I haven't a clue about all this. Don't know where sepia comes into all this since nothing I've done involves a sepia conversion. What you're saying seems overly complicated and rather messy to me. I'll have to read this again when I have more time.
But, here's the thing: you must have a color image with a good range of tones beneath the Hue/Saturation layer that you're manipulating in order to adjust the B&W tones and get something that looks close to "real" B&W as a result. Just desaturating a color image doesn't cut it (unless you want a shortcut method and crap for a result), and fiddling with the eyedropper is something I just don't understand. What I do understand, after converting numerous color images to B&W is that the posted technique is superior in every way to desaturating or converting an image to grey scale. There are, as I may have mentioned, a couple of other techniques that also do a good job, all of which afford good control of the grey scale and allows the user to put a very good and fine tonal rendition into the final result based on what was in the original photograph, and which emulates to a degree the use of true B&W emulsions and, if you so desire, the use of filters. So, what we have is a color image, manipulated with the Hue/Saturation layer, and the flattened to produce a "pure" B&W image. There is no color information in the final result. And why would an srgb image be more useful in photoshop if what you want as an end result is a B&W image. I don't understand that comment at all. What filters would you be talking about? Shel > [Original Message] > From: David Miers <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Date: 6/21/2004 12:22:29 PM > Subject: RE:Color to B&W conversion in Photoshop(Was Gaurav's PAW #7: Why me?) > > > > I don't know what you mean when you say "My question about your procedure > > here Shell is it really color or B&W." > > > > Shel > > > > > > Old B&W images had what was called sepia I believe and to imitate that of > course we need to use color. If you convert to grayscale, RGB is now gone. > If you desaturate and use a eyedropper point in Photoshop with the image > still in RGB mode every point on the image will have equal RGB numbers > indicating true shades of Black, grey, or white. An image with these > numbers is what I referred to as true B&W. It is also more useable with > various filters in Photoshop then one in grayscale mode although it looks > the same in appearance. I'm not saying one is wrong and the other is right, > just wondering as I've not actually tried your procedure yet and tested this > in Photoshop. > > The bottom line is of course if the results are pleasing, then however you > arrived there it is right. Your procedures seemed to overcomplicate the > process of conversion to B&W and I'm simply wondering what if anything is to > be gained doing this vs. simply desaturating, working the combined RGB graph > only for levels, and adjusting contrast in curves. > > I've read other writings about conversion and they too seemed to feel that > doing the simple conversion I described leaves something to be desired, but > when I played with it I couldn't see the advantage. I need to take the time > to play with your method to see again though. > > Dave
