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**gump** · 08-26-2018, 07:27 AM

Maybe I should say grayscale? Back in olden times I shot mostly B&W as the film was cheaper and it was versatile/more forgiving, and I liked it. Now beginning with all the wonderful technology and changes that go along with surviving past 70, I face questions that I did not have, or ignored, way back when. What subjects ask for B&W or at least deserve a quick look when editing? Are there particular details/processes that lead the editing? Is there a tutorial that covers basic questions?

Attached Images

**UncleVanya** · 08-26-2018, 07:32 AM

Old buildings, anything that color is a distraction rather than an enhancement.

IgorZ · 08-26-2018, 08:07 AM

I like portraits in black and white. I am not sure if it's all in my head, but to me it seems that some of my lenses are better for B&W than others

**pepperberry farm** · 08-26-2018, 08:25 AM - **2 Likes**

a lot of trial & error on my part; I'll try it, see if I like the result, tweak the process if necessary...

it also helps to find a black & white processor that you like - I use Tonality and enjoy using it...

as far as subjects, I'm all over the map with subjects... from flowers to people to landscapes and back to near-macros...

all with Tonality:

aaacb · 08-26-2018, 08:52 AM - **3 Likes**

I consider photos for bw if the transitions or separations in the photo come from brightness rather than color. For example the picture below just had washed-out sand tones, not adding much imo). I'm trying to get into this mindset when shooting bw film, but it's not easy being used to color as the default

Lastly, low light situations such as concerts in tiny venues often force me to convert to bw so i have to shoot with that in mind, but that's more working within technical limitations than a deliberate choice

**othar** · 08-26-2018, 08:54 AM - **2 Likes**

Originally posted by pepperberry farm

a lot of trial & error on my part

There is no hard rule for me when to switch to black&white either.

I often switch to B&W when there are some dîstracting colors in the background though.

Originally posted by gump

Thoughts on black and white

Both examples of the barn work in my opinion, if color or not is mainly a question of what mood you wanna transport in your images.

Gianclaudio · 08-26-2018, 10:30 AM - **1 Like**

A tip: I shoot raw most of the time, but I set the digital filter to monochrome when I'm in the mood of shooting black and white. That way, you can quickly preview how your images are going to look.
You can later develop to b&w or colour using software/app, as they were saved in raw.

I also like to shoot b&w at ISO 400-1000, as some grain enhance the photo, to my taste.

**gump** · 08-26-2018, 11:22 AM - **1 Like**

Originally posted by Gianclaudio

A tip: I shoot raw most of the time, but I set the digital filter to monochrome when I'm in the mood of shooting black and white. That way, you can quickly preview how your images are going to look.
You can later develop to b&w or colour using software/app, as they were saved in raw.

I also like to shoot b&w at ISO 400-1000, as some grain enhance the photo, to my taste.

I read somewhere that the gray/mono/B&W in-camera option with the K-70 is not as good as what editing can do. So I have not tried it. I will give it a shot in the near future. I use Affinity photo which allows playing with grain/noise as I imagine other programs do. I will also add that to the experimentation list. Thanks for the ideas!

HoutHans · 08-26-2018, 11:43 AM - **1 Like**

I'm not sure about the scenes or images that I'll process as B&W. For me, there's something about the feeling or a certain scene that gets me to process it as B&W. Mostly, this has to do with an absence of many or striking colours in the scene and the many tones within a colour. I can't suggest any particular thing or subject, I'm afraid. When processing my RAWs in LR, its easy to see whether the image indeed works as B&W.

**StiffLegged** · 08-26-2018, 12:54 PM - **2 Likes**

I still use the Nik Silver Efex Pro 2 plugin in Photoshop and can vary the film-style graininess at will. High contrast subjects work well, like shooting in the midday sun. Subjects dependant on strong compositional shapes rather than colour also work very well. I used to process b&w 35mm film and print my own, so b&w still holds my affection.

**UncleVanya** · 08-26-2018, 04:53 PM

Originally posted by gump

I read somewhere that the gray/mono/B&W in-camera option with the K-70 is not as good as what editing can do. So I have not tried it. I will give it a shot in the near future. I use Affinity photo which allows playing with grain/noise as I imagine other programs do. I will also add that to the experimentation list. Thanks for the ideas!

Monochrome bold is pretty interesting on my k3.

rickc118 · 08-26-2018, 11:06 PM

Here's a couple of grayscale pictures shot in RAW on a K-70.

**twilhelm** · 08-26-2018, 11:23 PM

As I still shoot a lot of black and white film, in my opinion, any photo can be done black and white. Others have mentioned two times in particular where black and white can make an otherwise mundane photo better, and that's when colors or bright / dark areas distract from the image.

I'm also of the mind that black and white portraits hold more "power" than color. They seem to bring out a mood or enhance emotion better.

DeadJohn · 08-29-2018, 02:33 PM

For me, if the colors are a distraction from what I want to show, I'll convert to B&W. Photos of textures are a good example where B&W works well.

When the colors are merely boring rather than distracting, I'll try going both ways, comparing a saturation boost to B&W.

