Advanced Black & White Editing in Lightroom

This guide will walk you through the easiest ways to master black-and-white editing in Adobe Lightroom.

I often use Adobe Lightroom to fine-tune photos to achieve a perfect monochrome tone.

With the Basics editing panel in Lightroom, you can adjust contrast, exposure, and tone to create striking black-and-white images.

Let’s dive into the tutorial.

Advanced Black and White Editing in Lightroom

If you’re a photographer and have not tried black-and-white photography, you haven’t yet lived the full photography experience.

Colors rock. There is no denying this. They vibrantly pop, they clash, they harmonize, they are magnificent.

However, color can also overwhelm the visual senses and distract us from the textures of an image.

Photographers who experiment with black-and-white photography understand tone and texture on a more intimate level.

Removing color brings everything back to the basics, to the classic tug of war between light and dark.

When using Lightroom, you can quickly flip a color photo to a black-and-white image.

This is a simple quick-click fix, and it can yield some great results. However, you aren’t looking for a ‘great’ photo. You want a jaw-dropping, sublime photo that embraces the subtleties of black and white.

We will break down the process of black-and-white editing into bite-sized pieces so you can fully understand its different shades of grey.

Black and white is essentially a play of light and dark, painting with light. As stated by controversial Czech photographer Miroslav Tichy, “Photography is painting with light.”

First things first: there are different styles of black and white photography.

High contrast

High-contrast black-and-white photographs create a dark, moody atmosphere.

Darker areas and heavy shadows can create a sense of intensity or be used to frame the subject.

There is a sense of mystery as no one knows what is hidden in the dark areas.

Below is an example of a high-contrast black-and-white photo. There is an obvious stark contrast between jet blacks and vivid whites.

This can create a sense of drama, a powerful atmosphere, or generate intimacy between the viewer and the subject.

Mid-tone

Mid-tone black and white photographs will have varying shades of gray. This image will be neither too dark nor too light.

When an image has light shadows, it reveals the hidden intricate details.

Below is an example of a mid-tone photo. There are many shades of grey, from light to dark, without too much contrast.

You can see all the textures in the shaded areas. There are no secrets in this image, as the entire image is in full view.

It makes for an intricate image, one you can get lost in, and your eyes can wander around the entire image.

Low-tone

Low-tone black-and-white photography has less contrast and a smaller range of tones.

This style of photography looks better when it veers to the lighter tones of the neutral grey color spectrum.

Below is an example of a low-tone photo.

A light black and white or smokey or misty image will create a light, ethereal mood. There will be a dreamy quality and a softness.

In the image above, a photo is shown as high-contrast, mid-tone, and low-tone.

Each style of black-and-white photography has a different aesthetic. You can pick the style that suits you.

Some of the most intriguing black-and-white photos will incorporate all of them.

Converting a photo to black and white takes one click in Lightroom, but refining it takes a keen eye.

Step 1 – Convert to Black and White

We will use a colored image of a girl in a blue bathroom for this photo.

As you can see in the image below, the colors dominate the image and demand the viewer’s attention.

Although the colors make for an intriguing image, they also make the image appear cluttered and confusing.

To convert to black and white, open the image in Lightroom’s Develop module and click Basics in the editing panel on the right-hand side of your canvas workspace.

When the Basic panel opens, click the Black & White conversion button. You will find it at the top of the panel.

Once clicked, Lightroom will make its standard black-and-white conversion, and the image will automatically convert to gray-hue monochrome.

(Learn about the difference between greyscale and monochrome.)

As you can see, distracting colors have been removed, and the atmosphere of the image changes from cluttered and playful to intriguing and intimate.

The girl becomes more obvious, and the bathroom’s textures are more pronounced.

When the image is converted to black and white, we take note of the shades of grey. Is this a low-tone or high-contrast image? Are there blown-out whites? Are the blacks rich enough? Do we have too much contrast or too little?

The image is mid-tone rich, which is ideal for revealing textures. However, it veers to muted dark greys and lacks vibrant whites and deep blacks.

Inspecting the image’s tones, we can see that the overall tonal palette will be improved if we add contrast and lighten the exposure.

To improve the image’s tones, we will use the Tone sliders in the Basic panel.

The Tone editing panel has six adjustment sliders: Exposure, Contrast, Highlights, Shadows, Whites and Blacks.

Let’s walk through them.

Step 2 – Adjust Exposure

The range of deep blacks or high whites is missing, making the image look slightly muted or flat.

To add more depth, we will first adjust the exposure. The image is under-exposed in some areas, but it is overexposed when the light enters the window and hits the mirror.

The girl is central to the theme of the image. Without her, it would be just a cluttered room, but her presence adds an extra story layer to the image.

When the image was colored, the girl in her pink outfit clashed with her blue surroundings. Now, she blends with her background.

We want to lighten and frame her to highlight her. The exposure is adjusted to +0.40 to lighten her skin tones.

The key here is subtlety, increasing exposure only slightly. Lifting the image’s exposure gives us scope to brighten the whites.

The light that comes in through the window onto the ironing board and the mirror is slightly blown out.

If we wanted to reduce the glare from the window without affecting the rest of the image, we could use a masking layer.

In the image below, the Exposure is decreased, and as you can see, the definition around the window, ironing board, and mirror is regained.

However, we want to leave the overpowering blast of sunshine in this photo.

