There are more ways to process a RAW file than there are to skin the proverbial cat, which is what makes the process so versatile and open
to personal interpretation. Think of that file as a digital negative. it contains masses of tonal information, but what you do with it is up to
you, guided by your own personal artistic vision. To give you an idea of what’s possible, here’s a quick step-by-step guide.
1
Open file
Open the
RAW file in
Adobe camera
Raw. This is it in
its unedited form – bright and atmospheric.
You could go either way with it – delicate
and high key or dark and moody.
2
Make
fixes
Before
converting to
B&W, make
basic adjustments. Apply lens corrections
and clarity and increase dehaze to boost
contrast and add impact to the image.3
Move to
Silver Efex
Pro The image
is opened in
Photoshop and
then in silver efex Pro 2. This is how it looks
with no adjustments made. select high
structure (harsh) preset in silver efex Pro.5
Open in
Photoshop
The changes
made in silver
efex Pro are saved
and the image opened in Photoshop again.4
Tweak Move
the contrast
slider right, the
Brightness slider
to the left. Burn
edges – All edges (soft) 2 preset is applied.6
Tweak
further
After flattening the
layers, make a few
final tweaks to get
the desired look, such as boosting contrast
using a curves adjustment in Photoshop.edit for emotion How to transform a colour RAW file into a monochrome masterpiece
Val d’Orcia, Tuscany
Here’s the final image,
full of drama and
atmosphere. Would
you be happy to hang it
on your wall?cAPTuRe cReATive BlAck & WhiTe