Silver Efex Pro is a BW conversion filter for digital processing. But you can use it for quickly improving your colour shots, as well as for BW conversions. Here's how...

The Adobe link I mentioned for panel layout is here... http://forums.adobe.com/message/4525542#4525542

And the Silver Efex site http://www.niksoftware.com/silverefexpro/usa/entry.php

Please post any comments.

SWITCH TO HD1080 QUALITY IF IT ISN'T SET (BOTTOM RIGHT OF SCREEN)

Hi Rob, a great review of blending a B&W image into a color image to help arrange the contrasts in a more pleasant display.

One can do this with Image -> Adjustments ->Black and White commands in PS to create a B&W and then a luminosity blend as well. I discussed this 5 years ago in our review of Margulis' "Professional Photoshop"

Using Silver Efex Pro to create the B&W is fine, but an image editor can easily arrange the colors of an image to create an appropriate B&W image to then blend into the original color image to help adjust the contrast in a more effective manner. I did this kind of thing often before the advent of Clarity commands and the finer controls available in modern Raw processors as in Lightroom 4 or Adobe Camera Raw. I rarely use this kind of B&W blending with a color image today, but it is a valuable skill to be aware of, and use as needed.

Also one can use just the red, or the blue or the Green channel and then use the Apply Image command to blend the B&W channel with the color image to create new contrast levels...

I used the Apply Image command to help retain highlight detail in bird feathers, before the much easier tools we now have in Lightroom and ACR to regain partially blown highlight detail in our RAW images.

Do you think Silver Efex Pro and other similar plug ins are going to ruin our own abilities to use the tools in Photoshop to create B&W images with the Image-> Adjust tools or the Calculator tool in PS?

I will keep this technique in mind and try to use it more frequently for my images again.

Thank you, Pathfinder. The link you gave to your post is very interesting.

Originally Posted by pathfinder Using Silver Efex Pro to create the B&W is fine, but an image editor can easily arrange the colors of an image to create an appropriate B&W image to then blend into the original color image to help adjust the contrast in a more effective manner. I did this kind of thing often before the advent of Clarity commands and the finer controls available in modern Raw processors as in Lightroom 4 or Adobe Camera Raw. I rarely use this kind of B&W blending with a color image today, but it is a valuable skill to be aware of, and use as needed.

I agree. I'm increasingly finding (for BW images as well as colour) that PS/CS6 ACR has much better control over contrast, clarity, and colour. In fact I now find that in order to use any of the presets in Silver Efex it's almost at the stage where you have to restrain what you do in ACR because SEP presets want to do the work for you. That isn't the best option, as ACR changes are generally non-destructive, and, of course, can always be re-edited in the future. I've always believed you should do as much as you can in RAW edit.

Originally Posted by pathfinder Do you think Silver Efex Pro and other similar plug ins are going to ruin our own abilities to use the tools in Photoshop to create B&W images with the Image-> Adjust tools or the Calculator tool in PS?

Our abilities are grounded in learning and practise. I don't think a plugin can take that away. There are many ways to get to the end result of a good image hanging on your wall. I enjoy these discussions on fora about different processing methods - which is why I posted this.

Originally Posted by pathfinder Do you think Silver Efex Pro and other similar plug ins are going to ruin our own abilities to use the tools in Photoshop to create B&W images with the Image-> Adjust tools or the Calculator tool in PS?

Do you use log tables to multiply large numbers or do you just grab a calculator? ;)

Image-> Calculations-> Blending modes and channels for BW conversions.

No calculators or large numbers needed. Just photoshop.

Originally Posted by mercphoto Do you use log tables to multiply large numbers or do you just grab a calculator? ;)

I pondered this very question just the other day, as I was powdering my wig, and just before writing a letter in my best copperplate to a buggy whip manufacturer.

To multiply large numbers a slide rule is faster than a log table.......

Yea, but who besides me has a slide rule? Followed of course with who still knows how to use one?

"Slide rule"? Has my abacus become outmoded?

Yes, it has, try to keep up, please!

I am still using my fingers. I am hoping to upgrade to toes as well one day. It is hard to keep up with the Joneses, with all these fancy abacus and slide rule gadgets...what next?


Stephen Marsh

Happy New Year, Stephen!

I hear about these new "digital calculators"; there are some folks who think they may really be the new thing, some day.