Black and White Photo Editing – Make Your Images Unforgettable

When on vacation, I want to relax and sleep in, as many of you do too. So, I automatically miss the morning golden hour — the perfect time and conditions to take pictures of famous places with considerably fewer tourists (like myself). I usually wake up late, having breakfast or even brunch, and only then get around to those places mentioned above. The light at this time of the day is typically wrong. I am in a hurry because I want to see as many things as possible, and I never have too much time to think about the shot.

So, the results of my photographic efforts while on vacation are often less than satisfying. Frequently, I download my SD card into Lightroom and look at the images, thinking, “Did I take this picture, and what was I thinking? I did not remember this place looking so bad!” The immediate reflex is to delete this bad, bad image from my hard drive forever!

Lately, I have learned not to be so hasty. If I have taken the time to pick up my camera, frame a shot, and press the shutter button, I have probably seen something that has captured my attention. So, I try to make the most of those imperfect moments.

First, I fiddle with the shot in Lightroom. Play with the sliders, re-crop, and experiment. If nothing works, I turn to the Black and White Magic. Rather than discarding my ordinary photos, I can rescue them. I can enhance composition, contrast, and mood by converting them to monochrome masterpieces using tools like Lightroom, Silver Efex Pro, and DXO FilmPack7. In this article, we’ll explore how black and white editing can elevate your travel photos, making the most of those imperfect moments.

Converting your images into Black and White has several benefits and does not diminish your photography.

In less-than-perfect lighting, colors often lose their vibrancy, and images can look flat. Converting to black and white can emphasize contrast and texture, which might otherwise be lost. For instance, in a foggy landscape, the subtle gradations of grey can create a moodier and more dramatic scene. Lightroom’s Black & White Mix panel allows you to adjust individual color tones, turning a dull sky into a dramatic backdrop by manipulating the blues and yellows.

Harsh midday sunlight can create unflattering shadows and overexposed highlights. In black and white, these extremes can be artistic rather than problematic. For example, a portrait in harsh light can be transformed in Lightroom by reducing exposure and increasing contrast, turning harsh shadows into striking elements that enhance the subject’s features.

Busy scenes with lots of colors and distractions can be simplified and made more impactful in black and white. When shooting street photography, for example, converting to black and white can help focus attention on the subject and the interplay of light and shadows rather than on the myriad colors in the background.

Black and white photography often conveys emotion more effectively than color. In situations with challenging lighting, such as a dimly lit room or a cloudy day, black and white can highlight the mood and atmosphere without the distraction of imperfect color tones. For example, a black-and-white image of a stormy beach can feel more powerful and evocative, focusing on the textures of the waves and the ominous clouds.

Black and white images are timeless, making travel photos feel more significant and enduring. Looking back on your travels years later, black and white photos can evoke nostalgia and highlight the bond between family members. Imagine a shot of your family standing in front of a historic landmark or sharing an intimate moment over a meal – these become more evocative and classic when rendered in black and white.

There are many methods for converting a color image to black and white in Lightroom Classic, and indeed, the simplest one is to pull the Saturation slider down to -100. I strongly suggest you avoid this approach, as it limits further editing capabilities and rarely yields exciting results.

I suggest you adjust your image to look somewhat OK in color. So, go to the Basic panel and start with the basics.

• White Balance: While it may seem irrelevant for black and white images, adjusting the white balance affects how colors are converted for your final image.
• Exposure: I usually shoot underexposed by about one stop because it is easier to bring back shadows in Lightroom than to recover blown-up highlights, so I increase my exposure slightly. However, art is all subjective, so you must play around and find out what looks pleasing to your eye. It is a good rule of thumb to set the overall Exposure slider so that your image includes plenty of detail.
• Contrast: Black-and-white images often benefit from a boost in contrast. Try moving the Contrast slider to the right until the different composition elements start to pop.
• Highlights & Shadows: Move the Shadows and Highlights sliders back and forth until you get an effect you like. A common practice is to lower the Highlights to recover details. Then, you usually boost the Shadows to get more detail, but it’s up to you and will vary from image to image.
• Whites and Blacks: Increased whites to create contrast and decreased shadows and blacks to add more depth.

