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Q: What is the best way to convert to grayscale?
- Thread starter debroglie
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mkrishnan
Moderator emeritus
A second way to do it is to choose Enhance->Adjust Color->Remove Color, but this produces visually identical results. Both literally go to grayscale. You can also use the color variations tool in that segment to produce things like sepia tones. Can you say more about what you want to accomplish? Are you just trying to take it to a printing service and you want a large b&w version? Or are you trying to print it at home (in which case I don't even think you gain anything by making the pic b&w)? Or are you trying for an artistic effect?
Mr. Anderson
Moderator emeritus
just a few minutes of playing I got this.
basically you can use the Channel Mixer and click on the monochrome button. But put the file in 16 bit first, gives you more dynamic range. Tweak the image (red +60, green +42, blue +12, overall -2 for this one).
It gives a little more control over what you end up with, but put it back in 8 bit after you're finished the adjustments.
D
basically you can use the Channel Mixer and click on the monochrome button. But put the file in 16 bit first, gives you more dynamic range. Tweak the image (red +60, green +42, blue +12, overall -2 for this one).
It gives a little more control over what you end up with, but put it back in 8 bit after you're finished the adjustments.
D
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tech4all
macrumors 68040
Also:
Image > Adjustments > Hue and Saturation, then take Saturation down to -100. (or Command + U)
FYI: If you only want one channel, then Image > Mode > Grayscale will do that. The other modes will still have all the channels - RGB, CMYK, etc - but Grayscale will only have one. May make a difference if you take it to a printer or something.
Image > Adjustments > Hue and Saturation, then take Saturation down to -100. (or Command + U)
FYI: If you only want one channel, then Image > Mode > Grayscale will do that. The other modes will still have all the channels - RGB, CMYK, etc - but Grayscale will only have one. May make a difference if you take it to a printer or something.
HiRez
macrumors 603
Try this or this. This one is my favorite because the examples are a photo of a very hot naked chick...er *cough*...I mean uh, "fine art nude". 🙄 If you want to get technical, I think the normal formula for converting color to greyscale is 30% red, 59% green, and 11% blue (approximately). This attempts to correct for how the eye unevenly processes different light wavelengths. But your probably going to want to apply custom values to get it how you want. I'd start by converting to L*a*b mode, disable the a* and b* channels, then use Curves or Levels on L to tweak contrast (this is a quick and dirty method but can yield nice results with a minimum of hassle).debroglie said:
mkrishnan said:
I know the simple way to convert to grayscale in photoshop, but I was wondering if there is an ideal way to do it to preserve the subtlties and nuances of the color version. Is there one technique that produces a more vibrant result? I will be printing this in a college literary magazine, and our budget doesn't allow for it to be color.
