How to Quickly Make a Dramatic Black & White Image Effect in Photoshop

Photoshop Post Processing

Creating striking black and white images is a classic technique in photography and graphic design. While there are many ways to achieve this effect, the traditional method of transforming a color image into black and white using the 'Black & White' adjustment layer in Photoshop is often effective but lacks the speed and control that many designers and photographers desire for a quick conversion. Today, I will show you a faster and more efficient approach using a 'Gradient Map' adjustment layer. This method not only accelerates the process but also provides quick control over the tonal range, allowing you to achieve a dramatic black and white effect with minimal effort, transforming your photos into stunning monochrome masterpieces.

Step 1

Open your image in Photoshop.

Step 2

Go to Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Gradient Map.

Step 3

In the Gradient Map Properties window, click on the down arrow icon of the gradient thumbnail to display the presets gradients.

Step 4

Open the "Basics" folder and click on the "Black, White" gradient thumbnail.

Step 5

Under "Method" select "Perceptual".

Step 6

Now click over the gradient thumbnail to open the Gradient Editor window.

Step 7

Drag the Black color stop to the right to increase the blacks. Usually a value between 5 and 10 is enough, but you are free to set any value that you feel it works for your particular image.

Step 8

Next, drag the White color stop to the left to increase the Whites. Setting the Location between 90 and 80 should be more than enough, but again, set the value that you like for your particular image.

Step 9

Lastly, drag the Color Midpoint either to the left (to increase the whites) or to the right (to increase the blacks). For this particular image, I will set the Midpoint location to 30. Once you are happy with the end result, simply click OK in the Gradient Editor window.

Some Final Tips:

Now that you know how quick and easy is to make a dramatic Black & White image in Photoshop, you are free to edit the Gradient values, the layer opacity and even the Method to achieve new effects that you can use over any of your photos like in the following examples.