black and white help/input

jarboedoggartjarboedoggart Registered Users Posts: 270 Major grins
edited July 14, 2011 in People
So....

I have never been a fan of black and white. I dont know why, it just doesnt do it for me, I lean more towards a aged/sepia if I am removing color.

The problem of course, is that EVERYONE likes black and white, including my clients. So obviously I need to make sure I am doing this right. These pictures are from a family picture session I did over the holiday weekend. 4 kids including a 3 month old. Pictures were take outside on an overcast day with one umbrella for fill. What do you think of the black and white conversion? I like them alot but I feel they may be a bit to intense. To much contrast or something.

I am looking for input, so be honest and frank. Thanks!

FYI I am just using LightRoom, not any specific B&W plug in.


IMG1868-2-L.jpg

IMG1740-2-L.jpg

IMG1769-2-L.jpg

IMG1714-2-L.jpg

IMG1776-2-L.jpg
-Nate
Jarboe Doggart Photography - jarboedoggart.com

Comments

  • ZetZet Registered Users Posts: 77 Big grins
    edited July 11, 2011
    Hi, I also prefer the aged sepia to B&W. I agree with you that the contrast is too much making them look dark. Did you try playing around with less?
  • jarboedoggartjarboedoggart Registered Users Posts: 270 Major grins
    edited July 12, 2011
    Zet wrote: »
    Hi, I also prefer the aged sepia to B&W. I agree with you that the contrast is too much making them look dark. Did you try playing around with less?

    yeah played around for a while and decided on this. I would say its just the last two that are too contrasted?
    -Nate
    Jarboe Doggart Photography - jarboedoggart.com
  • jpcjpc Registered Users Posts: 840 Major grins
    edited July 12, 2011
    LR works very well for b&w conversions. The "highlight" and "lights" sliders are very powerful and a little boost can keep your pics from looking flat. #4 is the only one that looks a little flat to me, but it's also soft which might be a bigger issue. B&W really needs to be sharp, IMO. I don't think any of them have too much contrast.
    http://www.jpcirre.com

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  • jarboedoggartjarboedoggart Registered Users Posts: 270 Major grins
    edited July 14, 2011
    jpc wrote: »
    LR works very well for b&w conversions. The "highlight" and "lights" sliders are very powerful and a little boost can keep your pics from looking flat. #4 is the only one that looks a little flat to me, but it's also soft which might be a bigger issue. B&W really needs to be sharp, IMO. I don't think any of them have too much contrast.

    yeah, 4 is way soft, but it was impossible to get him to smile naturally so I went with what I got. Thanks for the input!
    -Nate
    Jarboe Doggart Photography - jarboedoggart.com
  • OhiohikerOhiohiker Registered Users Posts: 117 Major grins
    edited July 14, 2011
    Don't forget you can use the color picker in the black and white adjust panel. You can use this tool to lighten specific colors or darken others. You can also use this tool in the curves dialog to adjust specific areas.

    If you go to Dave duChemin's site Craft and Vision he has an e-book for $5 that is about 120 pages covering black and white conversion in Lightroom.
    Chris Blank

    http://www.ohiohikerphotography.com
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