Does B&W work here?

synnyster · 03-01-2008, 10:46 AM

I was taking some test shots in the yard and snapped a flower. I didn't really like the colors so I tried it in black and white. Does black and white work with flowers?

weatherwise2 · 03-01-2008, 11:56 AM

Sometimes B&W works and on the front part of the flower it works okay but with the dead or partial flower on the back side of this stem it is too much black area, in my opinion. Somce differences in cropping might make this a little better as well.

Peter Zack · 03-01-2008, 11:57 AM

Take the opinion for what it's worth - free. For me these don't seem to work that well. B&W is great for many different subjects but I'm not taken with it on a flower shot. On my screen the contrast is too deep as well.

What was wrong with the colours in the original?

synnyster · 03-01-2008, 12:18 PM

I thought the color version looked real boring and muted. Upping the saturation didn't do it for me. I guess the picture itself wasn't much to work with. And I also prefer B&W over color most of the time.

Ivan Glisin · 03-01-2008, 01:47 PM

Originally posted by synnyster

I was taking some test shots in the yard and snapped a flower. I didn't really like the colors so I tried it in black and white. Does black and white work with flowers?

Can I see the color version? (JPEG quality 10 and a bit larger, like 800x600.)

synnyster · 03-01-2008, 06:41 PM

In color:

Ivan Glisin · 03-01-2008, 08:30 PM

It is very hard to work from JPEG (notice posterization), but here is the idea:

1. Channel mixer: R/G/B +100, -100, 0 (compression artifacts from the red channel showed up in this step)
2. Levels to increase contrast (posterization showed up in this step)
3. USM 150%, 0.3px
4. USM 15%, 40px
5. Resize and add frame

Note: to avoid problems in steps 1 and 2, RAW-> 16-bit PSD/TIFF-> 8-bit JPEG is the way to go. 8-bit JPEG is not good for extreme channels, levels and curves manipulation.

synnyster · 03-01-2008, 08:34 PM

Very nice Ivan. Thanks for the tip!

03-01-2008, 10:46 AM	#1
synnyster Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Dallas, TX Posts: 203	Does B&W work here? I was taking some test shots in the yard and snapped a flower. I didn't really like the colors so I tried it in black and white. Does black and white work with flowers?

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03-01-2008, 11:56 AM	#2
weatherwise2 Pentaxian Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Warwick, RI Photos: Gallery Posts: 740	Sometimes B&W works and on the front part of the flower it works okay but with the dead or partial flower on the back side of this stem it is too much black area, in my opinion. Somce differences in cropping might make this a little better as well.

03-01-2008, 11:57 AM	#3
Peter Zack Pentaxian Moderator Emeritus Join Date: May 2007 Location: Edmonton Alberta, Canada Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 10,643	Take the opinion for what it's worth - free. For me these don't seem to work that well. B&W is great for many different subjects but I'm not taken with it on a flower shot. On my screen the contrast is too deep as well. What was wrong with the colours in the original?

03-01-2008, 12:18 PM	#4
synnyster Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Dallas, TX Posts: 203 Original Poster	I thought the color version looked real boring and muted. Upping the saturation didn't do it for me. I guess the picture itself wasn't much to work with. And I also prefer B&W over color most of the time.

03-01-2008, 01:47 PM	#5
Ivan Glisin Veteran Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Belgrade Posts: 656	Originally posted by synnyster I was taking some test shots in the yard and snapped a flower. I didn't really like the colors so I tried it in black and white. Does black and white work with flowers? Can I see the color version? (JPEG quality 10 and a bit larger, like 800x600.)

03-01-2008, 06:41 PM	#6
synnyster Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Dallas, TX Posts: 203 Original Poster	In color:

03-01-2008, 08:30 PM	#7
Ivan Glisin Veteran Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Belgrade Posts: 656	It is very hard to work from JPEG (notice posterization), but here is the idea: 1. Channel mixer: R/G/B +100, -100, 0 (compression artifacts from the red channel showed up in this step) 2. Levels to increase contrast (posterization showed up in this step) 3. USM 150%, 0.3px 4. USM 15%, 40px 5. Resize and add frame Note: to avoid problems in steps 1 and 2, RAW-> 16-bit PSD/TIFF-> 8-bit JPEG is the way to go. 8-bit JPEG is not good for extreme channels, levels and curves manipulation.

03-01-2008, 08:34 PM	#8
synnyster Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Dallas, TX Posts: 203 Original Poster	Very nice Ivan. Thanks for the tip!