High-Key Black and White Process

After reading about how to do spectacular black and white conversions in Australian Photography (June 2013), I thought I’d give it a spin. I chose the photo as a sacrificial test snap because the focus was off and the two subjects (my wife and little girl) were looking away from the camera. Despite these ‘defects’ the response from friends and family has been strong and I’ve come to love this photo, appreciating the focus as a private, shared moment between wifey and baby. Here’s how I did the conversion in Lightroom (v5.3).

In the Develop module:

1. Adjusted white balance of the original colour photo
2. Changed the Treatment from Colour to Black & White (first option above white balance in the Basic panel)
3. Increased the Exposure (+1.79)
4. Increased the Contrast (+100)
5. Decreased Highlights (-7)
6. Decreased Shadows (-38)
7. Decreased Whites (-10)
8. Decreased Blacks (-100)
9. Increased Clarity (+29)
10. I should have modified the colour channels (HSL/Color/B&W sliders but did not during my first edit—what you see below)
11. Added a graduated filter to the top 75% of the image to further reduce exposure and highlights and increase shadows
12. Sharpened
13. Added a not-so-subtle vignette which works well with the black and white
14. Cropped square