Method #1
- Open the photo you want to convert.
- Choose Image > Mode > Grayscale.
- When asked if you want to discard color info, click OK. Photoshop converts the colors in the image to black, white, and shades of gray. (this is called a grayscale image)
How do you convert an image to black and white in Photoshop?
Making a black and white filter. – To create black and white images in Photoshop, you need control over your light and dark levels. Follow these simple steps:
Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Black & White will allow you to adjust the light level of the colors that make up your image. Here you can strip out all but the gray tones. Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Levels is where you find controls for adjusting the light and dark levels of the input and output channels. You can experiment with these controls to create stunning black and white images. This additional step will allow you to draw even more attention to a focal point within your image. Make a selection around your focal point using the elliptical marquee tool and invert the selection, so it is no longer visible in that layer. Next, apply a gaussian blur to the edges of your inverted selection. This will create an effect with less light around the edges of the image and more light around your focal point.
Whether you are trying to create a retro look, a mysterious or even spooky effect, or draw special attention to certain aspects of your subject, use black and white filters to eliminate or subdue distracting colors. Discover other helpful photo techniques, Explore the many ways you can make your images more interesting using the filters available in Adobe Photoshop,
How to grayscale in Photoshop?
In this first in a series of tutorials on the many ways of converting a color photo to black and white in Photoshop, we’ll look at one of the absolute quickest and easiest ways go about it, which is by converting the image to the Grayscale color mode.
Normally, digital photos are in what’s called the RGB color mode, RGB simply stands for Red, Green and Blue, and in this color mode, Photoshop reproduces every color in the image by combining different amounts of red, green and blue, which are the three primary colors of light. Every color our eyes can see is made up of some combination of these three primary colors.
Pure white, for example, contains 100% of red, green and blue, while pure black is the complete absence of red, green and blue. All colors in between are made up of some combination of the three. Photoshop, by default, uses red, green and blue channels to reproduce all the colors we see in our images, but we can change the way Photoshop handles color simply by changing the color mode of the image. The original image. At the moment, this photo is in the default RGB color mode. How do we know that? We know because Photoshop tells us the current color mode of the image at the top of the document window: Photoshop displays the image’s color mode along with other information at the top of the document window. We can also tell that the image is in the RGB color mode by going up to the Image menu at the top of the screen and hovering our mouse cursor over the very first option that appears, Mode (short for Color Mode), which brings up another menu showing us all the various color modes that Photoshop can use to reproduce colors. The checkmark to the left of “RGB Color” tells us that the image is currently in the RGB color mode. To help understand how Photoshop is reproducing the colors in the image, let’s switch over to the Channels palette for a moment. You’ll find it grouped in between the Layers and Paths palettes.
Simply click on the name tab at the top of the Channels palette to switch to it. We don’t need to get into a lengthy discussion here about how Channels work, but notice that there’s a Red channel, a Green channel and a Blue channel listed. These channels act like filters, mixing different amounts of red, green and blue together to create all the colors we see in the photo.
The channel at the very top, RGB, isn’t really a channel at all. It’s just the result of mixing the three colors together to create the image we see: The Channels palette shows the Red, Green and Blue channels that Photoshop is using to reproduce colors in the image. So how will changing the color mode from RGB to Grayscale suddenly give us a black and white version of the photo? Unlike the RGB color mode which can reproduce millions (and even billions ) of colors, the Grayscale color mode doesn’t reproduce color at all.
- It can reproduce black, white and all the shades of gray in between, and nothing more.
- When we convert a color photo to Grayscale, Photoshop uses the original color information to essentially “guess” what the black and white version of the image should look like before tossing the color out the window.
To convert the image to Grayscale, simply click on Grayscale in the list of color modes: To convert an image to Grayscale, select it from the Image > Mode menu. Photoshop will pop open a small dialog box asking us if we really want to discard the color information. If you’re using Photoshop CS3 or later (I’m using Photoshop CS4 here), Photoshop will recommend that you use the new Black and White image adjustment instead for more control over the black and white conversion, but since we’re interested here in what the Grayscale color mode can do for us, click the Discard button: Click “Discard” when Photoshop asks if you want to discard the color information. Photoshop instantly throws the photo’s color information away and leaves us with its best guess on what the black and white version should look like: The image after converting it to the Grayscale color mode. It’s definitely a black and white version of the image, but is it any good? Not really. Areas that should be bright are too dark, other areas that should be darker are too bright, and overall, it looks rather uninteresting.
