How to Create a Black and White Photo in Adobe Photoshop CC (2021)

Color changed everything about photography, but sometimes going back to black and white makes a stronger statement. Removing color strips the image down to its raw elements: light, shadow, texture, and composition. It focuses the viewer on the content rather than the aesthetics. A well-converted black and white photo has a timeless quality that color sometimes cannot match.

The key word is “well-converted.” Simply desaturating a photo rarely looks good. The best black and white conversions use targeted adjustments to control how each color translates to gray, creating contrast and depth that flat desaturation cannot achieve. Today I am going to show you two methods for creating a black and white photo in Adobe Photoshop CC.

Method 1: Black & White Adjustment Layer

This is the most common and flexible approach.

1. Open your photo in Photoshop.
2. At the bottom of the Layers panel, click the adjustments button (the half-circle icon).
3. Select Black & White. The image will immediately convert to grayscale.
4. In the Properties panel, you will see sliders for each color: Reds, Yellows, Greens, Cyans, Blues, and Magentas.
5. Each slider controls how bright or dark that color becomes in the black and white conversion. For example:
   • Dragging Reds brighter will lighten skin tones and anything red.
   • Dragging Blues darker will make skies more dramatic.
   • Dragging Yellows brighter will lighten foliage and warm highlights.
6. Move the sliders around to create contrast between different elements. Make some colors lighter and others darker to separate them visually.
7. For extra punch, add a Brightness/Contrast adjustment layer on top. Increase the contrast slightly to make the blacks deeper and the whites brighter.

Method 2: Camera Raw Filter

This method gives you a more comprehensive editing environment with more controls in one place.

1. Open your photo in Photoshop.
2. Click on the image layer and go to Filter > Camera Raw Filter.
3. In Camera Raw, look at the top-right section. Change the profile from Auto to B&W. The image converts to black and white.
4. You can now use the B&W Mixer panel to adjust how each color maps to gray, just like Method 1.
5. You also have access to the full Camera Raw editing suite: Basic adjustments (exposure, contrast, highlights, shadows), Texture, Clarity, and Dehaze.
6. I like to add some Texture (+10 to +20) and Clarity (+15 to +25) for black and white photos. These controls bring out surface detail that really shines without color distraction.
7. Use the B&W Mixer to push contrasting colors apart. If a subject is wearing a red shirt against a blue background, make reds lighter and blues darker so they separate clearly.
8. Click OK to apply.

Tips

• Contrast is everything in black and white. Without color to differentiate elements, you need strong contrast between light and dark areas to keep the image from looking flat and muddy.
• High-contrast subjects work best. Portraits with dramatic lighting, architecture with strong shadows, and landscapes with dark skies all translate beautifully to black and white.
• Add a subtle vignette. Darkening the corners draws the eye to the center, which is especially effective in black and white portraits.
• Try a color tint. After converting to black and white, add a Photo Filter adjustment layer with a Sepia tone for a warm, vintage feel. Or use a cool blue tint for a more modern, moody look.
• For related work in Lightroom, check out 10 Lightroom tips you should know where we cover similar color and tone adjustments.

That is how you create a black and white photo in Photoshop. Both methods give you full control over how each color translates to gray, which is the key to a compelling black and white conversion.