One of the most useful, best photo editing processes I have learned, has been how to convert a photo to true black & white (not grayscale). In B&W photos, blacks should be black, whites should be white, and the image should absolutely not look like a flat mix of shades of gray. Below are some screen shots and instructions on how you can achieve the same contrast and proper pop to your B&W photographs.
1. Start with a properly exposed photo - edited for any skin imperfections, etc. Your B&W conversion should be your last step to a completely edited photo:
2. This is what you will NOT be doing from now on:
What you SHOULD do from now on:
3. Add a new adjustment layer - a black to white Gradient Map over your background. Make sure "Dither" is checked underneath the gradient editing bar.
4. Add a Levels adjustment layer above the Gradient Map. Adjust the each slider until you are satisfied with the levels of blacks/grays/whites in the photo. In this particular photo I bumped up the gray from 1.0 to 1.45 and the black from 0 to 25. I left the white at 255.
5. Add a Brightness/Contrast adjustment layer above the Levels layer. Adjust Brightness/Contrast to taste, keeping in mind that you don't want anything to look too bright/dark. I only bumped up the contrast slightly in this photo.
6. As a last step, I usually like to add a second black to white Gradient Map. It gives everything nice contrast. There are times when I don't do this, and it is really to taste at this point, so use your best judgement.
As you can see from the comparison below, it is imperative to make a proper conversion of a photo, to get true black and white.
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