Throughout the process, you can press the V key occasionally to see how your image looks in Black and White, but I strongly suggest you start your journey in color.

Now, go to the top right corner of the Basic panel and tap “Black & White” to apply either one of the Adobe Monochrome default profiles or your camera’s Native Monochrome profile to your image. While the initial look might seem similar to desaturation, this method is far more flexible.

Here, I suggest you jump to Texture, Clarity, and Dehaze and try to add more detail to the image. You must be careful when using these sliders to enhance detail and not go overboard, as the image quality may rapidly decrease as you move them to the right!

The Black & White Mix panel lets you utilize your image’s original color data. Here, you can adjust eight color sliders to influence the tones in your black and white image. For example, moving the Blue Slider right brightens blue tones, while moving it left darkens them. This flexibility is a crucial advantage, allowing for precise tonal adjustments.

• Color Sliders: Adjust these to influence specific tones. For example, darken the sky by moving the Blue slider left. This flexibility is an advantage when you want precise tonal adjustments. However, be aware that not all images contain all eight colors. Adjusting sliders for absent colors won’t change the picture.
• Target Adjustment Tool: Instead of dragging sliders individually, enable the Target Adjustment Tool. Hover over the image, click, and drag up or down to adjust the brightness of specific areas.

Now you can return to the Basic panel and fiddle a bit more with the Exposure, Contrast, Highlights and Shadows, and Whites and Blacks. Carefully find the balance – raise shadows and exposure and bring down the highlights as needed to avoid blown highlights.

• Tone Curve: Fine-tune contrast using the Parametric Tone Curve.

Most of the time, cropping is one of the first steps in post-processing images. However, I suggest you crop your image after you have eeked out every ounce of detail and goodness. Cropping your photo, to no surprise, can enhance composition. As Scott Kelby says, and I am paraphrasing, “Most of the time, we should be thinking of not what to add to our images, but what to remove.” For example, a panoramic crop can often add a cinematic feel to landscapes and group shots.

Now, you can concentrate on the truly creative part of the process. Your goal is to achieve depth and drama. Dodging and Burning have been with the photographers since … well, for a long time. Before we had Lightroom and its spectacular Brushes, Gradients, and Masks, this was achieved in a dark room. Well, now we can do it in a light room, pardon the pun.

• Linear Gradients: Use Linear Gradients to darken areas like the sky or foreground and focus the viewer’s attention on the center of the image.
• Radial Gradients: You can add accents, enhance light sources, or add glow effects to your image using radial gradients. You can use it to focus the viewer’s attention on where you desire (usually the photo’s subject).
• Luminance Range Masks: You can use the Luminance Range Masks to adjust specific tonal ranges precisely.
• Adjustment Brushes: Paint light or shadow using the adjustment brushes and control feather, density, and flow to unleash their full potential

Add Post Crop Vignetting to draw attention to the center of the image. Use the transform tool to adjust the perspective and scale for added drama. I personally use Scott Kelby’s secret formula for Post Crop Vignetting and add -11 to my images. It may seem very little, but believe me, it does the trick perfectly.

Remember to Sharpen your image before exporting. In the details panel, adjust the sharpening settings to enhance the overall clarity. Be careful not to introduce noise in this final step. Use the available masking tools, and don’t go overboard with the sharpening.

While Lightroom is incredibly powerful, other software packages, such as Silver Efex Pro and DXO FilmPack7, offer additional creative options for black and white photography.

• Silver Efex Pro: Known for its comprehensive control over black and white conversion, Silver Efex Pro provides advanced filters, film emulations, and local adjustments to create professional-grade monochrome images.
• DXO FilmPack7: This tool offers a wide range of film simulations, allowing you to replicate the look of classic black-and-white films. It’s perfect for adding a vintage touch to your travel photos.

Creating black-and-white images in Lightroom is a fantastic way to work with pictures taken in less-than-perfect lighting conditions. By focusing on contrast, texture, and emotional impact, black-and-white photography allows you to turn challenging situations into creative opportunities. So, next time you look at a picture taken in tricky lighting, remember that black and white might be your best option for capturing a compelling image.