you have a linky to a good tutorial that shows how to convert a color pic to B&W as close to how B&W used to be.

Thanks

[mjs1973]

I see tons of little tutorials on the internets about how to convert your image to B&W, but am really unsure about one thing. Which is the real way?

There really isn't a "real way". Whatever way you can use to get the look YOU want is the "real way."

A lot of little things bug me a lot. Are 1900-1950s B&W pics supposed to be (in good lighting) grainy, have a soft hue, powerful contrast, etc.

This depends on the film. Different films had different characteristics. Some were grainy, some were contrasty etc.

I'm just wondering if any of you have a linky to a good tutorial that shows how to convert a color pic to B&W as close to how B&W used to be.Thanks

I don't have any tutorials but you may want to check out Nik Software's Silver FX Pro. This seems to be the industry standard software for converting images to B&W. The program simulates many different types of B&W films. It's kind of pricey but if you do a lot of B&W conversions, it might be worth it. You can download a free trial to test it out and see if you can get the look you're after.

[mwfanelli2]

I see tons of little tutorials on the internets about how to convert your image to B&W, but am really unsure about one thing. Which is the real way? A lot of little things bug me a lot. Are 1900-1950s B&W pics supposed to be (in good lighting) grainy, have a soft hue, powerful contrast, etc.

I'm just wondering if any of you have a linky to a good tutorial that shows how to convert a color pic to B&W as close to how B&W used to be.

Thanks

I don't do too much of this but, when I do, I break up the image into channels. Each channel is in B&W and one of them will usually give you an excellent starting point.

Lots of B&W film had grain and contrast. That made them really cool! I have to admit, as fully digital as I am, if I were shooting a lot for B&W, well, I'd get my film cameras out of storage. I guess that's my age showing: B&W isn't really B&W unless it's film!

[GB1]

Flybye - If you mean convert a color digital image to black and white, the simplest way is just to desaturate the image in your favorite post processing software. Most all of them have this feature. I am not sure if there's other ways that produce better results.

If you are interested in converting color film to black and white, the easiest way may indeed be to scan the color film and desaturate it in the software. It may also be the best way, but I am not sure... If I remember correctly I used to print color negative film on black and white paper in a darkroom in the mid 80s and it always came out incredibly course and grainy, well beyond the typical grain you would see from color film -> color prints or b&w film -> b&w prints.

Now, regarding why 1900-1950s BW pics are so grainy, there's a very good reason for that -- the film companies made incredible improvements to film in terms of grain, speed and sharpness over the years. If you looked at shots taken in 1940 and the same subject in the same lighting in 1950, I bet there was a big difference. Definitely big differences in film from 1980 and 1990, especially with the higher speed films (400 ASA used to look a lot like sand if I recall, but got so much better that it wasn't much different from 100 ASA film).

Btw - you might want to ask the same Q in the Film forum... a lot of gurus over there.

G

[Flybye]

Thanks guys. Also, I will be playing with B/W film soon. I have a Konica Autoreflex T3 that I'll be using as soon as I have it sent out to get the light meter fixed.

For now, I'll keep playing with my digital pics.

[mjs1973]

What software are you using to convert your digital photos? As GB said, desaturate is the simplest way to convert to B&W but the results are not all that great most of the time. Desaturating seems to leave things looking pretty flat. It also throws away a ton of information in your file.

Using channels like Mike mentioned is a very popular method and gives you a lot more control over the conversion than simply desaturating the image. I use a B&W adjustment layer in Photoshop CS4 to do my conversions. I don't do a lot and the adjustment layer is very easy. It's basically using the channels method but it also has built in presets that are tweekable.

[jetrim]

Another alternative is Paint Shop Pro X2 they have automatic presets built in to emulate different kinds of film dating back to the 1800s (effects>time machine). It's not as good as the NiK software but it's a heck of a lot less expensive. They also offer a 30 day free trial d/l.

[drg]

I see tons of little tutorials on the internets about how to convert your image to B&W, but am really unsure about one thing. Which is the real way? A lot of little things bug me a lot. Are 1900-1950s B&W pics supposed to be (in good lighting) grainy, have a soft hue, powerful contrast, etc.

Differences in photographs also was produced by different cameras (Leica, Zeiss-IKON, Hasselblad, Pentax, etc) and their associated lenses provided more or less contrast, sharpness, DOF, etc. which was very noticeable. Printing techniques and paper quality added more available options as to the final print outcome.

I'm just wondering if any of you have a linky to a good tutorial that shows how to convert a color pic to B&W as close to how B&W used to be.

Thanks

Two photographers that have published 'guides' to this type of work that are extensive include John Hedgecoe and Michael Freeman. Freeman wrote an entire Complete Guide to Black and White Digital Photography.

Photography Review has had several forum postings in Viewfinder, Help, Photo Critique, and Photography Software and Post Processing about various methods. The Channel Mixer in Adobe Photoshop is one of the traditional methods and certainly give great control over what is virtual filtering of a digital image to simulate black and white.

The texture, grain, and gradual transition to clipping of over/under exposure is the difficult part to simulate. This is where tools like Nik Effects can be helpful. Some one button solution in various products are fairly good, but compared to the real thing they are lacking. To do b/w well is a multi-stage process that depends upon ultimately your taste and you may find a 'better' solution than just simulating film.

The final issue is if you print it won't look exactly like film side by side but it can look better.

Search the above forums for conversion, b/w conversion, Black and White, etc. and see if their are more answers. Then everyone can jump in and answer more specific questions or share their latest and greatest techniques!

[Flybye]

Thanks guys for all the tips!

I even picked up a book today at the library titled Advanced Digital Black & White Photography by John Beardsworth. Looks pretty decent as he also goes into channels, layers, local contrasting, grain, noise, and all sorts of fun stuff.

I have CS4 and I'm sure I'll finally start making good use of it with quality B/W. Even being at the beach today, I saw an art deco hotel that would look particularly spooky if done in B/W.

[drg]

Beardsworth is another real good one for this topic!!