The suggestion of a vibrant sunny day outside the bathroom accentuates the girl’s reflective demure, making the viewer wonder why she is not outside in the sunshine, adding intrigue to the theme of the image.

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Step 3 – Adjust Contrast

After adjusting the exposure, we move on to the next slider – the Contrast slider.

We will increase the contrast to amplify the definition between the lights and darks.

This image is rich in mid-tones. By increasing the contrast to +45, we create a richer, more dynamic image.

Step 4 – Adjust Highlights

We use the Highlight slider to fine-tune the image’s lighter areas (otherwise known as highlights). When using this slider, you will not alter the darker areas or shadows.

To brighten the image’s highlights, slide the Highlights slider to the right.

When we decrease the highlights by moving the slider to the left, we can draw out hidden textures from overexposed areas.

In the image below, we have decreased the highlights to -63 to bring forth more definition from the bright spots and reduce the glare from the window.

Step 5 – Adjust Shadows

The Shadow slider alters the exposure of the image’s shadows or darker areas, but it does not alter the image’s highlights.

Deep, dark tones are fantastic when you want to create a dramatic or moody effect.

If you want deep blacks, move the slider to the slider to the left.

For this image, we want to remove heavy, dark, gloomy areas, such as the shaded area around the girl.

We move the Shadow slider to the right to +31, lightening the shaded areas.

As you can see in the image above, the hidden detail of the dark chair seat has become clearer, and shadows are lightened.

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Step 6 – Adjust Whites

The Whites slider can be used to further manipulate the image’s white tones.

In the image above, we have amplified the whites by sliding the Whites slider to the right, to +62.

This has lightened the wall and bathtub.

To darken an image’s white tones, move the slider to the left.

Step 7 – Adjust Blacks

The last step is to adjust the Blacks slider.

The Blacks slider is moved to the left, to -21, to tone down the image’s dark tones.

The image is now complete. Below is the image when it was initially converted to black and white.

We can compare that to the following image, after the tones were adjusted using Lightroom’s Basic module.

The grey muted tones have been reduced, and contrast has been increased in selected areas. Whites have been brightened slightly to reveal hidden details.

Now, you have the tools and the know-how to elevate standard black-and-white photos into incredible creations.

Monochrome photography is a fantastic way to create dramatic or dreamy atmospheres.

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Convert to Black and White and Use a Masking Layer

Now, I will walk you through how to use a masking area when editing black-and-white photos.

This is useful if you wish to alter the exposure or contrast in one section of the image. It allows you more editing control and is a useful editing trick to have up your sleeve.

The image below is a sweet photo of three dogs. It has great composition but lacks atmosphere.

Black and white photography can be used to add mood and drama to this scene.

Color gives this image life, making the puppies look cheerful and friendly. The background is distracting and a little ugly and has the potential to give the viewer an uncomfortable feeling.

By converting the image to black and white, we will remove color distractions. This will create a more intimate scene and help focus the viewer on the dogs.

We can then change the atmosphere from playful to moody by editing the tones from mid-tone to high-contrast.

First, we click the Black & White conversion button at the top of the Basic editing panel to convert the image to black and white.

Now that the image is black and white, the background colors no longer distract the viewer’s eye from the dogs.

Using the Tone sliders, adjust Exposure, Contrast, Highlights, Shadows, Whites, and Blacks.

We want to add drama, so contrast and blacks are increased, and mid-tones are reduced.

To add extra intimacy, we will darken the edges of the photo. This will create a natural frame for the three dogs.

To do this, we will create a masking layer.

To add a mask, click on the circular icon under Histogram.

The Masking panel will open. There are three buttons at the top of the panel: Subject, Sky, and Background.

Click on Brush below these three options, and a masking layer will be created.

Use your cursor to create the mask around the edges of the image.

A red overlay will appear. This indicates the masked area, as you can see in the image above.

When you have created a frame around the subject, you can use the Exposure slider to darken the area.

This creates a ‘natural’ dramatic frame, highlighting the dogs.

The photo has changed from an everyday image of three cute puppies to a dynamic trio who capture our attention.

I hope you can utilize the incredible potential of black-and-white photography to your advantage.

You can use it to create dynamic works of art, highlight texture, or focus the viewer’s eye.

We hope you enjoyed this tutorial. If you liked this one, you will also enjoy – 16 Surprising Lightroom Tips & Tricks You Don’t Know.

FAQs

How to get perfect whites and blacks in Lightroom?

To get perfect whites and blacks in Lightroom, open the Basics editing mode.

In the Tone panel, you will find the Blacks adjustment slider and Whites adjustment slider.

Move the slider to the left to decrease white (or black) or to the right to increase white (or black.) Adjusting the sliders will help you to achieve perfect whites and blacks.

How to edit black and white in Lightroom?

To edit black and white photos in Lightroom, open the image in Develop mode. In the Basic panel, hit Black & White.

Lightroom will instantly apply the standard black-and-white conversion.

To tweak the tonal range, adjust the sliders in the Tone panel. There are six sliders: Exposure, Contrast, Highlights, Shadows, Blacks and Whites.

What mode in Lightroom will you make most of your editing corrections in?

The Develop mode is the mode that is used to make the most editing corrections in Lightroom.

You can apply minor or major edits to your photos in Lightroom’s Develop module.