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01/28/2006 03:19:33 AM · #1 |
| For those people who shoot in RAW, would you rather desaturate an image to black and white before the RAW conversion to JPEG or do it afterwards in Photoshop etc? Is there really a difference or is there more flexibility using Photoshop afterwards? |
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01/28/2006 03:22:50 AM · #2 |
MUCH more flexibility in using photoshop. Perhaps this is less true of some of the newer, high-end RAW converters, but certainly if you use a basic RAW converter then photoshop is the way to go with B/W conversions; a hell of a lot more options, and you can try countless variations from the color original. A basic problem is that when you convert to B/W in RAW you throw away a lot of data.
R. |
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01/28/2006 03:24:35 AM · #3 |
Personally I do very little in the converter. I find much more control using PS. I use either channel mixer or lightness control to convert to BW. I use Rawshooter Premium to convert
Message edited by author 2006-01-28 03:26:11. |
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01/28/2006 03:24:55 AM · #4 |
| And if using PS CS2's raw converter? |
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01/28/2006 03:40:01 AM · #5 |
Sweet...cheers for the info there guys! :)
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01/28/2006 04:40:06 AM · #6 |
Originally posted by Makka:
For those people who shoot in RAW, would you rather desaturate an image to black and white before the RAW conversion to JPEG or do it afterwards in Photoshop etc? Is there really a difference or is there more flexibility using Photoshop afterwards? |
I always do it after I open it up in Photoshop. Gradient Map is my method of choice for most B&W's...offers and awesome tonal range.
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01/28/2006 04:48:01 AM · #7 |
absolutely afterward...
in any color image, you essentially have three b/w images - red, blue, green channel. in photoshop you can take advantage of that fact by using the channel mixer to bring out the tones how and where you want.
basically, a color digital image is the equivalent of taking three pictures, one with a red filter, one with a green filter, and one with a blue filter. wouldn't want to compromise that by prematurely converting to B/W and losing all that data. |
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01/28/2006 05:25:19 AM · #8 |
During raw conversion, I adjust the saturation slider all the way to the left and I do the same in the Calibrate Tab, removing all the colors.
When I bring it into PSCS2, I use the Gradient Map and Channel Mixer then adjust all the sliders to the left in the Hue and Saturation. If needed, I also adjust the black, white and neutral levels for contrast.
Overkill? Probably yes but this is how I get a pure black and white print (no colour cast) from my Epson 2200. I use Spyder2 to calibrate my monitor and I use the right media profile from Epson. In the past, converting in PS alone was a hit and miss when printing, some had greenish cast, others didn't.
I only use this method if I knew from the start that I'd be printing the photo. For web display, I use Gradient Map and Channel Mixer to convert.
Some samples from my portfolio...I have 11x16 prints of these and I couldn't be happier with the results.
     
Message edited by author 2006-01-28 05:29:36.
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01/28/2006 06:52:45 AM · #9 |
In Photoshop, after a RAW conversion with color correction specifically for B&W conversion. I do the B&W with the channel mixer for basic challenges and with Fred Miranda B&W Pro for advanced challenges and normal use. When I set my whitebalance warm to get an orange cast in the processed raw file I can use B&W Pro with an orange filter to get far better results than with a normally processed raw file.
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01/28/2006 09:08:10 AM · #10 |
Q: How is gradient map used to convert/adjust a b&w image?
I do it one of two ways:
I have an action that mkes 3 snapshots - one for each RGB channel in channel mixer, and I choose one and tweak that.
OR
I have had some success using canon's DPP to convert to b&w and adjust it in RAW. I recently did some wedding photos and was not happy with how contrsty and stark they appeared, so i tritoned them with a bit of gray and they are nice and creamy, sort of silvery (hard to describe) looking in comparison.
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01/28/2006 11:22:20 AM · #11 |
Originally posted by Azrifel:
In Photoshop, after a RAW conversion with color correction specifically for B&W conversion. I do the B&W with the channel mixer for basic challenges and with Fred Miranda B&W Pro for advanced challenges and normal use. When I set my whitebalance warm to get an orange cast in the processed raw file I can use B&W Pro with an orange filter to get far better results than with a normally processed raw file. |
Can you post an example of a before & after on this workflow? In other words, show us normally calibrated RAW conversion for color, and the same shot tweaked towards orange with an eye towards B/W conversion? I'm curious about this.
R. |
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02/06/2006 09:46:33 AM · #12 |
Here is a good tutorial on using the hue/saturation adjustement layers.
It might be a little over the top but it looks good:
//studio.adobe.com/us/tips/tip.jsp?p=1&id=101668&xml=phscs2mrblkwht
hope this helps,
P. |
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02/06/2006 11:04:48 AM · #13 |
I've had good luck with DigiDaan's BW action. It seems to give just as much control as the channel mixer, but I find it much easier to experiment with.
But I too would be interested in how to use the gradient map for BW convertion, this is the first I've heard of that. |
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02/06/2006 11:54:21 AM · #14 |
Hey... that is the one that I use all the time when I convert. Gives me much more flexibility and tonal ranges. :)
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