Arts and Entertainment > Photography > From Color To Grayscale In Black And White Digital Photography
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Article rating : 0.00, 0 votes. Author : Rika Susan
In digital photography and imaging there are many features and techniques available for image control and management. Whereas these are mostly aimed at color aspects, many of the techniques can be applied to black and white images.
Most of the effects you can create in the traditional darkroom can be imitated with imaging software such as Adobe Photoshop. This makes it possible to continue practising your love for the special quality and elegance of black and white images, while enjoying the many benefits of digital photography!
As digital cameras generally only take pictures in color, the most basic element of the digital darkroom you will need to master is how and when to turn your digital color images into exactly the black and white image you want.
In Adobe Photoshop you can follow three basic routes to this conversion.
In black and white digital photography the first and most straightforward way is to do a simple conversion to grayscale (the computer term for black and white). This tells the software to throw out all color information, leaving your picture only with shades of gray.
The problem with this method is that it can leave your image looking relatively flat, depending on the original colors. Adjusting contrast afterwards can cause the loss of quite a bit of detail.
Another way of getting that color out of the picture is to separate the colors of the original in such a way that you end up with a separate lightness or luminosity channel which can be used as a grayscale image. This should give better results than a simple grayscale conversion.
A better way than both the above techniques for getting that grayscale image is to use Photoshop's channel mixer. You will in effect retain an RGB (color) image but convert all the channels to monochrome and then adjust them separately and in combination.
This is just one of many techniques and procedures you can explore in the world of black and white digital photography...
After all is said and done, you will do well to keep in mind that the basic elements of black and white photography remain the same in both film and digital worlds!
As a black and white photographer, you still have to know how to read the qualities of light and color in the scene in front of you, to know how they will translate into the final black and white image!
Some useful tips for black and white digital photography:
- For black and white printing: Epson 4800 is considered good.
- To see what images will look like, the Canon 20D lets you view color in black and white for RAW mode.
- In black and white digital photography you should be careful not to overexpose highlights. You want to capture as much data as you can without the highlights falling off either side of the histogram.
- Don't convert to grayscale too soon: masking, layer blending etc. is easier with a color file than with a monochrome file.
- Photoshop's Channel Mixer gives the best control over the tones of your image.
- To achieve more tonal richness in your printed image, print the black and white image in RGB format, otherwise only the black ink will be involved.
For more information visit http://www.Best-Digital-Photography.com. Rika Susan researches, writes, and publishes full-time on the Web. Copyright of this article: 2005 Rika Susan. This article may be reprinted if the resource box - including the link - is left intact.
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