How To Black and White a Photo: Step-by-Step Guide

With the introduction of color film, photography took a giant leap forward. Despite this, many photographers continue to gravitate to black-and-white photos because they can conjure up a feeling that is both ageless and nostalgic. Converting a color photograph into a black-and-white one is an excellent method for improving the composition, contrast, and atmosphere.

However, individuals who are unfamiliar with the procedure may find it to be intimidating. This article will explain how to convert a color photograph into a black-and-white image using conventional and modern digital techniques. These images will last the test of time, regardless of whether you are a professional photographer or an amateur.

Part 1. Three Powerful Black-and-White Photo Editors on Your Desktop

After you have learned how to convert color images to black and white, you will need a capable photo editor to fine-tune the details. Fortunately, there are various desktop solutions accessible. We'll introduce you to three popular black-and-white picture editors in this section: Photoshop, Microsoft Photos, and Lightroom.

Adobe Photoshop

Adobe Photoshop is a capable and commonly used picture editing program. It provides a complete set of tools and functions for color and black-and-white picture editing, including exposure, contrast, tonality, and color balance modifications. Photoshop allows you to add creative effects like split-toning, noise reduction, and grain. The ability to work with layers is one of the primary benefits of utilizing Photoshop for black-and-white picture editing.

Key features:

• It allows you to go back and amend your changes afterward.
• Layers also allow you to apply various effects to select portions of your image, giving you greater control over the outcome.
• Photoshop's capacity to handle enormous files and support various file types is another virtue.
• An excellent option for professional photographers and designers that want high-resolution photographs.

Pros and cons

Microsoft Photos

Microsoft Photos is a free photo editing program accessible on Windows 10 devices. It provides basic editing tools for color and black-and-white photographs, including exposure, contrast, saturation, and temperature changes. It can also crop, rotate, and straighten your photographs. You can move through the various editing tools using the menu bar and examine the changes in real-time.

Key features:

• Simple and user-friendly interface
• Minimal alterations to their photographs.
• Microsoft Photos has built-in organizing capabilities for managing your photo collection.
• You may tag and review your images, make albums, and search for photos by place or date.

Pros and cons:

Lightroom

Lightroom is made exclusively for photographers and is another potent application for altering black and white photos. It is possible to improve your black-and-white photographs' tonality, contrast, and sharpness using Lightroom's many tools and presets.

Key features:

• Nondestructive editing features, you may play with the settings and make adjustments.
• The Black & White Mix panel and the black-and-white presets make it easy to convert any color shot to monochrome.
• Improve the overall quality of your picture
• Features tools to modify and restore pictures

Pros and cons

Part 2. Three Convenient Online Tools To Create Striking Black-and-White

Several internet tools help you make spectacular black-and-white images without installing additional software on your computer. You may use these programs to make beautiful black-and-white photographs without wasting time. Here, we'll analyze three of the best black-and-white picture editing websites.

Canva

Canva is a web-based graphic design application with many features and options for producing professional-quality artwork. Canva's intuitive interface and drag-and-drop capabilities make it simple to create monochrome images and include text and other design components. It has several tools and resources for making beautiful black-and-white graphics, whether you're working on a social media post, a business card, or a billboard.

Key features:

• Canva has a built-in black-and-white filter to turn any uploaded picture into a monochrome version.
• Canva's abundance of black-and-white picture editing templates and other creative assets is a significant selling point.
• To convert a color image to black and white, you may use a filter and get control over aspects like the image's tone, contrast, and texture.

Pros and cons

Imageonline.co

Imageonline.co is an online picture editing program that provides its users with various options for altering photographs, including converting color photos to black and white. Any web browser may be used to access the tool, which does not cost anything. When utilizing Imageonline.co, you only need to upload the picture you want to convert and then choose the black-and-white filter option from the list of available filters.

Key features:

• co supports various file types, including JPEG, PNG, and BMP.
• You can upload and edit your images regardless of the file format.
• Easily convert photos into black and white.
• Multiple filters available

Pros and cons:

Pixelied

Pixelied is a web-based graphic editor that provides several tools for making and modifying images, including converting color photographs to black and white. The tool's accessibility across browsers and user-friendly design makes it ideal for wide dissemination. You can use Pixelied to make a color photo look like it was taken in black and white by uploading it to the site, going to the "Effects" menu, and picking the "black and white" filter.

Key features:

• Tweak exposure, contrast, and saturation using Pixelied's many available choices.
• Pixelied's adaptability is a significant plus when converting photos to black and white.
• You may use the tool's additional functions, such as text editing, picture cropping, and color correction.
• To make your black-and-white photographs seem even better, or create new graphics.

Pros and cons:

Part 3. Comparison of These Six tools 

You may use a variety of approaches to convert your color photos into stunning black-and-white masterpieces. No matter if you're a professional photographer or enjoy snapping pictures for fun. Every software, from complex desktop tools like Photoshop and Lightroom to simple web tools like Canva, and ImageOnline.co, has its own unique features for its users. We'll go through their applications, compatibilities, ease of use, editing features, and other aspects below: