Nikon D7000, 85mm f/1.8 D lens, f/5.6, 1/125s, ISO 400.

Great black and white images require more than simply removing the color, and Lightroom 5 is a really powerful tool for making memorable black and white photographs. Take a look at this video to see the seven steps I take to make a terrific B&W image from any color image.

Rob Sylvan and I will be doing a Google+ hangout on February 19th at 1pm Eastern (10am Pacific) to discuss how to finish great black and white images using Adobe Lightroom 5 (we’ll also share some organizational gems, so don’t miss it!). You can join the event here, and these are links to Levi and Rob.

Following are some of the settings I mentioned in the video:

Real Iris

These are the settings I use in the Adjustment Brush to gently enhance eyes (K is the shortcut for the Adjustment Brush). I usually use this with the brush set to 100% flow and opacity. Click on the drop down arrows next to where it reads “Real Iris” and you can choose to “Save Current Settings As New Preset.”

Screen Shot 2014-01-28 at 9.55.12 PM

These are some favorite tints for finishing your black and whites; try these in the Split Toning tab. Use the Preset tab on the left to make a preset including only the Split Toning checkbox to keep these handy for the future.

Copper Hue:

Screen Shot 2014-01-28 at 9.55.58 PM

Scott Kelby’s

Screen Shot 2014-01-28 at 9.56.31 PM

Grape Dreamsicle:

Blue 227

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