Beautifully Black & White

Have you ever wondered which is the best way to convert a photo from color to black-and-white? The answer is: it depends on the look you want! There are several different methods you can try for color to black-and-white conversions using Photoshop Elements, and there are even more ways to tweak those photos after the fact. Really, the results you can achieve will be as unique as your photos are. 

I’ve gathered three different ways to do the initial black-and-white photo conversion, and you can see how the results look yourself. These tips and tutorials are for Photoshop Elements 10, but all versions of Photoshop Elements should work similarly.And you can get a free trial version of the program by clicking here. Let’s get started!

1. Use "Remove Color" Command

	Before & After This one-step option will allow you to make a black-and-white version of any photo in seconds.
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Open your photo, use the File > Save As command to make a copy of the image, and close the original. (You don't want to permanently convert your original photo to black and white). Click on Enhance > Adjust Color > Remove Color. There you go; now your photo is black and white.

This is a quick and easy option, but it’s not my favorite method. It tends to create black and white photos that can be gray and muddy looking and lack depth and contrast. A true black and white photo should have a range from whitest white to blackest black—not just a bunch of shades of gray. However, this technique will do in a pinch and it may work on certain kinds of photos. And, if you want more contrast, you can add it afterward using the Enhance > Adjust Lighting > Brightness/Contrast command.

2. Use a Gradient Map.

	Before & After This one- or two-step option for converting a color photo to black-and-white offers a greater range of tones and generally a richer, more eye-pleasing image.
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This method is just as easy (trust me), but it gives you more depth and contrast. First open your photo and save it as a copy, then click Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Gradient Map. A little screen will pop up; click OK. You may immediately see the long rectangular bar filled with a black-to-white gradient. If you do, you'll see that your photo looks black and white. Great!

If the long horizontal bar shows different colors than black to white, your photo might look pretty wonky. Simply click on the little downward facing arrow to the right of the rectangular bar and a screen of options will pop up. Click on the black-to-white gradient until it looks like the example above. Click OK. Flatten the image (Layer > Flatten Image) and save it.

This is an equally quick and much more pleasing black-and-white photo to my eyes. You can see the whites are a bit whiter, the blacks darker. It's my option of choice most of the time.

3. Use the Convert to Black and White feature.

	PSE 10 Screenshot This option can include as many steps as you want it to include! Click through different options and move the sliders until you get the look you want.
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Photoshop Elements 5.0 (and later versions) has a really neat feature called the “Convert to Black and White” that really lets you customize the look of your black-and-white photos.

Here's what you do. Click on Enhance > Convert to Black and White. A screen full of options will pop up (as seen above), allowing you to play around with the settings to get a customized black-and-white look.

	Before & After The Convert to Black and White tool allowed me to get a soft, dreamy look for this photo, which was soft and dreamy in its color version, too.
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You can click on the lower left of the screen to try some presets like portraits, newspaper, infrafred, urban/snapshots, and more. Then to the right of that, you can make adjustments to your liking. When you're happy with the results, click OK. This photo shows just one result you can achieve—imagine all of the possibilities!

I hope you’ll have a great time playing with the many ways of converting your photos to black and white in Photoshop Elements. Depending on your goals and the amount of time you have to work on your photo, each of these options can be useful in different situations.

Scrapbooking in Action

	Through Your Eyes Supplies: patterned paper (Echo Park, Heidi Swapp, Kaiser Craft) • cardstock (Bazzill Basics) • Silhouette die-cut shapes • 12 x 12 layout by Bobbi-Jo Grunewald
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The thing I love best about black and white photos is that they allow you so much freedom in your scrapbooking designs! You can get really creative with your photography ideas, then play around with the different black-and-white photo conversions to get just the look you like. Then, when it’s time to scrapbook, there is no limit to the color combinations, patterns, or embellishments you could use. No need to try to match up or coordinate with the colors in your photo—it’s easy! And let me tell you, I love easy.

For more in-depth tutorials in Photoshop Elements, pick up a copy of Renee Pearson’s Special Effects for Digital Photos, which includes 10 easy tutorials that will help you make your photos truly shine.

Bobbi-Jo Grunewald is a photographer and self-taught digital designer who loves to play with her photos in Photoshop and Photoshop Elements. She spends most of her time with her four daughters and her husband in Saskatchewan, Canada. She blogs at Bobbi-Jo Grunewald Photography, How Does She, and Pick Your Plum. She’s also on the 2012 Ella Friends advisory team for Ella Publishing Co.