
Converting rAW to BlACk And White, toning, And SpeCiAl effeCtS
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USING CAMERA RAW’S GRAYSCALE MIX
Shooting Considerations
for Black and White
Images
Some shots work better in black and white
than others. There are no hard-and-fast
rules. If you are trying to create a particular
mood or evoke a certain era in time, for
example, rendering the nal image in
black and white is appropriate. However, a
black and white image can be plain boring
if there is neither good composition nor
compelling content.
For example, John McDermott’s vertical
shot of the Blue Angels preforming over
the San Francisco Bay, shown here in both
color (Figure 10-17) and black and white
(Figure 10-18), works very well either way
because of the dramatic lighting and strik-
ing composition.
Of course, content and composition aren’t
all that go into making a good black and
white image. You need a range of tonal
values, and that’s where proper exposure
comes in. Most digital cameras aren’t capa-
ble of giving you a black and white preview.
You can, if you want, tape a sheet of dark
green acetate or cellophane over your LCD
to get an approximate sense of grayscale.
You can also employ the old-fashioned
method of previsualizing in black and white
with your mind’s eye. After all, most of the
greatest black and white images of all time
were taken using a color viewnder and this
method.
Figure 10-17
Figure 10-18