Troubleshooting
Q. What is the best conversion method?
There is no single best method that works for all photographs. Each method has its strength in certain areas. With experience you'll get an idea of which methods work for which type of photograph. Generally speaking, I found the following rules of thumb to be handy:
| Type of Photograph | Difficulty | Conversion Method |
|---|---|---|
| High luminosity contrast, high color contrast | Very East - Easy | Use Luminosity methods if you want to get straight to the point, or Color Altering methods to give your photo that extra "oomph". |
| High luminosity contrast, low color contrast | Easy | Luminosity. Depending on how little color there is in your photograph, using a color altering method may be superfluous, even counter-productive. |
| Low luminosity contrast, high color contrast | Moderate - Difficult | Color Altering. The goal here is to convert color contrast into luminosity contrast. |
| Low luminosity contrast, low color contrast | Difficult | Any method will do but heavy contrast enhancement will be required. |
Q. I don't need the perfect method. Is there a quick and dirty conversion that still looks good?
The gradient map method is a good single step method.
Q. The conversion turned everything into a similar shade of gray. I've tried adjusting contrast post-conversion but it's still not working. How can I fix this?
If you used a Luminosity based method, try using a Color Altering method. See Black and White Conversion Theory for why some conversions work better than others.
Q. Why can't I get some of the enhancements to work as described on this website?
All the enhancements assume that your photo is in RGB mode. The Straight Grayscale and the Lab Lightness methods change the mode of your photo. If you used either of these methods you need to set your image back to RGB mode. To do this: