Black & White Conversion-Need Critique

[GrandmaBev]

What do you think of this conversion to black and white? I basically tweaked the color version in Lightroom and then within Lightroom clicked on the B & W. I have a hard time evaluating black and white conversions. Any other comments/critique always appreciated.

Bev



Nikon D80
1/100
f 6.3
focal length 38 mm
spot metering
fill flash

[giannisna]

Thats a great capture,
In my opinion the photo looks too grey so i would try to add some contrast to it and play with blacks in LR. Also his eyes seem to be not sharp but maybe its just because i can't zoom.
Cheers

[digirebelva]

I have to agree it looks a bit flat and grayish.

[GrandmaBev]

Thank you both for your comments. I do think my focus fell off the eyes. I try to spot focus on the eyes, but it doesn't always happen. I downloaded the demo for Silver Efex Pro 2 and have been playing with it. (Sure wish I knew what I was doing!!) Do you like this conversion better?

[The LoKW]

Hi GrandmaBev, I think the second version looks much better although I have to admit that I am a big fan of high contrast BW with a lot of texture/structure.

Being the case, I received the Nik bundle for the holidays and although not an expert by any means another thing that I have been playing with during the conversion process is the film type drop down on the lower right. The Ilford, low ASA options I find particularly suited to my taste and bump up the contrast without losing highlight or shadow detail by my experience.

Might have fun playing with those too during your workflow and see what you come up with!

[GrandmaBev]

Originally Posted by The LoKW

Hi GrandmaBev, I think the second version looks much better although I have to admit that I am a big fan of high contrast BW with a lot of texture/structure.

Being the case, I received the Nik bundle for the holidays and although not an expert by any means another thing that I have been playing with during the conversion process is the film type drop down on the lower right. The Ilford, low ASA options I find particularly suited to my taste and bump up the contrast without losing highlight or shadow detail by my experience.

Might have fun playing with those too during your workflow and see what you come up with!

Thanks for the suggestion...I'll mess with it.