ActionKit 6 : Convert Colour Photos to Black & White
This set of Photoshop actions was created to speed up the process of converting colour images to monochrome (black & white). There are 10 different actions, covering a wide range of conversion techniques and effects. Some of them, notably the LAB colour conversions, affect the actual pixels in the original image, so always work on a copy! They've all been tested in Photoshop CS3.
Click Download ActionKit to download these ten actions to your hard disk. They're in .zip format, so you need to unzip them. More instructions here!
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- Desaturate & Levels. This action desaturates the original image and then adds an Auto-Levels adjustment.
- LAB Conversion & Levels. This one uses a LAB colour conversion, which tends to give a nice smooth effect, finally adding a Levels Adjustment Layer.
- Black & White Adjustment Layer. This action is completely non-destructive and uses a Black & White Adjustment Layer with a Red Filter applied.
- LAB Conversion: Sepia. Here we're using a LAB colour conversion again, adding Levels and Photo Filter Adjustment Layers for a "olde-world" Sepia effect.
- Convert for Landscape. The idea here is to get blue skies looking really dark for a dramatic effect!
- A touch of colour. Just a little colour shows through from the original image.
- High Contrast Film (LAB). Grainy, contrasty effect using a LAB color conversion.
- High Contrast Film (non-destructive). Grainy, contrasty effect using a Black & White Adjustment Layer.
- Platinum Tint. A warm effect, mimicking a platinum tint produced in the darkroom.
- Destruction. Just really, really nasty!
