Photo How To

Experienced outdoor photographers understand why some scenes beg to be rendered in b&w, and there are two ways to get the job done. You can either set the camera to capture in monochrome or shoot in color and make the conversion during post processing.

This tutorial from Richard Brockwell touches on the former but concentrates on his editing secrets for transforming colorful images into "stunning monochrome masterpieces." The workflow he recommends is super effective and it's easy enough for anyone to master in minutes.

Brockwell is a professional landscape photographer based in Malta with a passion for exploring new techniques. His passions include shooting in b&w, long exposure photography, and the amazing world of infrared monochrome imagery.

Whether you're an advanced photographer or just getting started this lesson covers it all, from understanding the basics of tone and contrast to advanced techniques for adding depth, dimension, and texture. As he says, "get ready to transform your photos, discover the timeless beauty of monochrome, and unlock the full potential of black and white photography editing."

Brockwell arose early to shoot sunset photos from the shore—a task that typically involves capturing the soft, beautiful colors that appear as the sun peaks above the horizon. But watch the dramatic magic he creates with a compelling b&w conversion that takes barely 12 minutes to explain.

Before revealing the technique at hand, Brockwell makes a few basic edits to his original color shot to exaggerate all the tones. He then turns to Photoshop to demonstrate his impressive monochrome conversion. The techniques he describes can be accomplished with Photoshop, Adobe Camera Raw (ACR) and Lightroom.

Once the transformation is complete you'll learn a few tricks for boosting the impact even further. Then check out Brockwell's instructional YouTube channel where there's much more of interest for everyone who shoots photos in the great outdoors.

We also recommend a tutorial we featured recently with another accomplished pro who provides a step-by-step guide to capturing eye-catching multiple exposure photographs in the camera.