I get reader questions that go a lot like this “I can’t afford expensive actions. How can I make a B&W from scratch?”

Well firstly I must say that as a beginner, my favourite B&Ws were FREE and came from CoffeeShop. Of course, I still love them but I also use ones from other makers.

I must admit, actions have made me super lazy and I’m definitely not a do-it-from-scratcher.

Today, I’ll show you how to produce B&W in Photoshop Elements. First, open your photo. Then go to Enhance —> convert to black and white

After that, you’ll get this screen:

Select a style and adjust the colour intensities on the right sliders. No, there are no colours in your B&W, but this adjusts the colours that WOULD be there if it were in colour. After using this as a starting point, you can then play with the contrast (lowering the contrast can give a very soft look which goes beyond the typical B&W. Those actions and presets you can buy don’t just turn a photo into grayscale. They do loads of things you may not have thought of! Then you can add a few free textures you’ve acquired here and there and presto! A totally rockin B&W!

Thanks for your questions everyone and keep ‘em coming to eh@elizabethhalford.com.