Advanced Digital Black & White Photography

by John Beardsworth

Reviewed by Richard

Don't be intimidated by the title. While the author assumes you have a good command of Photoshop tools, the book is targeted at anyone who wishes to refine their B&W conversion skills. Although some attention is given to older conversion techniques, the main focus is on using the B&W adjustment layer available in CS3 or later. The book offers step-by-step recipes, but takes the time to discuss the artistic goals that each method serves.

The first section gives shooting technique pointers. Except for a brief discussion of the use of colored filters, most of this applies to color shots as well as color as a basis for B&W

Next, the book deals with B&W conversion itself. The emphasis is on learning to use the information in each channel. The author demonstrates how to create multiple masked conversion layers to get the most out of the color original.

The following two sections deal with enhancing the conversion. Dynamic range, contrast and sharpening techniques are discussed first followed by a good demonstration of a number of toning effects. Former film shooters will be interested in seeing digital simulations of several well-known film techniques.

The final section discusses presentation considerations for both Web and printing: borders, output sharpening, edge burning and printer issues. There is also a brief discussion of bulk printing methods using Lightroom or Aperture and Photoshop actions and batch commands.