Weekly Poll: B&W in Camera or in Post-Processing?

[Nicole]

This week I'm kind of continuing on the post-processing trend in the question. There have been a few threads discussing this topic in the past, but a recent critique thread brought this question back to mind.

Do you create your digital black & white pictures in the camera or do you do it in post-processing?

There are a lot of ways to convert to B&W in post-processing, including the channel mixer, just desaturating the picture using hue / saturation, or converting the picture to greyscale. If you do convert in post, what method do you use? Do you have any tips or tricks on how to create a good B&W picture from a colour one? Do you have any favourite conversion techniques?

If you do it in your camera, do you do this because it is less work or because you can see the results immediately? Does it help you to visualise how the scene would look in B&W? Have you ever tried doing the conversion in post, and which result do you like better? Or even, do you see a difference?

In case you're interested in some of the various ways to do black & white conversions, here are a few sites that talk about the various ways to convert and the benefits and drawbacks of some of these methods:

• Earthbound Light: Digital Black & White in Photoshop
• Cambridge in Colour: Converting a Digital Colour Photo into Black & White
• Outdoor Eyes: Black & White Adobe Photoshop Conversion Technique
• Thom Hogan: Digital Black & White
• B&W Conversion

And in case you're looking for a few tips on how to take a picture that will look good in B&W, check out this post on the blog on the key ingredients for B&W photographs.

[velvet4269]

Interesting - thusfar, I'm the only person who does b&w on camera.

Why?

I still try to do little post-processing, and try to do as little as I can. A crop, a resize, maybe a little lightening, but that's about it. Not because I think post-processing is cheating, but because I'm just not good at it yet And for me, still fairly new to the world of photography, it's a different learning experience to shoot in B&W instead of color.

[Saralonde]

I always do it in post production. I do very little editing on my shots (I'm Photoshop-phobic), but I will do b&w in Picasa. It gives me a chance to use different color filters and compare the results. Amazing the difference between green and red filters! I have to admit that when I used film and had to make a conscious decision ahead of time to do b&w, I approached my photo taking differently. Shots were composed with b&w in mind, not just as an option afterward. I spent more time looking for shadows and light and contemplating what filter to use. Perhaps it's better that way!

[waffles]

Post for me as well. I've had a lot of pictures that I thought would be a good color image that since I shot black and white I couldn't do. I'd rather take the extra work and be able to have both.

[SarahN]

I do probably 1/2 my b&w in camera and 1/2 in post-processing. I like doing it better in camera because it does help me visualize it, plus there's part of me that likes being "stuck" with a black and white. I like the challenge of increasing my skill at taking black and white photos. There are only a few pictures in which I wish I could switch them back to color.
Plus it makes the post-processing a LOT easier..

[Teewinot]

I used to take some photos in black and white...i.e. when I first discovered digital cameras could so such a thing years ago, I got excited and went through a 'phase'. But after a while I realized that some shots I had taken in b&w I wished I also had in color...so it was then that I decided to NEVER shoot in black and white and do all my conversions in post. There's so much more versatility that way...and no regrets.

[burrescia]

I do black and white post processing. I find my black and whites when done with the camera tend to be blurry

[jdepould]

If I'm using CS or CS2 I use the channel mixer, in CS3 I use the Black and White tool. I'd rather have all of the color channels to play with. It's sort of like the difference between shooting green auto mode and A or M.

[yokolok]

it's always better to have the "maximum" so you can get the various "minimum" out of it...

i am not too sure how well a camera (and how many people) can do in camera b&w...but chances are you would still have to do some post processing...which would probably be the same amount of work if you had to convert from color...

[wulf]

Definitely post. I must admit that I haven't tried my camera's built in facility and I understand it works on a copy so I might give it a shot sometime but I like the fine grained control you can get in the digital darkroom.

Wulf