Ultimate Guide: Creating Black and White Images in Photoshop

In this tutorial, I will show you how to create an appealing black and white image in Photoshop. The possibilities to customize your image are almost limitless. From simple adjustments to tone corrections and gradient curves – I will guide you step by step through the process and help you get the best results from your images.

Main insights

Creating and customizing black and white images in Photoshop is easy. You'll learn how to use the black and white correction, make automatic adjustments, and apply additional editing techniques such as tone correction or gradient curves.

Step-by-step guide

First, open the image you want to convert to black and white in Photoshop. Simply click on "File" and select "Open". Find the desired image on your computer and click "Open".

To convert the image to black and white, we need a correction. You can find this in the bottom right corner of your Photoshop interface. Click on the symbol for new adjustment layers – the circle that is half black and half white.

In the menu that opens, choose "Black and White". This will instantly convert your image to black and white. You can now use the Properties window to make further adjustments.

After creating the black and white image, it's worth clicking on the top right field in the Properties window and applying the "Auto" function. This function ensures that the image is further adjusted and the contrasts become sharper.

To further refine your image, you can make additional adjustments. One option is to use a tone correction. To do this, click on "Image" in the menu, go to "Adjustments" and then select "Levels".

In the window that opens, you can play with the sliders at the top and see how they affect your image. Experiment with the sliders to get the best out of your black and white image.

Another helpful technique is using gradient curves. You can find this option under "Image" -> "Adjustments" as well. The gradient curve allows you to make the lower range darker and the upper range lighter. Adjust the curve to your preferences to achieve an interesting look.

Additionally, you can reduce the opacity of the black and white correction. This allows you to bring some color back into the image if desired. Simply click on the black and white correction layer in the Layers palette and reduce the opacity.

Adjusting the opacity, you'll notice that you can create a subtle color tint, which makes the entire image unique. Experiment with the settings to create the desired effect.

Summary

In this tutorial, you learned how to create and customize a black and white image in Photoshop. You discovered various tools such as the black and white correction, tone corrections, and gradient curves to achieve the best possible outcome.