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Best Method you Use for Black & white Image you use?


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Ashil Goburdhun

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Hi, I would like to discuss a little About, U know Making picture black and white like retro style what method do
you Basically use?

I Taken some picture with my Dslr camera of my grand mum and i wanted to make a nice editing before i print it and gift it to her :3

Any ideas .:mrgreen:
 
Try a Black and White adjustment layer application.
 
Yep 101 ways to do it but I actually prefer using a start off point in plugins like silver effex pro or topaz black and white and then using that software to fine tune it, and then often use a B & W Adjustment layer to finish it off with different blend modes and opacities.
 
There are an enormous number of ways to do B&W conversions, and, I'm sure that by using a search engine, you could find many of these for yourself. There are native tools built into Photoshop (eg, "desaturate", "B&W adjustment layer"); there are commercial plugins (eg, Silver Efx Pro, the B&W presets in Analog Efx Pro, VanDerLee's Old Movie, etc. etc.); and, there are thousands of examples of do-it-yourself methods that are described on this and other forums that put together various combinations of other techniques. Many of these even offer free trial periods so you can experiment with the effects they can produce.

So, I don't think that finding information on methods could possibly be a problem for you.

Instead, I suggest you think about the many possible "looks" available to you instead of first looking at the methods to get those "looks". The two are not synonymous.

Specifically, I suggest you think about the psychological effect the various treatments might have on the recipient. For example, assuming you have older children, how would you feel if you received a serious (not a joke) photo gift from them that shows you in a fake faded, sepia toned print with intentional imperfections like burned edges, cracks, fake crinkled paper texture. Might this not tell you that they perceive you as antiquated and no longer part of current events?

Analogously, how do you think "grandma" might feel to receive such a gift from you? She might love it, she may have even expressed a desire for something like this. On the other hand, there's a very good chance it might depress her -- only you and your family know for sure.

Personally, when I am preparing gifts such as these, I try to include people and things that the recipient is fond of, and then shoot and process the images "straight", either color or B&W, but certainly with nothing to make them seem artificially older than they really are. In fact, I might even soften the wrinkles just a tiny bit so that they look good for their age TO A BELIEVABLE DEGREE.

Fortunately or unfortunately, I have taken the last "good" photograph of several elderly people before they died. I shot them all straight, often with members of their family or hobby items in the photo. The subjects loved them, and I can tell you that when they passed away and their families requested a copy, they would have been extraordinarily upset if I had used any fake efx on their loved one.

Just my $0.02,

Tom
 
PS - FWIW, I even apply the same ethics to photographing street people, laborers, fisherman, beggars, etc.. For example, I would never Draganize a photo of one of these individuals just for the purpose of making them look older or having suffered more in life than they really have. I shoot them straight as well. For me, photographers doing the former are likely doing so just to make themselves look like better photographers, not to bring pleasure to, or better the lives of the individuals they photographed.

OTOH, I have absolutely no problem Draganizing an image of an actor who is playing the role of an old person.

T
 
Ashil Goburdhun said:
Hi, I would like to discuss a little About, U know Making picture black and white like retro style what method do
you Basically use?

I Taken some picture with my Dslr camera of my grand mum and i wanted to make a nice editing before i print it and gift it to her :3

Any ideas .:mrgreen:
Click to expand...

You might want to mask the background and convert that to B&W and then play with the subject, colorize, blending, toning...HDR the subject, colorize the background...All depends on your taste and skills:lol:

What does "retro" mean to you and why will it work here?
 
Perhaps its too late, but just for a moment, you may want to consider if she would appreciate the B&W effect. Grandparents may not appreciate the idea of being aged beyond their years. It's a surefire way of introducing a reason to consider ones own mortality.
 
I as a senior.....LOVE good Black and White images...Yes I grew up in the B&W era, but Ansel Adams and Clyde Butcher still get my blood boiling, due to the fantastic depth and feeling a well done B&W print offers, I really enjoy Platinum prints. Color is a tool that can add or subtract from an images feel....thats my 2 cents worth
 
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