Godfrey, I use a variety of techniques to make the conversion, and the tonality can be fully controlled by what's available in Photoshop. Your technique is a good one - one of many good techniques. I'm familiar with close to a dozen, mostly use just a couple, but can see where knowing how to use more techniques can be very handy depending on the original photograph and the results one wants. Y'know what they say, "The more you know the better your luck."
I think this plug-in is also quite good, although it goes about its business a little differently, yet it has its place amongst the myriad of techniques available. I think it may be a great option for those who are learning about B&W, and having just converted a digi color snap using the plug-in, I can see where it offers a good deal of control as well. It's just another option that's available to get the job done, and seemingly quite a bit better than any actions or plug-ins I've tried. The plug-in is up to Version 3.0 for the Mac and 2.1 for the PC. Shel > [Original Message] > From: Godfrey DiGiorgi > > Look for the 30 day free trial download for "ConvertToBW Pro" here: > > http://www.theimagingfactory.com/download/ > > > > I'd love to hear your comments. > > I experimented with The Imaging Factory plug-in a while ago, might be > an earlier version of course. It does a decent job ... but I prefer to > do the B&W rendering myself in Photoshop. That way I have full control > of what I'm doing, don't depend upon a black-box tool to do the work > for me. > > I usually render to B&W this way: > > --- > 1- Use Camera Raw to process the capture to a fully expressed RGB image > as best possible. > > 2- Use a Channel Mixer Adjustment Layer with "monochrome" output > checked and R=20%, G=75%, B=5% settings (as a starting point ... slide > the settings around to obtain the best data that meets your need). Save > As to an RGB layered .PSD file. > > 3- Convert to Grayscale 2.2 Gamma profile, merging the layers. Save As > to a B&W work file. > > 4- Edit and adjust tonalities selectively with Curves Adjustment Layers > and masking, iterating until you get exactly what you want. > --- > > This process allows me to obtain spectral rendering in monochrome > similar to B&W films and tailored to specific scene needs. I have an > expansion on this technique where I use Curves Adjustment Layers and > masks under the Channel Mixer Adjustment layer to modify the spectral > response selectively. > > And, most important to me, I have 100% control and knowledge of what > I'm doing and can manipulate it a different way any time I want. > > Godfrey