- Worse still, we had no control over the conversion.
- Photoshop simply stripped the color from the image and left us with black, white and various shades of gray in its place.
- However, was it fast? Absolutely! If we hadn’t taken some time to understand how the RGB and Grayscale color modes work, we could have converted this photo to Grayscale in a matter of seconds, making it a good choice if we’re creating some sort of special effect and need to quickly remove the color from a photo without worrying about image quality.
If we look again at the information along the top of the document window, we can see that the color mode is now listed as “Gray”, short for Grayscale: The color mode at the top of the document window is now listed as “Gray”. And if we look in our Channels palette, we can see that the original Red, Green and Blue channels have disappeared, which means that Photoshop no longer has any way of reproducing colors in the image. All we have now is a single Gray channel giving us our black and white version: The Red, Green and Blue color channels have been replaced with a single Gray channel in the Channels palette. Keep in mind that if you save the image at this point and close out of it, the color information will be lost forever. To quickly switch the mode back to RGB color, go up to the Edit menu at the top of the screen and choose Undo Grayscale, or simply press the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+Z (Win) / Command+Z (Mac): Undo Grayscale. Image © 2009 Photoshop Essentials.com” width=”265″ height=”128″ data-lazy-src=”https://pe-images.s3.amazonaws.com/photo-effects/black-and-white/edit-undo-grayscale.gif”> Restore the color in the image by choosing Undo Grayscale from the Edit menu. The full color version of the photo will reappear in the document window and the Red, Green and Blue channels will replace the single Gray channel in the Channels palette. To quickly summarize, most images, by default, are in the RGB color mode. To convert a color photo to black and white using the Grayscale color mode, simply go up to the Image menu, choose Mode, and then choose Grayscale, then click the Discard button when Photoshop asks if you really want to discard the color information. This is a fast and convenient way to remove color from a photo when image quality is not a concern, but definitely not recommended if you’re trying to impress anyone with your black and white photography skills or your creative abilities. Up next, we’ll look at another fast and easy way to convert an image to black and white in Photoshop, this time by simply desaturating the color !
What is the shortcut to make an image black and white in Photoshop?
Grayscale Mode – Another way to remove the color from your photos is by creating a grayscale image.
Go to the Image drop-down menu. Select Image > Mode > Grayscale.
I find that this method retains more tonal range than the Desaturate tool, but it is also destructive. All color information is lost. Converting your images to grayscale or using the Desaturate command are both easy. But these tools don’t allow you to control the monochrome conversion. Photoshop has another tool for that.
Why can’t I convert to black and white Photoshop?
If the Black and White adjustments option is greyed, out it’s likely because your image isn’t in an RGB color space. This means you’ll need to work on a RGB version of your image before converting it to CMYK (See the steps at the bottom of this article for that).
How do I make a PNG black and white in Photoshop?
Select Window > Adjustments. Click the Black & White icon ( ) in the Adjustments panel that opens. Choose Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Black & White. In the New Layer dialog box, type a name for the adjustment layer and then click OK.
What is grayscale mode Photoshop?
Image modes and color tables in Photoshop Elements
- Introduction to Photoshop Elements
- Workspace and environment
- Fixing and enhancing photos
- Adding shapes and text
- Guided edits, effects, and filters
- Working with colors
- Working with selections
- Working with layers
- Creating photo projects
- Saving, printing, and sharing photos
- Keyboard shortcuts
An image mode determines the number of colors that can be displayed in an image and can also affect the file size of the image. Photoshop Elements provides four image modes: RGB, bitmap, grayscale, and indexed color. Image modes A. Bitmap mode B. Grayscale mode C. Indexed-color mode D. RGB mode Uses one of two color values (black or white) to represent the pixels in an image. Images in bitmap mode are called 1‑bit images because they have a bit depth of 1. Uses up to 256 shades of gray. Grayscale images are 8‑bit images. Every pixel in a grayscale image has a brightness value ranging from 0 (black) to 255 (white). Grayscale values can also be measured as percentages of black ink coverage (0% is equal to white, 100% to black). Uses up to 256 colors. Indexed-color images are 8‑bit images. When converting into indexed color, Photoshop Elements builds a color lookup table (CLUT), which stores and indexes the colors in the image. If a color in the original image does not appear in the table, the program chooses the closest one or simulates the color using available colors. By limiting the panel of colors, indexed color can reduce file size while maintaining visual quality—for example, for a web page. Limited editing is available in this mode. For extensive editing, you should convert temporarily into RGB mode. When you choose a different color mode for an image in the Edit workspace (Image > Mode > ), you permanently change the color values in the image. You might want to convert into a different mode for several reasons. For example, you may have an old scanned photo in grayscale mode in which you want to add color, so you would need to convert it into RGB mode. Before converting images, it’s best to do the following:
- Edit as much as possible in RGB mode.
