PDA

View Full Version : Help needed with B/W conversion!!!

BroPhoto
Nov-30-2009, 08:24 PM
Hi All! I've been working on my B/W conversions in LR and would like to know if this looks ok. If not, I'd like to hear from the more experienced as to what I need to do to make this one better.

1. Tiffany and her kitten
http://brophoto.smugmug.com/Pets/People-and-their-pets/DSC2835-BW/728586013_X2oZZ-L.jpg

GaryB
marikris
Nov-30-2009, 08:49 PM
I think it looks fine. It would be a matter of taste, but if it were mine, I'd make it just a little brighter/lighter. But it looks good to me as it is.
Richard
Dec-01-2009, 12:07 AM
Gary,
Setting a proper white point will let you take advantage of the full tonal range. Unless you wanted this to be very low key, it looks too dark to me.
met
Dec-01-2009, 06:41 AM
I agree about making it a bit brighter. I usually prefer black and whites with more contrast.
D'Buggs
Dec-01-2009, 08:20 AM
I believe it's in need of more contrast.
lilmomma
Dec-01-2009, 09:07 AM
it's very gray to me...maybe post the original so we can see what you're working with? It may just be that it's not the right shot for b&w.
Matt336
Dec-01-2009, 03:09 PM
Bump the contrast. Maybe warm it up just a bit.
anonymouscuban
Dec-01-2009, 03:19 PM
Gary,
Setting a proper white point will let you take advantage of the full tonal range. Unless you wanted this to be very low key, it looks too dark to me.

+2
BradfordBenn
Dec-01-2009, 08:31 PM
This tutorial by Martin Evening might help, toward the end he talks about how he does B&W Conversion in LR.

http://lightroom-news.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/lrn-whitebalance.mov
BroPhoto
Dec-02-2009, 01:07 AM
This tutorial by Martin Evening might help, toward the end he talks about how he does B&W Conversion in LR.

http://lightroom-news.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/lrn-whitebalance.mov

Thanks for the link Brad, and all the comments from everyone else. I reset the white balance, and made a few other adjustments, like darken the background a little bit. Here is the new version of the B/W. Does it still look too dark? I found that if I lighten it up any more than what I have, that the kitten starts to get blown out. Anyway, let me know what you think of this one.

GaryB

http://brophoto.smugmug.com/Pets/People-and-their-pets/DSC2835-BW-2/729806429_eqtdQ-L.jpg
kidzmom
Dec-02-2009, 04:45 AM
I think this version looks very good!:clap Seems to be bright enough now and has a nice variation of WB and grey tones.

Thanks for the link Brad, and all the comments from everyone else. I reset the white balance, and made a few other adjustments, like darken the background a little bit. Here is the new version of the B/W. Does it still look too dark? I found that if I lighten it up any more than what I have, that the kitten starts to get blown out. Anyway, let me know what you think of this one.

GaryB

http://brophoto.smugmug.com/Pets/People-and-their-pets/DSC2835-BW-2/729806429_eqtdQ-L.jpg
marikris
Dec-02-2009, 05:28 AM
It looks a tad faded to me; I'd adjust the curves on the darks downward by a little bit, or the shadows by a little bit, to give it more contrast.
BroPhoto
Dec-02-2009, 07:09 AM
I think this version looks very good!:clap Seems to be bright enough now and has a nice variation of WB and grey tones.

Thanks Kidsmom for the comment! At least now I know I'm headed in the right direction.

GaryB
BroPhoto
Dec-02-2009, 07:15 AM
It looks a tad faded to me; I'd adjust the curves on the darks downward by a little bit, or the shadows by a little bit, to give it more contrast.

Thanks for the tip/advise Marikris. When I get a chance I will give it a try and see if I can get more contrast in this photo. I'm new to B/W processing, so I know I have a lot to learn.

GaryB
D'Buggs
Dec-03-2009, 08:52 PM
It's commin'!
Close, very close... :wink