How can I get a faded black-and-white look in-camera on a Canon 60D?
Asked 6/16/2015
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I like black-and-white photography and want a softer, old-style look where the darkest tones are lifted instead of going to pure black. I shoot with a Canon 60D and would prefer to get this effect straight out of camera, without editing later. Is there a way to do this with Picture Styles or other camera settings, or does it require post-processing?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
11y ago
2 Answers
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If your camera supported custom tone curves, you'd be able to get a similar result to this straight out of camera. Unfortunately, yours doesn't, so your only option is post-processing.
There are many ways one would get this effect in post.
Basic levels adjustment - put the black point output as a value above 0 using a levels control or similar in Photoshop, other editors, or your RAW software.
Use a curves control and have the leftmost point of the curve not go all the way down to the bottom axis.
Use a gradient map, and choose your off-white and off-black colors as the gradient. This would offer the flexibility of giving a color cast, and also letting your black point and white point have slightly different color casts.
Originally by user3422. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user3422
11y ago
0
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You can get partway there in-camera, but on a Canon 60D you generally won’t be able to fully create that “faded blacks” look without post-processing.
The 60D does let you customize Picture Styles. Start with Monochrome, save it to a User Defined slot, and experiment with contrast, sharpness, and related settings. Lower contrast can help produce a flatter, less harsh black-and-white image straight out of camera.
However, the specific look you describe—where blacks are lifted above true black—is usually made with tone-curve or levels adjustments after capture. Cameras typically don’t output RAW files with that effect baked in, and the 60D does not offer the kind of custom tone-curve control needed to precisely raise the black point in-camera.
Common editing methods are:
- raise the black output level in Levels
- lift the lower-left point in Curves
- use a gradient map with off-black and off-white tones
So the practical answer is: try Monochrome Picture Style with reduced contrast for a close in-camera result, but for a true faded vintage B&W look, post-processing is the reliable way.
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