How to Convert an Image to Black and White Using Photoshop

Creating a successful black and white image takes a lot more than simply pulling all of the saturation out of a color photo. This excellent video tutorial will show you what you need to know to create more effective black and white images using Photoshop.

Coming to you from Karl Taylor, this great video discusses how to convert a color image to black and white in Photoshop. I think it is well worth learning how to really control a black and white conversion. For a long time, I thought of black and white photos simply as a variation on their original color cousins, but I eventually learned to think about a monochrome image as its own entity, built from the ground up instead of taken from another image, and that change in approach made my black and white images improve drastically. There are a vast number of parameters that one can manipulate well beyond simple saturation, and by taking control of these various settings, you can craft a stronger final product and even find creative possibilities that might not have existed in the original color versions of your photos. 

Check out the video above for the full rundown from Taylor. 

Alex Cooke's picture

Alex Cooke is a Cleveland-based portrait, events, and landscape photographer. He holds an M.S. in Applied Mathematics and a doctorate in Music Composition. He is also an avid equestrian.

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5 Comments

I understand, that you want to promote your PS classes
BUT
anybody, how whants to do B&W should know and considder the great plug in Nik Silver Efex!

I've more than considered Silver Efex Pro, I've actually used it before. But I don't use it anymore as I can get as good if not better results just straight out of PS.

Really helpful video. Thanks for sharing

I've resurrected three ancient film(!) cameras, loaded them with Tri-X400 and am finding the great tonal values in film that digital, even with all of the great computer manipulation possible, just can't capture. Yes, I scan and print the images digitally, but the foundation of an analog capture I find gives me so much more with which to work.