B & W workflow: Would like to review workflows for converting photos into B & W. What is the preferred workflow for eventually printing your own B & W photos ve sending the photos out...

RobertP

Would like to review workflows for converting photos into B & W. What is the preferred workflow for eventually printing your own B & W photos ve sending the photos out to a "professional" house for printing. Just wanted to see how all of you think about the topic. Thanx.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

Preferred?
It's not an individual volition?

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

Personally, when doing a digital B&W conversion, I 'see' the opportunity in the editing. That is, I'm out shooting as normal in RAW with a digital camera. Then, I edit an image to its full natural finish in color, then flip that color result to B&W and turn it into the desired B&W. Printing is printed like any other image, I use www.printique.com (formally adoramapix).

The 'B&W flip' can happen in many ways. I have an old unsupported version of Topaz B&W that has numerous presets. Lightroom also has it's own presets for different toning and colorfilters. There are other free and pay-for tools in the market you may find of interest. That 'flip' usually is just a start when I edit the conversion further, emphasizing whatever I desire to achieve in the B&W result.

Here's an example of something I saw as B&W when I see it as I edit.

AeroShell Aerobatic Team by Paul Sager, on Flickr

jaymatt Loc: Alexandria, Indiana

Basically what CHG_CANON said.

47greyfox Loc: on the edge of the Colorado front range

CHG_CANON wrote:

Personally, when doing a digital B&W conversio... (show quote)

Paul, do you flip the processed in color raw image, then tweak? Or, create a copy of the original file with a rename, and convert to B&W, then process?

Picture Taker Loc: Michigan Thumb

I shoot in HDR and will convert on the computer. I am beginning to understand B&W better. I look hot lines and shadings and with HDR I don't get the jump from black to white, the gradations come in play.

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

47greyfox wrote:

Paul, do you flip the processed in color raw image, then tweak? Or, create a copy of the original file with a rename, and convert to B&W, then process?

I'm in Lightroom so whether I create a virtual copy of the edited color or just flip the original, I can revisit any aspect of the edit process via the LR history. To your question, if the image is going to 'become' BW, I'm more likely to consider the B&W as the 'master' version, so when I flip to B&W, it's to the original rather than a virtual copy. Actually, if a trip to Topaz is used, that is a separate file as Topaz is an external editor from LR so a new TIFF is needed to send the file over to Topaz for the conversion process. I stack the BW over the original in the LR catalog when done.

47greyfox Loc: on the edge of the Colorado front range

CHG_CANON wrote:

I'm in Lightroom so whether I create a virtual cop... (show quote)

Thanks!

DWU2 Loc: Phoenix Arizona area

Typically, after basic editing in Lightroom Classic (straighten, crop, remove distractions, exposure adjustments, sharpening) I then export to NIK Silver Efex Pro. After using Silver Efex, the photo imports back into LR.

Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

RobertP wrote:

Would like to review workflows for converting photos into B & W. What is the preferred workflow for eventually printing your own B & W photos ve sending the photos out to a "professional" house for printing. Just wanted to see how all of you think about the topic. Thanx.

These work for me:

http://vnf-west.nl/BlackandWhite/7BW_PS_Conversion.html

As well as converting in Lightroom and using third party software plugins. DXO has a collection of pretty authentic looking presents to simulate classic film "looks".

tommymac Loc: Green Bay, Wisconsin

CHG_CANON wrote:

I'm in Lightroom so whether I create a virtual cop... (show quote)

This is my preferred workflow as well. In LR, I’ll first send the photo to PS for cropping, removing distractions, sky replacement, etc. When sent back to LR, the photo will have the original and a TIFF with the PS edits. I flip the TIFF to b&w and do the final edits in LR. (Depending on the severity of the crop, I may send the PS photo to Topaz Gigapixel AI before sending it back to LR.)

rmalarz Loc: Tempe, Arizona

My workflow varies depending on the scene. The method I use varies, as well.
--Bob

RobertP wrote:

Would like to review workflows for converting photos into B & W. What is the preferred workflow for eventually printing your own B & W photos ve sending the photos out to a "professional" house for printing. Just wanted to see how all of you think about the topic. Thanx.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

rmalarz wrote:

My workflow varies depending on the scene. The method I use varies, as well.
--Bob

I just play with the sliders until I get what I want/like.
Sometimes I tap 'reset' and start over.

rmalarz Loc: Tempe, Arizona

I'm quite familiar with the "reset" and start over approach.

--Bob

Longshadow wrote:

I just play with the sliders until I get what I want/like.
Sometimes I tap 'reset' and start over.

traderjohn Loc: New York City

Gene51 wrote:

These work for me:

http://vnf-west.nl/BlackandWhite/7BW_PS_Conversion.html

As well as converting in Lightroom and using third party software plugins. DXO has a collection of pretty authentic looking presents to simulate classic film "looks".

I do like some scenes/people shots in B&W. For me, I am always comparing them to two black and white photos/prints I saw two years ago. We were at a house party and in the study, I noticed the chair on his desk was not facing the views of the ocean instead it was facing the opposite wall. When I turned around there were these two prints. One of a massive charging elephant. It appeared the photographer was at ground level. The detail was stunning. The second at first I thought what is this black spot. Then you saw it was a polar bear walking away. The black spot was the bottom of the paw. I don't remember the name of the photographer. From that point on nothing compares to those two black and white photograps.