The best way of converting to mono

Learn how to convert images into beautiful black and white masterpieces with simple tools in Photoshop Elements as James Paterson reveals

There’s something magical about black and white, especially when applying it to portraits. By removing colour we draw attention to expressions and form.

As such, every photographer should know how to convert to their work into monochrome.

There are numerous ways to remove colour in your photos, and some are better than others. The best conversion techniques, like the Convert to Black and White command in Photoshop Elements, give you control over colour during the conversion by enabling you to choose from a series of black-and-white presets. Why worry about colours when converting to black and white, though? Let’s talk about greys…

Typically there will only be a few pixels in any monochrome image that are entirely black or white; the rest are varying shades of grey. By controlling colour during the conversion we can choose which shade of grey is assigned to which colour range. We can, for example, choose to make blues a dark shade of grey so that the skies in our landscapes are more dramatic, or we can set a light shade for the reds and oranges so that skin tones look fresh. Using the Convert to Black and White command, we can also fine-tune the intensity of the red, green and blue channels of our mono creation to alter its final look. We can take things further by dodging and burning our portrait to emphasise the face.