Digital Art

This made me laugh out loud:

This is a new subject for me here. Last semester, I taught a course called Digital Art which was an in-depth look at Photoshop CS. The class went well and the students produced some amazing work. Both they and I enjoyed it, too. I can't wait until I teach it again.

###Introduction###
The photo seen here was taken on my recent trip to Israel. It's just a snapshot, taken outdoors with no flash. I found the contrast created by the dappled shadows to be interesting and decided to use it to experiment with various techniques for converting color photos to black and white.

My reasons for converting the photo are varied and not really worth going into here. Suffice it to say that, for many reasons, portraits are far more evocative in black and white than in color. I think that this photo, for example, is more interesting in black and white and I'd love to hear your thoughts in comments at the end of this post.

My research has identified several methods of converting color images to black and white and this experiment is my attempt to compare them. I don't expect that I will come out of this by indentifying one "best" method, but I hope to learn something about the differences between the methods that will help me understand when to use each one.

###The pictures###

The photo on the left is, again, the original color picture, as taken that day. On the right I've placed what I will call the "Simple B&W" image. In order to convert the picture to black and white, I opened it in Photoshop and selected Image > Adjustments > Desaturate. This set the saturation value for all three color channels (RGB) to 0%, in essence converting the image to grayscale.

I think that even this simple edit changes the image considerably. The contrast between the shadows on the subject's hair and the light on her face, for example, as well as the contrast between the subject and the background, is far more striking on the right than it is on the left.

That said, this is the most elementary way to convert to black and white. Other methods exist that can be used to far more dramatic effect. For example, in a [recent article](http://creativebits.org/photoshop/turn_color_photo_into_black_and_white ) at [creativebits](http://creativebits.org/), [dimitrije](http://creativebits.org/user/dimitrije) outlined a technique that I will call "White Hue Sharpening." In a nutshell, the WHS technique uses Photoshop's Layer Blending to merge a solid white layer into a color photo then sharpen the result using an Unsharp Mask. Here is the result, side by side with the "Simple B&W" image I posted above (WHS is on the right):

Notice the increased contrast between the whites and blacks? Notice also how the sharpening has affected the long hair? Also, in the WHS image, the background is cleaner and less distracting. All in all, of the two, I prefer the WHS technique for this particular photo.

But that's not all. The image here was converted to B&W using [iPhoto v5](http://www.apple.com/ilife/iphoto/), Apple's image cataloging and editing application. I admit that the tools in iPhoto are basic when compared to something like Photoshop, but, for the non-professional user, they often yield spectacular results, which isn't bad for a free application. I converted this image by simple clicking the B&W effect in iPhoto then adjusting the Levels and and Exposure sliders by eye.

The result is, I think, a far more focused and compelling image. The conversion is much harsher than the previous versions, but I'll admit that that is what I was going for. By blowing so many of the image's highlights out into pure white, I've increased the photo's contrast to unnatural proportions, giving the image an almost-hand-drawn flavor. See how far away the background has moved? There is no longer any question about what the photo's primary focus is.

There is just one last version. I created in in Photoshop using a technique I learned from Scott Kelby's book, [Photoshop CS Down and Dirty Tricks](), which I recommend highly for Photoshop beginners. On Page 198, there's a technique called "Creating Gallery Prints" which, in a nutshell, utilizes the Channel Mixer to convert RGB color to B&W without giving up the control of each color channel neccesary to achieve the "Ansel Adams look." Here is the result:

This is the version I am the most happy with. Notice how the same contrast is present as is in the iPhoto image, but without blowing away all of the highlights.

The image might stand a little more sharpening, but I think that might come at the cost of realism. I like this version the most because it achieves my goals without looking too edited: I've got the contrast between lights and darks, I've moved the background back out of the way and I've managed to maintain the realism as well.

###Conclusion###

I hope that you've enjoyed this post - it's helped me to clarify some ideas about the B&W conversion process for myself and I expect I'll come back to it in the future, both for reference and to question my assumptions. Digital photo editing is a process that allows those of us without natural artistic skills, like drawing or painting, get our hands wet and express ourselves in another medium. I've never been able to draw or sculpt, so I enjoy the opportunities that this sort of work presents.

The tools available to use today, versus just three years ago, make it possible to achieve really remarkable results without a ton of specialized knowledge. While Photoshop is probably too complex for beginners to leap right into, applications like iPhoto and Photoshop Elements make it possible for "the rest of us" to apply some of the same principles the professionals use. And, with the extraordinary amount of information available in books and online (or, if you're lucky enough to attend my class ;) ), virtually anyone can begin to use more powerful tools to achieve spectacular results.

Just to review, here are the different versions of this image. In order, they are: the full color original, the desaturated version from Photoshop, the iPhoto levels/exposure version, the WHS technique from [creativebits](http://www.creativebits.org), and my favorite, the channel mixer technique in Photoshop:

I'd love to hear your comments.