- Save a backup copy before converting. Be sure to save a copy of your image that includes all layers in order to edit the original version of the image after the conversion.
- Flatten the file before converting it. The interaction of colors between layer blending modes will change when the mode changes.
Hidden layers are discarded and images are flattened automatically when you convert them into bitmap or indexed-color mode, because these modes do not support layers. The default mode of new Photoshop Elements images and images from your digital camera.
In RGB mode, the red, green, and blue components are each assigned an intensity value for every pixel—ranging from 0 (black) to 255 (white). For example, a bright red color might have an R value of 246, a G value of 20, and a B value of 50. When the values of all three components are equal, the result is a shade of neutral gray.
When the value of all components is 255, the result is pure white; when the value is 0, the result is pure black.
What key is grayscale in Photoshop?
&noscript=1″> Skip to content
Login
0
About
About Us Frequently Asked Questions Events Contact Us
Tutorials
All Tutorials 3D Photoshop Tutorials Compositing Photoshop Tutorials Graphic Design Photoshop Tutorials Retouching Photoshop Tutorials Photoshop Tools & Techniques Photoshop Text Effects Tip Of The Day
Pro Training
Join The Newsletter 0 Press Shift Ctrl U (Mac: Shift Command U) to remove all the color and make the layer grayscale. Note : If you’re creating a black and white image, instead consider using the Black & White adjustment layer as it will give you more flexibility, better results, and it is non-destructive.
Login Photoshop Tutorials About Tutorials
All Tutorials 3D Photoshop Tutorials Compositing Photoshop Tutorials Graphic Design Photoshop Tutorials Retouching Photoshop Tutorials Photoshop Tools & Techniques Photoshop Text Effects Tip Of The Day Amazon.com Tutorials
Premium Tutorials Join The PTC Newsletter
Search for: Jesús Ramirez Join Over 52,000 Photoshop Users ! Join my newsletter to receive new tutorial notifications and upcoming freebies! Enter your email address here.
How to make everything black and white in Photoshop except one thing?
How to make one color stand out. – You can create this effect with any photo, using a photo editing program such as Adobe Photoshop or Lightroom. In Photoshop, the steps are:
Duplicate the layer. Open your desired photo in Photoshop and duplicate the layer. This is as simple as right-clicking on your layer and selecting “Duplicate Layer.” Desaturate your original layer. This means you’ll turn your original layer into a grayscale image. To do this, press Command + Shift + U on a Mac or CTRL + Shift + U in Windows. Choose your accent color. Switch to your duplicate layer now. From the drop-down menu, tap “Select,” then “Color Range” to open the Color Range Box. Select the eyedropper icon with the plus sign — you’ll use this tool to select various shades of the color you want to highlight. Click your desired object in multiple areas to add a range of colors. Invert your selection. Once you invert, Photoshop will select everything except the color you’ve highlighted. To do this, press Command + Shift + I on a Mac, or CTRL + Shift + I in Windows. After that, you can simply delete the selected portion of your photo, and you’ll be left with your color accent photo.
If any areas remain that you want to touch up, the eraser is a great tool for this task. It may take a few practice runs to get the technique just right, but it’s a fun skill to have in your photographic repertoire. Discover even more photo tips as you begin to experiment with various techniques. Explore everything you can do with Adobe Photoshop and Lightroo m,
How do I mask black and white in Photoshop?
What you learned – How to add a gradient to a layer mask Create a layer mask. Then use the Gradient tool to draw a white to black gradient on the layer mask. The gradient adds black, white, and multiple shades of grey to the layer mask. The effect of a gradient on a layer mask The black part of the gradient hides content on the masked layer.
Can you do black and white in Photoshop?
Why Can’t I Make an Image Black and White in Photoshop? There are a few different ways to convert an image to black and white in Photoshop, but they all have their own specific use cases. The most common way to convert an image to black and white is to use the desaturate command, which can be found under the image menu.
