Photographing Flowers 2

The client was happy with the photographs but then asked if it was possible to have black & white copies of two of them. Fortunately I still had the original DNG files so it wasn't a major problem. I did try the very simple approach of changing the made to 'grayscale' but I have found that this usually gives the image  a very flat look as it did in this case.

I did use the gradient tool method on the psd file and this was satisfactory but the original background was black that in the colour versions enhanced the appearance of the colours but was not so successful in black and white. (I know that the correct term is a grayscale image but the term 'black and white' is more commonly used.)

I decided to change the background to white. I selected the flowers using the quick selection tool in photoshop and fine tuned it using quick mask. I then saved the selection on a separate layer adding another layer filled with white to provide the background. The advantage of this was that I could move the selection to the best position whilst the white background showed up any minor faults in the selection. I removed these by painting them away with white using a very soft brush. I realised afterwards that this would have been better performed on a separate transparent layer above the 'flower' layer but that was being wise after the event.

For test purposes I printed off a copy of the colour version and to me this proved to be a better option than the original one that had a black background. Of course this is a matter of taste and personal preference and the final choice lies with the client but I did send her a copy of this version.

To create the black & white image I made a duplicate copy of the background layer and then applied a gradient to make the change to black and white. The result was not bad but there was a'softness' about the image and a lack of tonal range. I then desaturated the background layer that provided some improvement but still left me feeling dissatisfied. I realised that the problem lay in the lack of contrast between the off white petals of the flower and the white background. Although there was an edge to the petals I felt it needed to be more defined. I therefore created another layer using find edges that resulted in a very stark image and then experimented with the blending modes to get the 'best' result. I found that 'hard light' gave the best result and I fine tuned this by reducing the opacity of the layer.

This exercise has provided me with the opportunity to try out and test a number of ways to achieve the black and white image I believe to meet the requirements of the client. It also proved the value of retaining the original files so that 'changes on top of changes' could be avoided.