Convert a photo to black and white

Open the B&W tab

Press 3 to open B&W, or press M to switch between Color and B&W. Your color adjustments are preserved when you switch.

Choose a film look

The Film look cards set the starting relationship between source colors and gray tones:

• Panchromatic — the default.
• Red filter (25)
• Orange filter (21)
• Yellow filter (8)
• Green filter (11)
• Orthochromatic
• None — starts with a flat B&W EQ.

For example, Red filter (25) darkens blues, while Orthochromatic darkens reds.

Adjusting the B&W EQ clears the selected card's highlight. Click a card to reapply that look's settings.

Adjust colors with the B&W EQ

The B&W EQ displays the source hues and a strip showing their resulting gray tones. Use it to separate areas that appear too similar after conversion.

• Add a point. Click the curve or a color in the photo.
• Adjust lightness. Drag the point up to lighten that color's gray or down to darken it.
• Adjust the range. Scroll over the point to widen or narrow the range of hues it affects.
• Remove a point. Double-click or right-click it, or select it and press Delete.

Each point shows its hue and lightness shift — for example, 264° -8. The shift ranges from −40 to +40.

For example, adjusting reds and greens separately can help a red barn stand out from surrounding foliage.

Refine tone and contrast

Open Tone curve from the toolbar to adjust the overall tonal range. Raise a section to lighten those tones or lower it to darken them. The endpoints control the black and white points.

Use the curve for neutral areas, such as gray skies or fog, that have little color for the B&W EQ to target.

The Tone curve is shared with the Color tab. See Tone and contrast.

Add grain

Open Film grain from the toolbar. In B&W, grain is monochrome and its color controls are hidden.

Check highlights and shadows

Open Histogram near the bottom of the toolbar to inspect the current edit. Enable Clipping to highlight areas reaching pure black or white.

If important texture is lost, reduce the relevant EQ adjustment or refine the Tone curve. Some clipping may be intentional.

Keep color and B&W versions

Each photo keeps its color pins and B&W EQ settings separately. White balance, the Tone sliders, and the Tone curve are shared, so changes to those controls affect both versions.

Press M to compare the versions. Export uses whichever mode is active in the Editor. See Exporting.