Changein Black and White to color photograph
The best way is not always the easy way

Some of the work we do in graphic communication today requires the scanning of color photographs for reproduction in black and white.
Traditional process camera techniques for this required shooting on panchromatic film, processing in total darkness, and making a run of exposure
variations to choose the one which was the best.

The mode of an image from black or CMYK to monochrome, resulting in a pleasing black and white image.
Yet despite this ease, the “easy” methods for conversion of color into black and white often yield a result that is less than perfect. On these pages I
present a scheme for experimentation on color images. After completing this experimentation, you will get a feel for the techniques available to you in
converting from color to black and white.
Scan a test image in color, and then view the image in
the following ways:
• Red channel only
• Green channel only
• Blue channel only
• Red-Blue blend
• Red-Green blend
• Green-Blue blend

Be aware that the conversion technique used for one photo may not work as well on other images. Different colors are favored by different
techniques.
Scanning challenging color originals – in color – and making a series of conversions will always yield one image that is visibly superior to the
others. Choose the one that looks best, and save that for black and white purposes. Discard the others.
Some of the more challenging photos to convert are images of people in groups. Variations in skin color and brightly colored clothing can
throw a curve to the “normal” conversion process.