Master Black & White Editing in Affinity Photo

Master the fundamentals of black and white editing by converting color photos to black and white and adjusting lighting for better contrast.

Explore the art of black and white photography by prioritizing light and contrast to highlight the focal point against a background, using textures, shapes, and patterns to enrich composition.

Learn to convert photos to black and white with an adjustment layer, color sliders, and the perceived brightness formula to create an accurate preset.

Master the curves adjustment layer in Affinity Photo to control lighting by shaping the spline, adjusting shadows and highlights with an S-curve, and tweaking black and white points for contrast.

Master overlay painting in Affinity Photo to shape light in black and white photos, using white to brighten, black to darken, and contrast adjustments to emphasize the subject.

Apply a preset and accurate black and white adjustments, use a curves adjustment for contrast, then overlay painting to brighten the path, house, and flowers and darken the trees.

Learn to use Affinity's shape tools to adjust lighting in black and white editing, enabling dynamic lighting changes anytime.

Create light in black and white photos using shapes, circles and rectangles, with overlay blend mode, Gaussian blur, and adjustable opacity to soften edges and illuminate subjects.

Create a light beam in Affinity Photo by drawing a diagonal rectangle, applying a white-to-transparent gradient, and refining with opacity, Gaussian blur, and a curves adjustment to darken the scene.

Learn to unmask the subject by duplicating the image in Affinity Photo, applying a black-and-white adjustment, and revealing lighting with an inverted mask painted in white.

Apply a black and white preset, then build fog with a white rectangle, blur it, and adjust opacity; or paint white on a pixel layer with a large brush.

Learn to add an editable vignette to a black and white photo in Affinity Photo, using a full-image rectangle, blur, and adjustable stroke, opacity, and color.

Create a blurred photo frame by masking with a circle, applying Gaussian blur, and rasterizing to bake the blur, then center the image and lock children to keep it stationary.

Explore sharpening and blurring techniques to enhance black and white photos, moving beyond lighting to sharpen details and control blur.

Sharpen textures in black and white photography using the clarity filter to boost light and contrast, then refine with masking and duplicate layers to enhance waves.

Master the art of un-sharpening in black and white by applying a subtle Gaussian blur with a one-pixel radius to soften texture and create an older, timeless look.

Learn to add controlled noise to a black-and-white photo in Affinity Photo, adjust intensity around 20%, and brush noise off the face for a balanced finish.

Learn to add a blurred vignette to a black and white photo using depth of field blur, preserve alpha, selectively paint blur away from the subject, with noise for realism.

Apply tilt shift blur with the depth of field filter to keep the subject sharp while the background blurs; refine with masks, paint, and a light noise finish.

Apply a dreamy glow by using the lens blur with preserve alpha and screen blend mode to brighten a black and white photo, then deepen shadows with a curves adjustment.

Apply a motion blur with the black and white preset to create horizontal movement, then invert the layer and paint with white over the people to blur their whole bodies.

Master advanced motion blur in a black and white edit using Affinity Photo by isolating the subject with the selection brush, refining edges, and blurring the background.

Learn to move beyond pure black and white in Affinity Photo by adding a touch of color, while still mostly black and white, to create striking effects.

Apply sepia toning to black and white photos using the lens filter adjustment Ethne, boosting optical density for a warm, vintage look, with later opacity and curve adjustments.

Master split toning in Affinity Photo by applying blue-toned shadows and yellow-orange highlights to a black-and-white image. Fine-tune with saturation and opacity for a balanced look.

Isolate the subject with a selection brush, refine edges, invert to reveal a color pop against a black-and-white background, and adjust color with an HSL layer.

apply the black and white preset, set the layer to luminosity, and adjust color sliders to brighten or darken reds, yellows, greens, cyans, and blues to shape lighting.

Explore how converting challenging color photos to black and white can simplify editing and reveal a powerful technique, opening this chapter on Affinity Photo editing.

Learn how to correct colors by converting photos to black and white, use the accurate black and white preset, and adjust lighting with curves to balance shadows.

Master lighting correction by converting underexposed photos to black and white in Affinity Photo. Use curves adjustment, black point tweaks, and presets to remove color distractions and enhance mood.

Apply the black and white preset and a dramatic curves adjustment to fix a dull photo, boost brightness, and highlight white edges and headlights for a more intentional image.

Bring together every tool and technique learned to create stunning black and white effects, exploring different styles that are fun to make.

Apply a black and white preset, then use curves to fade shadows. Raise the black point and lower the mid point to refine midtones.

Enhance a high-contrast black and white photo with a curves adjustment to darken the black point and brighten the white point, then apply overlay painting for selective brightness.

Apply an ultra high contrast effect to architecture using curves adjustments, selective sky brightening, and overlay painting to dramatically enhance the building while preserving the sky.

Apply a black and white preset, adjust contrast with curves, and enhance depth using overlay painting and clarity, followed by split toning to create a dramatic gritty sports look.

Apply the black and white preset, use curves to darken and brighten the center, then paint with white on a bright spot and use overlay blend mode to darken edges.

Add a dramatic backlight to black and white photos by separating the subject and background. Refine with curves, rim lighting, dodge and burn, and a vignette for a vintage look.

Create a vintage black and white photo by applying textures, using blend modes like multiply and screen, then add sepia, curves, vignette, haziness, blur, and noise.

Apply everything you've learned to complete three start to finish projects in Affinity Photo. Build confidence to create amazing black and white photos on your own.

Apply dramatic lighting with an s-curve, brighten highlights, and use overlay painting, vignette, fog, and blue-shadow split-toning to create a spooky castle edit in Affinity Photo.

Select the balloon, apply a black and white preset for color pop, then boost the sky and buildings with curves and overlays to keep the balloon in focus.

Master backlighting a wedding portrait by selecting and masking the subjects, applying a black and white adjustment, adding rim lighting, and finishing with textures, color, and a vignette.

Celebrate finishing the course and start creating your own black and white masterpieces in Affinity Photo; look forward to the next Affinity Revolution tutorial.