A question for all those who shoot B&W...

[AlwaysOnAuto]

I usually shoot color pictures.
Do you use the B&W mode (if your camera has one) or do you change the exposure to B&W in a post processing program?
Just curious as I had changed one exposure I made using my software program and a lot of people thought it was a really nice image.
I'm wondering how you all do it?
Thanks.

 

[lucien]

I use my Omd EM 1 for Monochrome only because I actually see a monochrome image through the viewfinder. What you see is what you get. It helps with my composition and framing. Also because of that camera's age and sensor it's perfect for stills. Then straighten, crop export as Tiff into a folder. Last but not least Silver Efex pro 3 to polish the file off. Forgot to add I shoot RAW also : )

 

[Irene McC]

I shoot RAW and I always shoot in colour and if I feel an image warrants it, I convert it to B&W in post

 

[gryphon1911]

I usually shoot color pictures.
Do you use the B&W mode (if your camera has one) or do you change the exposure to B&W in a post processing program?
Just curious as I had changed on exposure I made using my software program and a lot of people thought it was a really nice image.
I'm wondering how you all do it?
Thanks.

Yes, I do it all.

When shooting in monochrome in camera, I also shoot in RAW+JPG so I have the best of all worlds.
My favorite camera for shooting monochrome is Fuji, as I think they have the best interface for customizing the processing parameters in camera.

If I process monochromes after the fact, my programs of choice are Nik Silver Efex Pro and DxO Filmpack 6.

 

[Simonix]

As above. Raw+jpg, accept I use my Olympus Pen F, which also has very powerful monochrome settings.

I find that shooting in colour gives you a different aspect and composition. Shots that look boring in colour, can look great in Mono, and vice Versa.

 

[mumu]

I shoot in raw mode and convert to b&w in Lightroom. I've tried various presets in the past but prefer to use LR's default controls.

 

[Ad Dieleman]

I shoot in raw mode and convert to b&w in Lightroom. I've tried various presets in the past but prefer to use LR's default controls.

Same here. I made a preset which resembles a strong yellow or maybe orange filter and I apply that as a standard to a candidate B&W photo, along with some elevated contrast and clarity. Especially adding a bit of clarity often lends the images the much-needed sparkle.

These days I usually set my camera to a B&W profile in order to get B&W images in viewfinder and display but I only shoot raw, so the camera settings have no influence on the image files.

 

[wee-pics]

I always shoot in colour. But sometimes I take shots with a little more or less contrast because I feel the motif would look great in b&w. And very often when I do this it proves right. The PP of the colour photo shows then if my first gut-feeling was right. The b&w version is only interesting to me if it produces an immediate wow-feeling. Sometimes structures and compositions come out stronger or more artsy when there are no colours. With other photos you see immediately that without colours the whole effect is gone.

 

[TNcasual]

Do you use the B&W mode (if your camera has one) or do you change the exposure to B&W in a post processing program?

Yes.

With mirrorless and wanting B&W, I will shoot with B&W camera settings to be able to compose in monochrome. But I shoot RAW + JPEG. I will then use LR to get a better conversion from the RAW, with using the camera produced JPEG as a guide. Though sometimes, the camera JPEG is just fine as well.

 

[gordo]

With my Fuji stuff, I tend to shoot in monochrome, RAW + jpg. I see the image in B&W, make adjustments in-camera, fine tune in post if needed, revert the RAW to color and post-process if I want. If I have no intention of doing anything with B&W I'll switch the camera back to color, and shoot color RAW + jpg.

 

[Brownie]

I've done both. My Panasonics had fantastic dedicate B&W modes that were fun to shoot, but usually I convert in post. I've not tried any B&W with the Sonys yet.

 

[fotoppi]

Pen-f mono modes with slight noise and steeper tone curves and the 17mm are my fav.
But I convert normal raws as well and even phone pics.

 

[iamknudsen]

Fuji, RAW+jpg with B&W. Then I'l take the jpg and just resize to post it or convert the RAW to B&W.

 

[drd1135]

I’m a converter-in-post, especially since I don’t usually deliberately shoot for B&W.

 

[Iron]

When shooting black and white with MFT, use RAW+JPG and the monochrome mode that I like. I like my GM5's Dynamic Monochrome and two custom monochrome settings. The l.monochrome.d on some cameras, like the GX9, G95 and G9, is already good SooC but I shoot RAW+JPG still.

On my Pentax, I shoot RAW only using the MIYABI or Natural profile and shoot black-and-white in my mind. I used to shoot RAW+JPG but I need the updated corrections of modern software. The SooC is already good but I like to preserve as much detail as possible.

 

[William Lewis]

On my Leica M 240, I shoot RAW+jpg with the jpg in monochrome. I use that as a starting point to make my version if I decide I want the image to be a black and white one. Until I got Capture One, I usually kept the jpg because it would be better. Now I'd say it's a toss up depending on the image.

 

[donlaw]

I have the original Leica Monochrom that goes with me when I know I am doing B&W. Reminds me of the Ilford films I used so often in the film era.
Otherwise it is jpg+raw and conversion in post for the most part. But the Pen F has some nice monochrome filters I will try on occasion.

 

[Clix Pix]

I always shoot in color but at times when I'm looking at a subject I know that I'll be converting it to B&W, it just calls out to me to do that.....and I shoot with that in mind. Other times I'll be editing images and suddenly I'll look at one as I'm editing it in color and think, "this one might work really well in B&W....." and after finishing the color version then get to work on it as a B&W. I use Nik's Silver Efex for B&W conversion and most of the time will select one of their presets and then adjust it to suit myself and the subject even more. After I'm all done and I look at both the color and the B&W images nine times out of ten I'll discard the color one in favor of the B&W version. I love B&W!

 

[agentlossing]

Depends on the camera and what its B&W modes offer. I usually shoot my GR IIIx in color, but RAW, and convert files in camera when I think it'll look good in B&W, this is mainly because I can't tell as easily when highlight or shadow detail will be lost if I'm actually shooting in the B&W mode. The exposure warnings and such on cameras usually operate based off the JPEG tone curve that's currently applied, so it can show solid white highlights as blown out when in fact they're not, and it's the effect of the B&W mode (such as when using a color filter as part of the B&W profile). Likewise with the Panasonics and their excellent L Monochrome modes, I usually still shoot in RAW with a color profile and convert later in camera. Other cameras with less effective JPEG B&W output, I'm more likely to do in post in Silver Efex, or when I'm shooting at a high enough ISO that the camera JPEG gets mushy, while a program like DXO and DeepPRIME can preserve a lot more fine detail.