Ok, I couldn’t resist. I just tried some black and white effects with some past photos and absolutely love the result. I’ve been so hesitant to work with black and white but Bonnie’s image of a classic car on her 365 Blog has inspired me tonight. So here goes. Hints and tips are welcome!
I decreased the saturation, added a soft light posterization, and used the Burn tool on the shadows setting at 10% and touched up her hair. Sharpened the eyes which I think made them pop a little.
Below is the original for a comparison. I like the black and white better.
You’ve done a lovely job with the black and white! Sometimes I find that colour can be distracting and I often feel that if the colour isn’t actually adding anything to a shot then it’s best handled in black and white. Often I find that a shot which I don’t like in colour can be stunning when converted to b&w. Somehow I also feel that black and white is one step further removed from “reality”, it makes you look at things in a different way.
Wonderful petroglyphs in this photo. Where was it taken?
Thanks for the support and encouragement. The photo was taken at the Omaha Henry Doorly Zoo in the Desert Dome. It’s a popular area for photo opportunities and I’ve taken pictures of my daughter there over the years. We love the zoo. It’s one of the top in the country believe it or not.
Black and white was definitely my favorite. 🙂 Bonnie’s photo was great too, huh? Anyway, you guys did amazing black and white this week… Maybe I’ll have to try too!
I was in a hurry last night posting, so I forgot Bonnie’s link to her incredible car, need to do that now, this project in incredibly inspiring. Makes one stretch and try new things.
Aww…thank you so much for the shout-out! It’s funny…I chose black and white for that photo because I was trying to disguise the cars in the background. It worked so well for that, and then I realized it made the actual photo even better. 🙂 I love the b&w one of your daughter…such a beautiful girl!
I liked the black and white one best too. I like the edits to the original for sure.
Thanks! Bringing up the contrast in BW makes a big difference. I think I’m going to post more Photoshop before and after images. It’s really amazing the difference sometimes.