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ctfchallenge | all galleries >> Challenge 73: Body Language >> Challenge 73: Exhibition > strop in BW *
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11-AUG-2004 Bigpikle

strop in BW *

I had a request from Rod for a b&w version so had a go. I'm not very knowledgable on good b&w conversions so used the simple greyscale command in PSE 2.0 - any better alternatives appreciated. Then simply adjusted levels. What do you think?

Canon EOS 300D Digital Rebel ,Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II
1/60s f/4.0 at 50.0mm iso100 with Flash full exif

other sizes: small medium original auto
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Rod 26-Jan-2005 11:34
That's the way Pikle you did well. It's added what they call pop, it doesn't look flat & grey now. Try some shots in natural light as the on board flash isn't the best for good looking images. Well done mate:-)
Guest 24-Jan-2005 17:51
Thanks for the comments. I tried what you suggested and liked the results so have reposted the image - I hope thats OK? I also changed the crop as I somehow felt this told more of a story with the glass and bowl in the scene. Thanks again - I'm learning all the time.....
ctfchallenge22-Jan-2005 19:39
I have PSE 2.0, and I can assure you that you can do all the things Rod described here. I would also suggest that after adjusting the brightness and contrast you might also want to sharpen the image a little. Play around with it a bit (just being sure to always give the image a new name each time you make a change you want to save)...you'll be amazed at how much better the photo will look.

Mary Anne
Rod 22-Jan-2005 15:19
What you can do Pikle is to have a little play with the brightness & contrast tool I imagine Elements should have one. Just up the contrast say around + 5, 8 or 10 & brightness down maybe 5, 6, 7, or 8. The idea is to get the blacks really black & as many grey tones as possible up to white. Do you have eye droppers in your Levels tool? If so pick the left one & click it on the darkest part of your image & that will send that part of the shot to black it's called setting the black point. If you look at your shot you will see it has an overall grey look so the idea is to get some vibrancy by having rich black & varying tones of grey. Do you have auto levels & auto contrast in Elements? if so give these a try so you can get used to the basic look of B&W. Good luck mate:-)