Alien Skin plug-in
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When it comes to converting colour images to black and white, there’s more than one way to skin a cat. I’ve just realised how bad the previous sentence reads but I’ve decided that I’m going to live life on the edge from now on so I’ll leave it as it is. The point, though, is that there are lots and lots of ways of getting a monochrome image. I’ve tried loads of them and can’t say that there is any one particular technique that works all the time. Sometimes I’ve found a conversion method that seems to do the trick but then it will “stop working” on certain types of images that perhaps have a completely different tonal range.
The Alien Skin plug-in for Photoshop is good for some things, particularly when it comes to adding gran. The software sets out to mimic the appearance of different types of film, such as Tri-X, HP5 Plus, T-Max 3200, Ilford 200 SFX and other infra red films, etc. It will also give a simulation of Tri-X pushed one or two stops.
Sometimes, depending on the subject, a bit of grain adds something to an image. The two above fall into that category. They were converted from K10D jpegs through the use of the Fuji Neopan 1600 filter on Alien Skin and I think the result looks quite authentic. There are a range of other tools in the plug-in that can make arriving at the ideal monochrome image a bit easier. It’s possible to lighten or darken shadows, midtones and highlights, add a duotone effect, give the image a soft focus look, decrease or increase the grain and several more to boot.
Of all the various plug-ins and Photoshop actions I’ve used, Alien Skin is probably the most versatile and produces the most film-like conversions. I still don’t think you can beat the look of a well-made silver print from a roll of Tri-X though!
Source: Alien Skin plug-in
