How to Get a High Contrast Black and White Image?

By Mira Crisp | Published May 20, 2011

How to get a high contrast black and white image? I am sure there is more than one way to get it and I use a few myself but still there is one that I like to call ‘my favorite’.  I had a Photoshop presentation for my photo club last month and this was one of the questions I wanted to answer. First of all, let me share this beautiful image of two sisters with you.

sistersbw

I used ‘my favorite’ B&W technique for this photo as well. It’s really simple! All you need is the Gradient Map that every version of PS has. Let me show you… Using the Gradient Map is very simple. You should get a stunning black and white image as soon as you click on the Gradient Map in Adjustment tool bar (image 1). Why? Because your Gradient Map is set to Black and White by default. If you have messed with it and you see different colors: double click on the map, go to the far left side and select black, than go to the far right side and select white.
Click on images to see larger ones. 
1

The below photo shows you how to change the tint of your B&W photo. Double click in the middle of the map to open a color dialog (step 2). Now, as you are selecting color with a color picker tool, the tint in your photo is changing as well.

 24

For my A Tree by the Sea photo I wanted a dirty pink hue and that’s what I’ve selected.

5
Once you hit OK you can go on and save edits or you can go back to the gradient map and try something else. If you try to move the little color square toward left or right you will get different effects. As you can see, if you pull toward the dark side, you will get lighter effect. If you move toward the light side you will get darker effect.

6

7After this editing, your gradient map will no longer be pure black and white (image 1); it will have a pink hue in the middle (image on the left).
Of course, you could stop here and save your image. OR you can take one more step and play with blending modes and opacity. Select the gradient map layer; double click to bring up the layer’s blending dialog and play!
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The final photo looks likethis. 

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Mira Crisp

Hello! My name is Mira and I take pictures, blog, and drink espresso! As a portrait photographer I take pretty pictures in Ft. Walton Beach - Crestview - Destin, Fl. area. I blog mainly about photography and image enhancement and I am enjoying it a lot. I'd love to hear from you, so please feel very welcome to leave a comment or two.

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12 Comments

  1. Posted May 20, 2011 at 6:08 am by Tanya | Permalink

    Love it! Thank you for always being so generous with your great tutorials!

  2. Posted May 20, 2011 at 7:09 am by Ms. Pony | Permalink

    Thanks for sharing this tutorial! I have issues sometimes with my B&w conversions looking muddy and I think this will really help! I'm a new follower:)

  3. Posted May 20, 2011 at 11:57 am by Natalie | Permalink

    Great tutorial and wonderful image(s) ! I love B&W and always wanted to customize my own :)

  4. Posted May 20, 2011 at 1:16 pm by creatingme | Permalink

    Really nice black and white.

  5. Posted May 20, 2011 at 1:53 pm by Janell | Permalink

    oretty shot! great tutorial.

  6. Posted May 20, 2011 at 2:58 pm by Kristy | Permalink

    cool technique!

  7. Posted May 20, 2011 at 4:33 pm by Sarah | Permalink

    Oh wow. So awesome. Thanks for sharing.

  8. Posted May 20, 2011 at 6:48 pm by Courtney | Permalink

    Great tutorial :O) I love a high contrast black and white! Thanks for sharing! Lovely photo!

  9. Posted May 20, 2011 at 9:08 pm by Mira | Permalink

    Mr. Pony and Natalie, now you know how to customize your b&w conversions. :)
    Everyone, thanks for great comments, it means a lot to me! :)

  10. Posted May 21, 2011 at 12:25 am by Allison Hoffman | Permalink

    thanks for the tutorial, I'll have to give it a try~

  11. Posted May 21, 2011 at 8:05 pm by krissilugbill | Permalink

    wow, this photo is breathtaking! I am so excited to try this! thank you so much for sharing.

  12. Posted May 22, 2011 at 3:37 pm by A Rosy Note | Permalink

    Great photo! I love the tutorial too. Thanks for sharing your post at Photo Feature Friday :)

    ~tricia