To jcandeli: B&W

[clynch77]

Thanks JP. I was taking a look at some of your B&W's from the projects and think they have great contrast and some nice depth and I was wondering what technique you use to convert from colour to B&W. Do you use Channels in PS? I always tend to be a bit disappointed when I try to covert to B&W, and feel like there isn't the full range of tones - just greys.

[jcandeli]

Hi, glad you liked my b&ws. I hardly ever just convert to greyscale like you suspect. In general I cycle through the channels in Photoshop (using ctrl-1 ctrl-2 ctrl-3) and find the most contrast one and delete the rest. Then I convert to greyscale. Like you said you can also use the channel mixer first and get a good balance there. The only time my method doesn't really work is when the photo is of people. In one channel they look very pale and in another they look very dark!

I usually adjust contrast on almost all my photos anyway. You could also try the dodge and burn tools in photoshop to touch up areas.

I hope this helps! Let me know if you need more info. :)
JP