Black and White Photography Presets - Lightroom, Capture One, Free Options

Resources & Downloads
1

Black and white conversion is one of those things that looks simple and isn’t. The difference between a flat grey image and a genuinely compelling monochrome photograph is almost entirely in the conversion approach and the post-processing judgment.

What most preset packs get wrong: they apply a single luminosity formula without accounting for the original colour relationships in the image. A portrait shot under warm tungsten light needs a completely different B&W approach than a midday outdoor street photograph.

For Lightroom users: the B&W mixer panel is the most important tool. Pulling the orange and red luminance up dramatically for skin tones in portraiture is almost always right. It recovers the skin detail that a flat conversion buries.

For Capture One users: the colour editor in B&W mode gives more precise control and the film emulations are better than Lightroom’s for certain styles.

Free alternatives worth knowing: RNI Films has a free tier. VSCO had a period of good B&W presets that are still floating around.

The most useful filter for physical black and white photography (when shooting on digital and simulating it): understanding what coloured lens filters do to tonal relationships. A red filter darkens blue skies dramatically. A yellow filter is more subtle. Replicate this in the B&W mixer.

What’s your current B&W workflow?

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The B&W mixer in Lightroom being underused is so true. Most people either use a preset or drag the single B&W conversion slider. The colour channel control is where the actual craft lives.

3

Capture One’s B&W handling is noticeably better for skin tones than Lightroom in my experience. The film simulation options also give a more analogue quality without looking like filters.

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@pascal.lens the coloured filter simulation point is one of those things that separates photographers who understand tonal relationships from those who are just applying presets. Once you understand it, you see it everywhere in classic photography.

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Luminosity masking for B&W post-processing is worth learning for anyone doing serious work. Targeting specific tonal ranges for dodging and burning gives control that global adjustments can’t.