FILTERED BLACK AND WHITE
After the last article on the impact of light temperature in converting a color image to black and white, a different color-related concept was relayed to me and, of course, I just had to play with it.
Artist and friend Travis Little suggested adding a fill layer with a very light red, and then reducing the opacity of that layer to a level appropriate to the image and/or effect desired. Travis had used the effect himself on at least one of his digital paint images with impressive results. The concept was well worth trying.
Running through my mind, of course, was exactly what color would work best. While the red layer worked well for Travis' image, would it necessary be the same for a photograph, and what other options might be worth exploring?
To answer that question, we took detailed crops from images of Amber Lyn shot outdoors this past summer. The natural late afternoon light provides a much softer gradient than does studio lighting, making the conversion to black and white often challenging. Regular photo filters, such as those provided in Photoshop, fail to merge with the image in a good way; just lying there like a piece of acetate over the negative.
So, working with seven different images, we applied to each a fill layer of a different shade. Since the images were different, care was taken to keep the black and white conversion method and other factors exactly the same from one image to the next, creating as much comparative consistency between the images as possible. The opacity of the fill layer is set at 10%, which seemed more appropriate for red and blue fills than it was for others.
Keep in mind that the quality of actual image output is going to vary based on the calibration of one's monitor to the printing device being used. Not everyone may see significant difference from one image to another if the viewing monitor is not properly calibrated, especially with the low resolution samples below.
Which color is best? As with any conversion, the answer lies wholly within the judgment of one's taste. The softer the lines, the more likely a red, violet or orange fill will give that subtle nuance one wishes to achieve. With harder lines, a blue or green fill may take the image closer to the feel of a silver gelatin print.
Results may vary greatly depending on the textures and complexity of colors involved in the original photo as well. Blue, green and violet fills are likely to perform better with images that have rougher textures and deeper lines.
Below are the samples we processed. The color of the fill layer is listed below each. Consider the effect carefully. There are certainly some circumstances where utilizing the fill layer definitely improves the quality of the black and white image.
Light red fill
Light blue fill
Violet fill
Orange fill
Green fill
Dark red fill
Dark blue fill
Artist and friend Travis Little suggested adding a fill layer with a very light red, and then reducing the opacity of that layer to a level appropriate to the image and/or effect desired. Travis had used the effect himself on at least one of his digital paint images with impressive results. The concept was well worth trying.
Running through my mind, of course, was exactly what color would work best. While the red layer worked well for Travis' image, would it necessary be the same for a photograph, and what other options might be worth exploring?
To answer that question, we took detailed crops from images of Amber Lyn shot outdoors this past summer. The natural late afternoon light provides a much softer gradient than does studio lighting, making the conversion to black and white often challenging. Regular photo filters, such as those provided in Photoshop, fail to merge with the image in a good way; just lying there like a piece of acetate over the negative.
So, working with seven different images, we applied to each a fill layer of a different shade. Since the images were different, care was taken to keep the black and white conversion method and other factors exactly the same from one image to the next, creating as much comparative consistency between the images as possible. The opacity of the fill layer is set at 10%, which seemed more appropriate for red and blue fills than it was for others.
Keep in mind that the quality of actual image output is going to vary based on the calibration of one's monitor to the printing device being used. Not everyone may see significant difference from one image to another if the viewing monitor is not properly calibrated, especially with the low resolution samples below.
Which color is best? As with any conversion, the answer lies wholly within the judgment of one's taste. The softer the lines, the more likely a red, violet or orange fill will give that subtle nuance one wishes to achieve. With harder lines, a blue or green fill may take the image closer to the feel of a silver gelatin print.
Results may vary greatly depending on the textures and complexity of colors involved in the original photo as well. Blue, green and violet fills are likely to perform better with images that have rougher textures and deeper lines.
Below are the samples we processed. The color of the fill layer is listed below each. Consider the effect carefully. There are certainly some circumstances where utilizing the fill layer definitely improves the quality of the black and white image.
Light red fill
Light blue fill
Violet fill
Orange fill
Green fill
Dark red fill
Dark blue fill
posted by Charles at
2:55 PM
<< Home