My Favourite B&W Conversion

DENNIS' LAB COLOUR LIGHTNESS CHANNEL B&W CONVERSION

My favourite and most used method. It's all about the light.

1. Carry out normal processing of image in Photoshop (PS) or Lightroom (LR) and save. This ensures you have a colour version on file 'just in case'.

2. Load a COPY of that file into PS and Save As 'same file name with b&w at the end of file name'.

3. Go To -> Image menu -> Mode -> Lab Colour.

4. Go To -> Channels Palette

5. Click on Channel 'a', hold dwn Shift Key and click on Channel 'b' to highlight both channels.

6. With cursor over 'a' or 'b' channel, right click mouse and select Delete Channel.

7. Hold down the Ctrl key and hit the 'S' key to save.

8. Go To -> Image menu -> Greyscale.

9. Hit Ctrl/S to save.

10. Go To -> Image menu - RGB Colour.

11. Hold down the Ctrl key and hit the 'S' key to save.

12. Go To -> Layer menu -> Duplicate Layer -> OK.

13. Hit Ctrl/M to bring up Curves box.

14. Click on bottom left end of diagonal line and move to right to adjust blacks.

15. Click on centre of diagonal line and move down to adjust mid-tones.

16. Click on centre of lower half of diagonal and move down to adjust dark tones.

17. Click on centre of upper half of diagonal and move up to adjust highlights.

Note: Movement of diagonal adjustments best done by clicking on diagonal and using Arrow keys.

18. Go To -> Layer menu -> Flatten Layers.

19. Hold down the Ctrl key and hit the 'S' key to save.

20. Go To -> Image menu -> Mode -> Lab Colour.

21. Go To -> Layer menu -> Duplicate Layer -> OK.

22. Go To -> Filter menu -> Unsharpen Mask.

23. Set Amount from 10-20%, Radius to 50 pixels and Threshold to 0 -> OK.

24. Go To small camera icon (Snapshot) at bottom of History palette.

25. Go To -> Edit menu -> Undo Unsharpen mask. (It's OK the adjustment is held in a snapshot).

26. Go To -> Tool Box -> History Brush and select a suitable Brush, (size - softness) then set Flow & Opacity to 100% and Mode to Normal.

27. Paint over areas you wish to enhance. (Usually subject or subject's eyes etc).

28. Go To -> Layer menu -> Flatten Layers.

29. Go To -> Filter menu -> Smart Sharpen.

30. Adjust sharpening settings to suit image, only looking at important areas -> OK.

31. Repeat Steps 24. to 28.

32. Go To -> Image menu -> Mode -> RGB Colour.

33. Go To -> Layer menu -> Duplicate Layer -> OK.

34. Go To -> Tool Box, select Dodge and Burn tools and adjust image as necessary.

35. Go To -> Layer menu -> Flatten Layers.

36. Hold down the Ctrl key and hit the 'S' key to save.

There you have it, easy as falling off a log.

GB and good luck.
Dennis