CREATING AND TONING B&W IMAGES IN PHOTOSHOP

1 Basic Adjustments

Before converting an image to monochrome in Photoshop it needs to have any problems corrected – such as perspective, a sloping horizon, colour balance, and any distractions (particularly at the edge of the picture) cloned out. With the basics completed, the first stage is to crop the image to improve and maximise the composition and to get rid of anything that might be a distraction. Monochrome pictures rely heavily on a powerful, dynamic composition.

2 Lab Sharpening

The next step is to sharpen the picture. The method I normally use is to select Mode on the Image menu and then tick Lab Color from the options that appear. Next, go to the Layers palette, click on the Channels tab and select the Lightness channel – your image will become monochrome. On the Filter menu choose Sharpen and then Unsharp Mask.  In the window that opens, and depending on the size of the file, I set Amount to 100 and the Radius to 1. I usually leave Threshold at 0, unless I’m working on a portrait when I may take it up to 2 or 3. Click on OK to apply the sharpening and go back to Image > Mode and select RGB Color to return the image to colour. I use this method as it doesn’t sharpen the colour channels, thereby lessening the chance for any colour aberrations to be over-emphasised.

3 Mono Layers

In the Layers palette return to the Layers tab and click on the half black / half white round symbol at the bottom of the box to create an adjustment layer. In the list of options that appears select Hue/Saturation and click OK in the window that opens. Now, return to the Layers palette and change the blending mode from Normal to Color for the layer you have just created. Next create another adjustment layer as before, keeping the blending mode as Normal, this time move the Saturation Slider fully to the left to create a monochrome image before clicking OK. Make sure this latest layer is above the previous one in the palette list – you can check by double-clicking its Layer Thumbnail to see where the saturation slider is.

 4 Tonal Effects

In the first adjustment layer you created in the Layer Palette double-click on its Layer Thumbnail – the left hand of the two rectangular symbols. This opens the Hue / Saturation window again where moving the Hue Slider enables you to achieve the desired mono effect. The tonal content can be fine tuned using the Saturation slider or, for the ultimate in sublety, using this slider for individual colour channels selected from the Edit drop-down menu at the top of the Hue/Saturation window. When you are satisfied with the results click the OK button.

5 Colorize

To give the image any colour tone of your choice return to the upper adjustment layer and double click on its Layer Thumbnail to open its Hue/Saturation window. This time click on the box labelled ‘Colorize’ then move the Hue and Saturation sliders to achieve the tonal effect you require. As a starting point I use a hue level of 38 and a saturation level of around 18 to give me the sepia tone I prefer, but the final effect also depends on the printer and the paper you are using.

6 Darkening Gradient

I also darkened the top and bottom edges of the image I was using in the demonstration as I felt it lacked depth and also to stop the picture "running off the bottom". This was also done by using adjustment layers but this time changing the mode to Multiply and using the Linear Gradient Tool set from Foreground to Background making sure the foreground colour is set to white and the background to black. The Gradient Tool is the 6th tool down on the right in the toolbox - it shares its position with the Paintbucket Tool. With the Gradient Tool selected drag a line down from the top edge of the image about a quarter of the way down from the top edge, the distance depending upon the effect you want; release the mouse button and the sky will appear darker towards the top edge. This effect may be fine tuned using the percentage slider to alter the rather harsh effect of the multiply mode. The same effect may be applied to the base of the image by creating another adjustment layer and by using the Gradient tool working upwards from the base of the image.

7 Dodge & Burn

The final stage was to dodge and burn the image to intensify the tones in the sky and to lighten dark areas. This was done by creating two new layers, one to be labelled Dodge (or lighten) and the other ‘Burn’ (or darken). Each layer is filled with 50% Gray. This is done after the layer is created by going to Edit then Fill, ticking the top contents box, and choosing 50 % Gray. Change the two new layer modes to Overlay and the picture will re-appear. To darken the picture click on the newly created Burn layer, choose a very soft brush approx 300 in size with an opacity of around 2-3 percent. With black as the chosen colour work over the parts of the image you wish to darken. Mistakes can be corrected or modified by painting over with white selected. To lighten parts of the image do exactly the same as noted above but this time work on the dodge layer with a white brush. Mistakes as before can be corrected using a black brush. As long as it isn’t overdone it is a very subtle way of lightening or darkening areas of an image.

The value of using adjustment layers is firstly that they don’t add to the file size and secondly they are infinitely variable so you can keep going back to them time after time to continue to tweak and improve your picture.