What's The Difference? Black & White Edits
Maybe you're like me and you don't shoot a lot of black and white photography, so you don't really know the differences between all the editing softwares. Trust me, I get it, I've been there too. This semester I am taking a Black and White Photography class up here at Northern Arizona University, and I'm really learning a lot!
So far, one of the most valuable things I've learned in this class is the differences between the 3 big names when it comes to black and white processing softwares - Lightroom, Photoshop, and Nik Silver Efex Pro. And I'm ready to share what I've learned with you guys! You can trust that I know at least a little about what I'm talking about because I had to do some experimenting, research, and I even wrote an essay on it. So here we go!
Lightroom
First we have Lightroom, a portrait photographer's best friend because it gives you the ability to edit multiple photos all at once! Here are the pros and cons I have found with converting images to black and white in Lightroom:
Pros
Simple and easy to use
Batch editing (editing multiple photos at once, like I mentioned before)
Quick processing techniques
Cons
Inability to create layers (which can be important when performing multiple edits on one image)
Lack of viewable history
Simplified editing techniques (which can be nice when the image does not need a lot of work done)
Below is a screenshot of what I was looking at in Lightroom with this image:
Photoshop
Next, we have Photoshop. I LOVE Photoshop, but I may be a little biased because I've been using Photoshop since my freshman year of high school so I'm pretty comfortable with it. Here is Photoshop's pros and cons:
Pros
Wide range of features
Diverse editing tools
Layer feature (allows more opportunities to undo past edits and account for editing mistakes throughout the process)
Viewable editing history
Cons
Tends to be slower than Lightroom when uploading images
Unable to edit multiple images at once
Slower productivity overall
Here is this image as viewed in Photoshop along with the layer feature (my favorite) up close:
Finally, there is Nik Silver Efex Pro. This is a free plugin that works well when ran through Lightroom. It's a great option for those who need some inspiration when it comes to editing (which I find myself needing from time to time). Check out the pros and cons!
Pros
Designed specifically for black and white photography
Plenty of preset options
Shows a preview of how the image will look after a filter is applied
Cons
Limited features as compared to Photoshop and Lightroom
Meant to be used in addition to other editing softwares, not alone
Here's the Preset Library that Nik Silver Efex Pro comes preloaded with. I absolutely love these filters! If you are interested in downloading Nik Silver Efex Pro (a free program), click here. And here is the link to some tutorials on how to use it!
When all is said and done, Lightroom, Photoshop, and Nik Silver Efex Pro are all wonderful programs that can be used to edit images in black and white. Which one is your favorite? Shoot me an email, and let me know!
And here's the color version of the image we've been looking at just for fun! I took this in a rain forest in Maui, Hawaii (my absolute favorite place to be).
