Uncover 7 black and white conversion methods and see which one suits you better.

Depending on the content and tone of the screen, these methods may be easier to achieve, and the effect is better than ACR. Of course, to get the right results, the most important thing is to optimize the raw file first, adjust the exposure, contrast and brightness, and save it in a lossless TIFF format.

There are a lot of ways to convert images to black and white in Photoshop, and besides Adobe Camera Raw, we've compared the other seven representative methods.

One, convert to grayscale

This is the simplest way to directly change the image color mode from color to grayscale, the effect is acceptable. Select Image > Mode > Grayscale, and then click OK in the "Discard Color Information" prompt dialog box that pops up. But using this method to transform, we have no way to control the result. After the image is converted to grayscale, many of the adjustment functions and filters are not available, so we may also need to use image > mode >rgb color to convert it back. If you are in a hurry, you may need this method.

√ An instant can be an acceptable effect

X does not have any control options

Two, go color

Image > Adjust > Go Color command and convert to grayscale operation is equally simple, also cannot control, but the effect is even more nearly.

The same effect can be achieved by setting the saturation to 0 in the Hue/saturation command, which has the advantage of being able to selectively set the brightness of six colors such as red, yellow, green, cyan, blue, magenta, and so on by editing the sub options in the Drop-down menu.

√ can control the brightness of different channels respectively

x control options are less plentiful than in ACR

Three, lab mode to color

Lab mode coloring is another quick and easy way to color. This is also an uncontrollable conversion technique, but the resulting picture is more crisp, transparent and smooth, especially suitable for converting beautiful scenery or low contrast images. Select Image > Mode > Color, click to select the Lightness channel in the Channel Palette. Finally, select Image > Mode > Grayscale, and click OK.

√ Quickly get smooth and transparent adjustment results

X does not have any control options

Four, the calculation

We can mix data from two source channels through image > Calculation commands to create Black-and-white images. The default channel is red, and the blending mode is multiply, we can test the effect of different combinations. For non portrait photos, reducing the opacity of the blending mode usually results in the best adjustments.

√ can be very easy to get the dazzling effect

x practical conversion settings are not much

Five, channel mixer

The channel mixer can accurately mix the data in red, green and blue channels to get rich black and white conversion effects. Select Layers > Create a new adjustment layer > Channel mixer, tick the monochrome option, and then change the output channel value. The output value of the three channels is about 100 and the effect is ideal. To master this command, you first need to be accustomed to the way it operates.

√ Good controllability, excellent results

X Mastery is difficult

VI. Gradient mapping

If you want to get a strong conversion result, you can try a gradient mapping. In the toolbar, set the foreground color to black, select the layer > Create a new adjustment layer > Gradient map, set the foreground color to the background color, and click OK. Adjust the gradient of the position of the label can accurately control the picture contrast.

√ Special effect, can adjust accurately

X is only suitable for high contrast scenery

Seven, Adobe Camera raw:hsl/grayscale Palette

The hsl/Grayscale Palette tool in Camera Raw provides an effective way to convert raw images directly to black and white. After you complete the adjustment with the general tools in camera raw, you can convert the image to black and white using the conversion to grayscale in the hsl/grayscale palette, and then use eight separate grayscale sliders to control the tone of the image. You can also make further tweaks in Photoshop.

√ Provides a very powerful control capability

X cannot be adjusted locally

Eight, Plug-ins

The rich Third-party plug-ins in Photoshop allow us to achieve all the desired visual effects, and black and white conversion is a cinch. Some plug-ins can also simulate the traditional 135 black particle effect. For those who don't have much time to figure out Photoshop skills, the plugin is kingly.

√ function is powerful, the effect is excellent

X good plug-ins are expensive

Classification:

• ps Picture processing