Black and White in camera

It is possible to take black and white photographs with one’s camera. However, if one is shooting RAW, as is the case here, the black and white will only be visible as a preview. This of course, will vary from camera to camera and here I am discussing a CAnon model, the EOS 5D Mark 11.

For one’s camera to “see” black and white, one’s needs to enter the Menu on the back of the camera; the menu is revealed in the LED screen where the second red menu has a listing called Picture Style. By scrolling down to the menu item using the dial on the back and then using the centre button of the dial to enter the menu, one comes across a Monochrome setting that can be selected via the dial before being selected with the info button.

This monochrome setting can be further customised by changing the settings on one of four different controls (sharpness, contrast,that are visible as scales.

Once the monochrome settings have been selected and implemented, then the Live View will appear in black and white; once the shutter has been pressed then a preview of the image made will appear on the back screen in black and white. When the images are downloaded into a programme such as Lightroom they will appear initially as black and white images though once in the system, they are shown as colour.

If made with a RAW file, the file will always revert to colour; black and white previews will be there for reference, to enable one to see the scene in the more formalist light of black and white.

wanging

“wanging”is a term used to describe the practice of many Photoshoppers, one that involves moving toggles back and forth to achieve a desired effect. Most of the different controls in Photoshop allow one to make finer adjustments by using such toggles yet, according to Guy Cowan, this is not a sensible way to approach Photoshop!

One of the functions of Photoshop not found in its’ baby brother Elements, is the ability to create Actions which are programmed scripts that can do a variety of things depending on what you want. These are scientific in their approach and can help achieve artistic results at one’s discretion rather than the often hit and miss approach of wanging.

Black and White conversion in Photoshop

Thanks to Guy Gowan, I recently learnt THE way to convert digital RAW images from colour to black and white in Photoshop. This method has actually been around since Photoshop 3 in the mid-1990’s and yet I had not heard of it in spite of having been to numerous Photoshop seminars over the years and studied more than one manual.

The definitive conversion technique is simply to add a Solid Color adjustment layer which needs to sit above any colour layer in the Layers palette and be set to black where R=0, G=0, B=0. The blend of the layer is set to Color.

This method is said to accurately represent the pixel conversion rather than apply some kind of interpretation as with the Black and White colour adjustment layer and the others like the Greyscale and Desaturate methods.

Photoshop

This is a large application although there is a slimmer version, Photoshop Elements.

There is a saying, “if you don’t know Levels, you don’t know Photoshop!”
(Levels is an adjustment that allows one to alter brightness and contrast while it can also be used for colour correction particularly if one works in the individual channels)

I would like to add another saying, “If you don’t know Actions, you don’t need Photoshop!” since Elements will handle most controls other than automation.

Photoshop is about as important as the camera in professional photography these days.

It is a place where one can be truly creative not necessarily by creating clever montages and filter effects rather by allowing one to choose the exact colouration required.