Get stunning mono results with splitraw techniques

Discover how you can combine two separate raw conversions and apply selective contrast adjustments using Camera Raw and Photoshop layers

JON ADAMS Photographer and writer Jon is a photographer and writer, and also provides individual and small group tuition in digital SLR and Photoshop skills. jon@jonadamsmedia.co.uk

The key to success in making highquality black-and-white images is in extracting all the detail and tone you can muster from the original raw file, then balance them to create a rich image, full of contrast. A raw file contains far more tonal information than a JPEG, but to make full use of it, you have to coax it out in the conversion process.

For images with a very wide range of contrast – such as those with bright skies and dark foregrounds – this can be difficult to achieve in a single raw conversion, as the best result you can get always involves a compromise. You can get a great looking sky at the expense of the foreground, or you can get a wonderfully rich foreground with a slightly muddy sky. The good news, though, is that it doesn’t have to be that way: this technique provides the route to the best of both worlds!

The process involves making two different raw conversions – one for the brightest tones and one for the darker tones – then blending them together seamlessly in layers to give a beautifully balanced image. The final touch is then to apply additional contrast tweaks selectively, and the end result is a highquality mono picture that doesn’t involve any compromises at all.