Topaz Black and White Effects

Black and White Photography  •  Photography Tips

Topaz B&W Effects is designed to be the most technologically-advanced software available for custom black and white photography conversion.

Topaz B&W Effects (photo by Julia Anna Gospodarou)

Capture the essence of your photos in monochrome with striking tone and detail. It is designed to be an end-to-end workflow for black and white photography. Also featuring over 200 presets that can be applied to your image in just a click. These time-saving presets make your black and white conversion and enhancement process quick and easy. After applying a preset, you can tweak the adjustment settings to develop your own unique look and then save these new settings as your own preset. Here are some of the other key features:

Zone System View:

The Zone System view is a photographic technique that allows you to understand the different tones in your image. Originally developed by Ansel Adams and Fred Archer, it is a proven system that has historically helped photographers develop excellent black and white photos. The Zone System view lets you see at a glance which zone a specific area of your image falls under. Click on a specific number and watch as you fine-tune and adjust that area until it is at the particular zone you desire. Shadows are 0-3, midtones are 4-7 and highlights are 8-10.

The Zone System View

Advanced Grain Engine:

The grain engine applies true or simulated film grain to your image. Options were developed from scans of real film for an authentic look and feel. You can use the sliders to further customize the grain contrast and size in your image. With the release of version 2.1, the grain algorithm was enhanced, allowing for even more realistic grain creation from the true grain library.

Before/After Example Using Topaz B&W Effects (Click to See More)

5 Smart Brushes

Easily and effectively achieve selective adjustments during your workflow with these five different brushes.

• Dodge – lightens areas of an image
• Burn – darkens areas of an image
• Color – reintroduces original image color
• Detail – enhances detail in image
• Smooth – smooths out areas of an image

Quick Tools

Use the quick buttons to make immediate enhancements to your image, without having to open the adjustments panel. The quick buttons include applying a color filter, changing the brightness, contrast, adaptive exposure, tone and quick access to your dodge and burn brushes.

Example Conversions from Topaz B&W Effects (Click to See Tone Options)

Curve Tool + Histogram

B&W Effects integrates the powerful and flexible Curve Tool and histogram into its workflow. Using the Curve Tool, you can adjust image tonality to help emphasize tones, contrast and brightness within your image. This feature includes pre-loaded curve presets for quick curve adjustments. Or you can simply click and drag to add or move anchor points. Use the Reset button to revert back to the default settings.

Darkroom Inspired Borders

Containing 26 hand-crafted, darkroom-inspired borders. Including grunge and burnt effects, borders offer a creative finishing touch to your image.

Adaptive Exposure

Integrates the power of Topaz Adjust’s Adaptive Exposure technology to enhance the dynamic range of your image. This allows you to enhance both detail and depth, allowing for HDR-style looks. Apply a variety of tone mapped effects using the unique sliders to adjust the range of the highest and lowest luminance regions where detail is visible. You can also correct exposure, balance lighting and redefine tonal values.

“To see in color is a delight for the eye but to see in black and white is a delight for the soul.” -Andri Cauldwell

How to Get a Copy:

After a quick download the plugin is easy to install and appears under your filters menu in Photoshop, Lightroom or other compatible programs.

Found here: Topaz Black & White Effects