- This will desaturate the image, but it won’t actually change the color values of the pixels themselves.
- To truly convert an image to black and white, you need to use one of the following methods: PRO TIP: If you are trying to make an image black and white in Photoshop, and it is not working, it is likely because you are not in the correct mode.
Make sure that you are in RGB Mode, and not CMYK Mode.
Create a new channel Use the levels or curves adjustment layer Use the black and white adjustment layer
Each of these methods will give you different results, so it’s important to understand what each one does before you start using them. The most important thing to remember is that you can’t just “make an image black and white” in Photoshop – you need to use one of these methods to actually change the color values of the pixels themselves.
- Why can’t I make an image black and white in Photoshop The simple answer is that you need to use one of three specific methods in order to change an image from color to true black and white.
- The most common method is called desaturate, but this will only remove color from an image without changing the actual color values of each pixel.
Have you ever tried to open an image in Photoshop, only to receive the following error message: “Could not complete your request because the file is not compatible with this version of Photoshop.” If you have, then you’re not alone! This is a common problem, and one that can be quite frustrating, especially if you’re not sure why it’s happening.
There are a few different reasons why this error message might pop up. It’s a common question: “Why can’t I zoom in Photoshop?” The answer is both simple and complex. Let’s start with the simple part: The reason you can’t zoom in Photoshop is because the software wasn’t designed for that. It was designed for editing photos.
If you’re a Photoshop user, you may have noticed that you can’t crop your images in the program. This is because Photoshop doesn’t have a built-in cropping tool. However, there are a few ways you can work around this issue. When it comes to digital design, there are few software programs as versatile and widely used as Photoshop.
Photoshop is the go-to program for designers who need to create or edit images for both web and print design projects. One of the things that makes Photoshop so versatile is its ability to let users change the color of an image. It’s a question that plagues many newbie Photoshop users, and the answer is actually quite simple: you’re not zoomed in enough.
By default, the program is set to 100% zoom, which means that you’re seeing the image at its actual size. If you want to get a closer look, you need to increase the zoom level. If you’re new to Photoshop, you may be wondering why you can’t adjust the levels of your image.
- The truth is, you can, but it’s not as simple as just clicking a button.
- You need to use the Levels tool, which is found under the Image menu.
- When you’re working on a design in Photoshop, there are always going to be certain elements that need to be optimized for the web.
- Images, for example, need to be saved in the correct file format and at the right size.
Otherwise, they’ll take up too much space and load slowly. The Perspective Tool in Photoshop is a great way to change the perspective of an image. However, there are some limitations to using this tool. One limitation is that the tool can only be used on images that are in a rectangular shape.
- You may have noticed that you cannot delete an artboard in Photoshop like you can a layer.
- This is because artboards are a relatively new addition to Photoshop, and as such, there are still some kinks to be worked out.
- For now, the only way to delete an artboard is to select it and then press the delete key on your keyboard.
I’m trying to deselect in Photoshop and it’s not working. I’ve tried pressing the Esc key, clicking on the checkerboard background, and even selecting the Deselect option from the Select menu, but nothing seems to work. What am I doing wrong? : Why Can’t I Make an Image Black and White in Photoshop?
When Photoshop turns black and white?
The Hue/Saturation Adjustment Layer – In a later tutorial in this series, we’ll look at how we can use a Hue/Saturation adjustment layer to create more professional, custom black and white versions of color images, Here, we’ll simply look at how we can use a Hue/Saturation adjustment layer to not only desaturate the color completely from an image but also how to keep just a hint of the original color for a more creative and interesting result. Go to Edit > Undo Desaturate, or press Ctrl+Z (Win) / Command+Z (Mac) to restore the color in the photo. To add a Hue/Saturation adjustment layer, click on the New Adjustment Layer icon at the bottom of the Layers palette (it’s the circle split diagonally between black and white), then choose Hue/Saturation from the list of adjustment layers that appears: Click on the New Adjustment Layer icon and choose Hue/Saturation from the list. If you’re using Photoshop CS4 as I am here, the controls and options for the Hue/Saturation adjustment layer will appear in the Adjustments Panel which is new to CS4. If you’re using Photoshop CS3 or earlier, the Hue/Saturation dialog box will appear on your screen. Drag the Saturation slider all the way to the left to completely remove the color from the image. This gives us the exact same result that we saw with the Desaturate command. With the color removed, we’re left with a basic black and white version: Once again, the color has been removed to give us a black and white version of the photo. So what’s the difference between using the Desaturate command and dragging the Saturation slider? Well, let’s say we decide that we don’t want a completely black and white image.
