Thread: Total "newb" question about software

Originally Posted by armanius

maybe someone can start a thread with a step by step guide to black and white conversions with samples and etc. :) hint hint!

yes!!

Originally Posted by Hikari

The more things change, the more they remain the same. I remember folks buying really nice film cameras and lenses only to buy a cheap enlarger to print with or send the film out to the local drug store.

Still, the greatest enlarger in the world is no good if you don't have the skills.

Hikari,

I just wish there was a place I could buy talent!

Cheers, Jock

May I respectfully suggest that Mr Google has a great amount of information on this subject, just ask him about digital black and white photography or something similar, you'll find 1000's of entries there.

Barrie

Jock, you might want to consider getting Snapseed as a separate application. Its not as full featured as the plugins for PS/Lightroom but its really quite good, only $20, and produced by the same mob (which is now owned by google)
Snapseed | Snap it. Tweak it. Love it. Share it.

There is free pp software which will help you get your feet wet. I hear that 'Gimp' works very well and it's free. And most pp software have a 30 days free trial period. Photoshop Elements is quite good and much cheaper than CS6, both Lightroom and Aperture are under $100.

I can confirm that GIMP mirrrors much of what Photoshop can achieve. I've used it under Linux, I'm not sure if the development work to get it running under windows is still a work in progress or if there is a version available.

Here are two typical links from a quick internet search that will give you some idea of techniques available to you. The first details methods that can be used in a photo editor such as Photoshop Elements, and indeed GIMP. These techniques are universal and would be no more nor less than anyone could submit to a thread here, however the work has already been done by others and is clearly stated, so saves time and further explanation.

7 Black and White Photoshop Conversion Techniques

The second contains tutorials about Silver Efex

Silver Efex Pro 2 – Tutorial « Photography Improvement

I hope these provide you with a starting point for further research. I would suggest that the first set of methods would provide you with a greater learning experience than just selecting from a set of presets contained within a plug in, however inexpensive.

Barrie

Gimp has had windows ports for a few releases now. Which is what I run on my laptop.
See www.gimp-win.sourceforge.net/stable.html

Hey All,

Here is what I use.

Fhotoroom

The list at the bottom of that link shows some of what the program can do. It is a raw converter with full image adjustment ability, filters, frames etc and powerful hdr ability including image combining and tone mapping. One important ability the program has that is not mentioned on the site is the ability to combine layers through brushes or erasers. It does have all the lasso tools as well however they are not as intelligent as those in photoshop. I'm not sure everything works exactly right or it is operator error (more likely) . It is also kind of clunky at times but still very powerful. The only negative I have found is that the rotate function isn't as sensitive (small increments) as I'd like and so I use an old freeware version of 20 20 for that and sometimes sharpening as well.

Here is a gallery if you would like to see some images. Note the black and whites.

Examples

I recommend this to those who do not want to spend a lot but want a very complete package including real hdr power. All that said it is only $45.50 US and has all that it does. I have no affiliation with the product other than being a happy user who hasn't found a reason to justify the expense (what like 10 times the cost of this program?) CS6 or some such.

-Ed-

For some very good threads about Silver Efex and all the many plusses of using it you might want to take a look see here: (I did a search in Image Works for "Silver" http://www.seriouscompacts.com/searc...earchid=134681 Take your time and look at the threads that specifically talk about Silver Efex...and I'd include How is Nik Silver Efex Pro better than Lightroom for B&W for sure.