B&W: I suspect a lot of my question can be answered by playing around in PS but in general, what gives me more control over greys, blacks...etc 1. Shooting Monochrome in my Canon 90D...

DocDav Loc: IN

I suspect a lot of my question can be answered by playing around in PS but in general, what gives me more control over greys, blacks...etc

1. Shooting Monochrome in my Canon 90D
2...Shooting regular and converting to B&W in PS

Any preferences at all that are worth knowing about?

Thanks

mffox Loc: Avon, CT

I like to shoot in color (RAW) then convert in Photoshop.

Mac Loc: Pittsburgh, Philadelphia now Hernando Co. Fl.

DocDav wrote:

I suspect a lot of my question can be answered by playing around in PS but in general, what gives me more control over greys, blacks...etc

1. Shooting Monochrome in my Canon 90D
2...Shooting regular and converting to B&W in PS

Any preferences at all that are worth knowing about?

Thanks

I prefer to shoot RAW in color and convert in post. That way I will have both versions. To shoot with the camera set to monochrome I will only have the monochrome version.

Ysarex Loc: St. Louis

DocDav wrote:

I suspect a lot of my question can be answered by playing around in PS but in general, what gives me more control over greys, blacks...etc

1. Shooting Monochrome in my Canon 90D
2...Shooting regular and converting to B&W in PS

Any preferences at all that are worth knowing about?

Thanks

Save a raw file and convert to B&W in processing -- no doubt.

Kmgw9v Loc: Miami, Florida

Shoot in color and convert to B&W.
I see no downside to that. I can be convinced otherwise.

fjdarling Loc: Mesa, Arizona, USA

Since I haven't yet developed the skill to "see" a scene in black and white I shoot in color and convert in post.

Quixdraw Loc: x

Don't care for RAW and often use a preset to shoot Monochrome. I do convert color as well, but for me, when set in monochrome I quickly begin to consider contrast and value rather than color. It helps me get better and more consistent results. All but one of my cameras has a Monochrome preset.

selmslie Loc: Fernandina Beach, FL, USA

DocDav wrote:

I suspect a lot of my question can be answered by playing around in PS but in general, what gives me more control over greys, blacks...etc

1. Shooting Monochrome in my Canon 90D
2...Shooting regular and converting to B&W in PS

Any preferences at all that are worth knowing about?

Thanks

A B&W JPG from your camera will give you a hint about the scene’s potential but converting to B&W from the original raw file will always give you the best result.

Ysarex Loc: St. Louis

fjdarling wrote:

Since I haven't yet developed the skill to "see" a scene in black and white I shoot in color and convert in post.

A very effective approach is to set the camera to save a B&W JPEG in which case you'll see the preview image or live-view image (mirrorless) in B&W. But save Raw + JPEG so you'll have to raw file to work with later.

fjdarling Loc: Mesa, Arizona, USA

Ysarex wrote:

A very effective approach is to set the camera to save a B&W JPEG in which case you'll see the preview image or live-view image (mirrorless) in B&W. But save Raw + JPEG so you'll have to raw file to work with later.

Thanks for your suggestion. I rarely use Live View, so I didn't notice the B&W would appear there. If that will help train me I'll certainly check it out.

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

DocDav wrote:

I suspect a lot of my question can be answered by playing around in PS but in general, what gives me more control over greys, blacks...etc

1. Shooting Monochrome in my Canon 90D
2...Shooting regular and converting to B&W in PS

Any preferences at all that are worth knowing about?

Thanks

Here are 7 methods to convert a color image to a B&W image.

Raw (color by default) is always a good bet - and it adds a little more detail, tonal range, and editing ease, along with a few more options for B&W conversion. The last thing I would do is set the camera to produce a B&W image - very limiting and you miss the opportunity to interpret the image in color. I prefer to keep my options open until late in the workflow.

f8lee Loc: New Mexico

DocDav wrote:

I suspect a lot of my question can be answered by playing around in PS but in general, what gives me more control over greys, blacks...etc

1. Shooting Monochrome in my Canon 90D
2...Shooting regular and converting to B&W in PS

Any preferences at all that are worth knowing about?

Thanks

You need to understand that when you shoot in monochrome all you are doing is, as Gene mentioned, giving complete control to the computer in the camera. Except for the Leica Monochrom camera (which does not have the Bayer filter over the photo sites and so can only shoot B&W), every digital imaging ship produces a raw file that must be demosaic'd to become a color photo. If you shoot in monochrome, then you are telling the camera to make the adjustments as it sees fit, and then throw away the original raw file - severely limiting what "tweaks" you can make later.

So, shooting raw and processing on your computer is generally a far superior approach. If your camera allows it, shoot in monochrome but save the raw and the jpeg files - then you can compare what the camera-s computer does to what you will be able to do on the desktop.

Norm.P Loc: Northeast, UK

If I want Mono I shoot raw set to mono. When I put it on Faststone its mono and in Lightroom it's in colour.

rmalarz Loc: Tempe, Arizona

For my film work, there is no conversion necessary. For black and white photographs captured initially with a digital camera, I prefer to capture the initial in color and then apply the monochromatic filters I'd use with film.
--Bob

DocDav wrote:

I suspect a lot of my question can be answered by playing around in PS but in general, what gives me more control over greys, blacks...etc

1. Shooting Monochrome in my Canon 90D
2...Shooting regular and converting to B&W in PS

Any preferences at all that are worth knowing about?

Thanks

F8 Forever Loc: Lng Island, NY

My first reaction is that if you want B&W, shoot film. Do current imaging chips have the tonal range that film has?

And just how do you print those images? There are special black&white printers, but are they as good as a silver print? As a platinum print?