This lesson turns your photos into professional black & white the right way — keeping tonal control instead of flatly desaturating.
2026 note: Recorded on Photoshop CS6 in 2014. Adobe sells Photoshop via Creative Cloud subscription now; about 95% of the menus and shortcuts in the video still match the modern version.
The Pro Approach
- Duplicate the background layer (
Ctrl/Cmd + J). - Add a Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Black & White.
- The panel reveals six color sliders (Reds, Yellows, Greens, Cyans, Blues, Magentas). Each controls how bright the corresponding color becomes in gray.
- For portraits, push Reds and Yellows right to brighten skin.
- For landscapes, pull Blues left to dramatize the sky and reveal clouds.
- Add Curves on top with a soft S-curve for contrast.
- Want a partial color look? Paint black on the B&W layer’s mask only over the area you want to keep colored.
Why Not Desaturate?
Image > Adjustments > Desaturate turns every color into the same gray — lifeless. Black & White gives you channel-level control, which is the entire trick of real B&W photography.
2026 Addition
Camera Raw Filter’s B&W tab brings the same 8-channel control into one modern panel — the preferred workflow today.