**beachgardener** · 08-30-2018, 02:26 AM - **1 Like**

the graduation of tones for sure

08-26-2018, 07:27 AM	#1
gump Site Supporter Join Date: Apr 2018 Location: Canton, Ohio Posts: 1,016	Thoughts on black and white Maybe I should say grayscale? Back in olden times I shot mostly B&W as the film was cheaper and it was versatile/more forgiving, and I liked it. Now beginning with all the wonderful technology and changes that go along with surviving past 70, I face questions that I did not have, or ignored, way back when. What subjects ask for B&W or at least deserve a quick look when editing? Are there particular details/processes that lead the editing? Is there a tutorial that covers basic questions? Attached Images

08-26-2018, 08:54 AM - 2 Likes	#6
othar Site Supporter Join Date: May 2014 Location: Linz Photos: Albums Posts: 3,098	Originally posted by pepperberry farm a lot of trial & error on my part There is no hard rule for me when to switch to black&white either. I often switch to B&W when there are some dîstracting colors in the background though. Originally posted by gump Thoughts on black and white Both examples of the barn work in my opinion, if color or not is mainly a question of what mood you wanna transport in your images. Last edited by othar; 08-26-2018 at 09:17 AM.

08-26-2018, 11:22 AM - 1 Like	#8
gump Site Supporter Join Date: Apr 2018 Location: Canton, Ohio Posts: 1,016 Original Poster	More things to try Originally posted by Gianclaudio A tip: I shoot raw most of the time, but I set the digital filter to monochrome when I'm in the mood of shooting black and white. That way, you can quickly preview how your images are going to look. You can later develop to b&w or colour using software/app, as they were saved in raw. I also like to shoot b&w at ISO 400-1000, as some grain enhance the photo, to my taste. I read somewhere that the gray/mono/B&W in-camera option with the K-70 is not as good as what editing can do. So I have not tried it. I will give it a shot in the near future. I use Affinity photo which allows playing with grain/noise as I imagine other programs do. I will also add that to the experimentation list. Thanks for the ideas!

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08-26-2018, 07:32 AM	#2
UncleVanya Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Jul 2014 Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 28,466	Old buildings, anything that color is a distraction rather than an enhancement.

08-26-2018, 08:07 AM	#3
IgorZ Veteran Member Join Date: Aug 2015 Location: Ottawa Posts: 1,735	I like portraits in black and white. I am not sure if it's all in my head, but to me it seems that some of my lenses are better for B&W than others

08-26-2018, 08:25 AM - 2 Likes	#4
pepperberry farm amateur dirt farmer Join Date: Dec 2014 Location: probably out in a field somewhere... Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 41,778	a lot of trial & error on my part; I'll try it, see if I like the result, tweak the process if necessary... it also helps to find a black & white processor that you like - I use Tonality and enjoy using it... as far as subjects, I'm all over the map with subjects... from flowers to people to landscapes and back to near-macros... all with Tonality:

08-26-2018, 08:52 AM - 3 Likes	#5
aaacb Pentaxian Join Date: May 2016 Photos: Gallery Posts: 3,726	I consider photos for bw if the transitions or separations in the photo come from brightness rather than color. For example the picture below just had washed-out sand tones, not adding much imo). I'm trying to get into this mindset when shooting bw film, but it's not easy being used to color as the default Lastly, low light situations such as concerts in tiny venues often force me to convert to bw so i have to shoot with that in mind, but that's more working within technical limitations than a deliberate choice

08-26-2018, 10:30 AM - 1 Like	#7
Gianclaudio Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2017 Location: Hannover Photos: Gallery Posts: 163	A tip: I shoot raw most of the time, but I set the digital filter to monochrome when I'm in the mood of shooting black and white. That way, you can quickly preview how your images are going to look. You can later develop to b&w or colour using software/app, as they were saved in raw. I also like to shoot b&w at ISO 400-1000, as some grain enhance the photo, to my taste.

08-26-2018, 11:43 AM - 1 Like	#9
HoutHans Pentaxian Join Date: Aug 2016 Location: Appingedam Photos: Gallery Posts: 3,123	I'm not sure about the scenes or images that I'll process as B&W. For me, there's something about the feeling or a certain scene that gets me to process it as B&W. Mostly, this has to do with an absence of many or striking colours in the scene and the many tones within a colour. I can't suggest any particular thing or subject, I'm afraid. When processing my RAWs in LR, its easy to see whether the image indeed works as B&W.

08-26-2018, 12:54 PM - 2 Likes	#10
StiffLegged Site Supporter Join Date: Jan 2018 Photos: Gallery Posts: 4,638	I still use the Nik Silver Efex Pro 2 plugin in Photoshop and can vary the film-style graininess at will. High contrast subjects work well, like shooting in the midday sun. Subjects dependant on strong compositional shapes rather than colour also work very well. I used to process b&w 35mm film and print my own, so b&w still holds my affection.

08-26-2018, 04:53 PM	#11
UncleVanya Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Jul 2014 Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 28,466	Originally posted by gump I read somewhere that the gray/mono/B&W in-camera option with the K-70 is not as good as what editing can do. So I have not tried it. I will give it a shot in the near future. I use Affinity photo which allows playing with grain/noise as I imagine other programs do. I will also add that to the experimentation list. Thanks for the ideas! Monochrome bold is pretty interesting on my k3.

08-26-2018, 11:23 PM	#13
twilhelm Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Florida Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 2,369	As I still shoot a lot of black and white film, in my opinion, any photo can be done black and white. Others have mentioned two times in particular where black and white can make an otherwise mundane photo better, and that's when colors or bright / dark areas distract from the image. I'm also of the mind that black and white portraits hold more "power" than color. They seem to bring out a mood or enhance emotion better.

08-29-2018, 02:33 PM	#14
DeadJohn Pentaxian Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: New York Posts: 4,834	For me, if the colors are a distraction from what I want to show, I'll convert to B&W. Photos of textures are a good example where B&W works well. When the colors are merely boring rather than distracting, I'll try going both ways, comparing a saturation boost to B&W.

08-30-2018, 02:26 AM - 1 Like	#15
beachgardener Site Supporter Join Date: Sep 2013 Location: Australia Photos: Gallery Posts: 3,842	the graduation of tones for sure