TheBeginner’s Guide
July 2019 Digital SLR Photography 63
SKYLUMTONALITY£55
http://www.skylum.com
FormerlyknownasMacphunTonality,
SkylumTonalityis nowa partofthe
SkylumLuminarsoftwarepackage,
encompassinga hugeamountof
editingsoftwareforbothcolourand
black& whitephotography.Tonality
includesmorepresetsthanSilverEfex
Pro,aswellasRawprocessing,layers,
masksandlotsofadvancedfeatures.
WithSilverEfexPronolongerfree,we
wouldrecommendtryingboth.NIKSILVEREFEXPRO£60
http://www.nikcollection.dxo.com
Notlongago,theNikCollection,
includingblack& whitesoftwareSilver
EfexProwasownedbyGoogle,and
completelyfreetouse.Morerecently,
however,therightswerepurchasedby
DxO,soyounowhavetopayforit. Silver
Efex Pro is a comprehensive bit of kit,
boasting a huge amount of mono
controls, presets and effects. DxO offer a
trial version, so it might be worth giving it
a try before you buy.ON1PHOTORAWUSD$80
http://www.on1.com
Much like the Silver Efex Pro and Skylum
Luminar, ON1 no longer offers a
standalone black & white option, but
instead bundles its black & white
software with its new Photo Raw suite.
The good news is that Photo Raw offers
a credible all-in-one alternative to
Adobe software, and for a one-off price
rather than subscription. There are the
usual black & white effects on offer as
well as plenty of presets to choose from.TOPAZB&WEFFECTSUSD$60
http://www.topazlabs.com/bw-effects/
B&W Effects by Topaz Labs only does
one thing – black & white – but it does it
well.Featuringa simpleinterfacethat’s
verybeginner-friendly,there'splentyof
effects and controls to play with. One
caveat is that it's a plug-in and not a
standalonesoftware,sorequiresa host
program,suchasPhotoshopor
Lightroom, to work. And to be honest,
anything you can do in here you can
already do in there too.1
Onceyou’vecompletedyourblack& whiteconversion(seeChannelMixer,previous
page),scrolldowntotheSplitToningtabtoadda colourwashtotheimage.Youcan
choosetoaddyourpreferredtonetotheHighlights,Shadowsorboth– simplyadjustthe
HueandSaturationslidersuntilyou’rehappywiththeresults.2
Anotherapproachis tosplittoneorcross-processtheimage.Todothis,adda blueor
coldtonetotheShadowsanda yelloworwarmtonetotheHighlights. Don’tgotoofar
though – only a subtle tint is needed to pull off the effect. You can then easily adjust the
balance between shadows and highlights using the Balance slider.Asoddasit’sgoingtosound, monochrome isn’t as simple as black &
white – literally. Monochrome also encompasses images that have a
tint to them too, such as a cool blue wash or a warm sepia, as well as
images that are cross-processed or split-toned.COLOURTONING
1
In Lightroom,dodgingandburningis donewiththeAdjustmentBrushtool– selectit
andsetyourbrushsize,featherandflow.Resetallofthecontrolslidersabove,andset
Exposuretoaround+25 to dodge (lighten) area. Brush onto your image in the areas you
want to brighten. You can then increase or decrease exposure as you like.2
Oncedone,clickNewat thetopandsetyourbrushExposureto-25 and brush on the
areas you wish to darken. When doing so, think about which parts of the image that you
want to ‘advance’ towards the viewer, and dodge these accordingly, whilst burning parts of
the image that you wish to ‘recede’ away from the viewer.Dodgingandburningharks back to film where darkroom technicians
would expose or block part of the print during development to lighten
or darken that area. It works the same way with digital files – dodging
increases exposure selectively, while burning darkens exposure.DODGE & BURN
POPULARBLACK&WHITESOFTWARE