We’d like to bring back a subtle amount of the photo’s original color. With the Desaturate command, unless we duplicated the Background layer first and applied the command to a copy of the image, we’d be out of luck. But with the Hue/Saturation adjustment layer, bringing back some of the color is easy! Since we’re using an adjustment layer, nothing we’re doing to our image is permanent.
We’re free to make as many changes as we like without causing any harm to the original photo (see our Non-Destructive Photo Editing With Adjustment Layers tutorial to learn more). To restore some of the original color, simply drag the Saturation slider back a little towards the right. The Saturation slider makes it easy to control how much color is removed from the image. Rather than a completely black and white image, my photo now has more of a muted color effect: Leaving a hint of color can sometimes be more interesting than a completely black and white effect. If you’re using Photoshop CS3 or earlier, click OK in the top right corner of the Hue/Saturation dialog box when you’re done to exit out of it. Since our black and white effect is entirely contained within the Hue/Saturation adjustment layer, if at any point we want to restore the original full color image, all we need to do is turn off the adjustment layer by clicking on its layer visibility icon (the “eyeball” icon), which you’ll find on the far left of the layer in the Layers palette: Turn the black and white effect on and off by clicking on the layer visibility icon. The original color is instantly restored: With the adjustment layer turned off, the document window once again displays the original full color image. Click again on the layer visibility icon to turn the adjustment layer back on and switch back to the black and white version. Up next, we’ll look at another fast, fun and interesting way to convert a color photo to black and white in Photoshop, this time using a Gradient Map !
How do I change an object color to white in Photoshop?
How to change the color of an object Apply any color to a product photo. What you’ll need This sample file contains Adobe Stock assets you can use to practice what you learn in this tutorial. If you want to use the sample file beyond this tutorial, you can purchase licenses on, Check out the ReadMe file in the folder for the terms that apply to your use of this sample file.
- What you learned: Apply color to an object using techniques that create a realistic color match and that bring the object to life
- To change the color of an object with professional results, control all three of these essential characteristics of color: hue (the color), saturation (the intensity of the color), and brightness (the lightness and darkness of the color).
- Select an object
Select the Object Selection tool in the Toolbar, and drag a rectangle across the entire object. This creates a selection that automatically shrinks to the edges of the object.
Create a layer group and apply a mask to the group
- In the Layers panel, click the Create New Group button to create a layer group.
- With the selection still active, click the Add Layer Mask button in the Layers panel to create a mask in the shape of the selection around the object. Adding a mask to the group will allow you to use one mask to affect multiple layers in the following steps.
Apply a new color and adjust its hue and saturation
- Click the Create New Fill or Adjustment Layer button in the Layers panel, and select Solid Color. This adds a Color fill layer inside the layer group. The mask on the layer group limits the solid color to the object.
- Select the new color that you want to apply to the object and click OK. The object now appears to be filled with that solid color.
- With the Color fill layer still selected, open the Blending Modes menu in the Layers panel, and click the Color blending mode. The Color blending mode applies the hue and saturation of the new color but retains the brightness of the original color of the object.
Adjust the brightness of the new color
- Click the Create New Adjustment Layer button in the Layers panel, and choose Levels. This adds a Levels adjustment layer.
- Drag the Levels adjustment layer below the Color fill layer in the layer group.
- Use the Input Levels sliders in the Properties panel to brighten up the object. For example, you can drag the white slider to the left to brighten the object and drag the gray slider farther to the left to increase contrast. These adjustments affect the third component of color—brightness—giving the object with its new color the appearance of texture and shading.
: How to change the color of an object
How to convert black to white and white to black in Photoshop?
Black and White Adjustment Layer – Click on the half-filled circle icon at the bottom of the Layers panel. Choose Black and White from the list of adjustment layers that opens. The image turns black and white and you get this panel where you can adjust each color individually.
How to convert black to white and white to black in Photoshop?
Black and White Adjustment Layer – Click on the half-filled circle icon at the bottom of the Layers panel. Choose Black and White from the list of adjustment layers that opens. The image turns black and white and you get this panel where you can adjust each color individually.