Gull_shadows

[BillN_33]

Still experimenting with B & W images ........ but still just totally "flat"

I think that I need to invest in some "proper" B & W processing software ........ but PS should be able to do with Nik does

 

[trevorbray]

You're correct Bill. All the tools are in PhotoShop. I guess we just need to figure out the best way to use them.
My method is simple.
1. Add a new fill layer in Black and change the blend mode to Color. This gives a greyscale with perfect fidelity. Sadly it's not enough to give a good Black and White.
2. Create two new layers to use for Contrast adjustments. I simply select whichever Channel has the most Contrast, add a curves layer, change the levels to give a value of .5. I'm not worried here about any clipping. This will be my Highlight adjustment.
Copy this layer and invert the mask. This will be my Shadow adjustment.
Quite often adjusting the curve (be sure to keep the input value at 50%)
Up or down will be enough.
But you may also need to colour manage the background layer (Using a Selective Color Layer to manage black addition/reduction)

You're probably already familiar with this, apologies.

 

[BillN_33]

You're correct Bill. All the tools are in PhotoShop. I guess we just need to figure out the best way to use them.
My method is simple.
1. Add a new fill layer in Black and change the blend mode to Color. This gives a greyscale with perfect fidelity. Sadly it's not enough to give a good Black and White.
2. Create two new layers to use for Contrast adjustments. I simply select whichever Channel has the most Contrast, add a curves layer, change the levels to give a value of .5. I'm not worried here about any clipping. This will be my Highlight adjustment.
Copy this layer and invert the mask. This will be my Shadow adjustment.
Quite often adjusting the curve (be sure to keep the input value at 50%)
Up or down will be enough.
But you may also need to colour manage the background layer (Using a Selective Color Layer to manage black addition/reduction)

You're probably already familiar with this, apologies.

Thanks Trevor, I'll give it a try and also compare it with what can be achieved in LR, with and without the pre sets