Photographer Piet Van den Eynde, also author of the Dutch book “Adobe Lightroom Ontmaskerd” and teacher of Lightroom workshops, is the first Belgian author to publish an eBook with Craft & Vision, titled The Power of Black and White in Adobe Lightroom and Beyond. The eBook contains a stunning 100 pages and covers the conversion of a digital color image to black and white using (mainly) Adobe Lightroom.
The demand for techniques to convert an image to black and white has steadily increased in recent years and has even encountered exponential growth. Prior to the digital era you only had Photoshop at your disposal. Today, however, many other solutions are available, among them tools such as NIK Silver Efex Pro, which will offer you both a speedy and high quality conversion.
On the other hand, some photographers consciously choose to work only on film or even combine digital and analog photography. Many of us have never worked in a darkroom before and are probably only familiar with digital photography. You can’t exclude this group of photographers from creating black and white images without having to invest in a darkroom. An analog workflow can be expensive and is also very time consuming. Thankfully, digital technology has evolved phenomenally over the past few years, resulting in professional results that can easily match or even surpass the quality of analog photography.
Coming from a background in analog black and white photography, the author is, in my opinion, the appropriate person to talk about and compare the techniques and developments of analog and digital photography. He also mentions this in the introduction to his eBook. The conversion to black and white using Lightroom or plugins is not as easy as the manufacturers have led us to believe. You still have to have a vision. It doesn’t matter whether you shoot digital or analog, if have you no feeling for composition, light or content, no technique or plugin in the world will transform your image into a World Press Photo.
Contents of the eBook
- 0. Introduction
- 1. Digital Black & White Do’s and Don’ts.
- 2. The Basics of Black & White Conversion
- 3. Introducing Lightroom’s Black & White Conversion Tools
- 4. Lightroom Black & White Workflow
- 5. Pros and Cons of Using Presets
- 6. Dodging and Burning With Graduated Filters and the Adjustment Brush
- 7. Lightroom Plugins for Black & White Conversion (Alien Skin Exposure – NIK Silver Efex Pro 2)
- 8. High Dynamic Range Imaging (HDR) and Black & White (NIK HDR Efex Pro – Photomatix Pro – LR/Enfuse)
- 9. The Finishing Touches
- 10. The Print
The eBook contains several detailed case studies which offer great insight into the author’s workflow. He also discusses the advantages and disadvantages of plugins and unveils useful tips and tricks for dodging & burning. Despite the fact that the last two chapters are very interesting topics to talk about, they are too concise to be of much use, and thereforeI would have removed them from this eBook. Nonetheless, the price/quality relationship of this eBook is unbeatable! For only a few dollars, you get a cartload of information which will keep you occupied for days.
In the past, most books and tutorials were limited to explaining conversion techniques in Photoshop. When Lightroom was released a few years ago, more and more photographers wanted to shorten their workflow. With the latest version and with the use of plugins, such a workflow certainly has become possible. If you’re a fan of black and white and want to keep your workflow within Lightroom, this eBook is a highly recommended purchase!
The Power of Black and White in Adobe Lightroom and Beyond is available as PDF or iPad App and costs 5 USD (3,5 Euro).
“So, even in analog photography, there wasn’t just one black-and-white version of any given scene: the film and filters used significantly influenced the final result (or should we say interpretation), and that’s not to mention the secrets of developing the film and enlarging the negative in the darkroom. In that respect, nothing much has changed. Except that now, the lights can stay on and if there’s a funny smell to be noticed around your desk, you can’t blame the chemicals.”
“Nowadays, only a mouse click separates your raw file from its two-stops pushed Tri-X incarnation. At least, so the manufacturers would want us to believe. While it’s true that digital black and white has become more accessible, what was once a lack of options is now an agony of choice: which tool, but more importantly, which process will express your black-and-white vision best?”
“And how would you like your 2-stops-pushed Tri-X today, sir? With or without a vignette? The highly unpredictable juggling with chemicals has been replaced by well-aimed mouse clicks. Doesn’t that kill part of the charm? Oh well, if you’re feeling nostalgic, fix a red filter over your desk lamp and dim the other lights. Unscrew a bottle of your favourite developer for added oldfactory realism and leave the tap running for bonus sound effects!”
“The more colours you have in your original, the more you’ll be able to do with the B&W panel. A model wearing a purple pair of jeans (does that even exist?), a green sweater, and a red handbag against a blue sky background may hurt your eyes with all that colour, but when it comes to black-and-white conversion, she’ll lead to more interesting and quicker results than her twin sister, who’s dressed in an orange outfit and stands in front of a brick wall.”
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