Adobe Photoshop CS4 Studio Techniques

Color/Grayscale Conversions

The best way to convert a color image to a grayscale image (traditionally known as a “black-and-white” image) is to use the Black and White adjustment (Image > Adjustments > Black and White). As you spend more time with Photo-shop, you’ll come across many methods for black-and-white conversion. But the Black and White adjustment is such a powerful tool, and so easy to use, that you can accomplish most black-and-white tasks with this tool. Best of all, the Black and White adjustment can be applied as an adjustment layer, so you get all of the advantages of adjustment layers for your grayscale conversions.

The options in the Black and White dialog let you specify exactly how you want particular color ranges in an image ...