I have 20 years as a photographer, and I’ll still say it. Good black and white presets are key to consistent great B&W edits. I’ll make it easy and free to skip the junk today.
Because they allow you to quickly and easily convert your photos to black and white, enhancing contrast and atmosphere. The capture one styles feature in Lightroom can also be used to apply unique styles, such as film simulations or vintage looks, to give your photos a polished look.
These free presets will improve the quality of your edits and save you time. Even if you’re an expert.
Download the free preset pack on the Silver page and you can watch the video I made about using the free black and white presets here on my channel.
Silver 5 Black and White presets are my most popular pack.
My Silver 5 Black and White presets are super popular because I’ve been perfecting them for over a decade. They’re great for pro photographers and beginners alike, with a range of styles to choose from. Whether you’re editing portraits or landscapes, these presets will make your black and white photos stand out.
In the Silver 5 FREE black and white mini presets and styles pack, I picked presets that will nail it every time.
You’re about to download the best free black and white presets you’ve had for free or for money. Yes, iff you like them grab my complete pack because it’s another world of Lightroom and Capture One black and white edits. But what I want you to see in the mini pack is how good formulas will complete the vision you had in your head when you pressed the shutter.
You’ve probably downloaded presets and thought. These are useless, I would be better off making them myself. That’s fine, but ensure you make and refine your presets one way or another. Don’t hold off and just manually edit because you will only get fewer edits in the same amount of time.
I edited the photos on this page only with the free black-and-white presets from Silver 5. There’s nothing like them and obviously, the complete pack makes it even easier. But start here and see how different styles of photos will give you the result you had in your mind’s eye with variants of the channels, curves, and channels that a good preset will give you.
Amazing black and white is more about shadow than light. No one wants to talk about the secret of shadow.
Great black and white photos are all about the shadows, not just the light. People often forget how important shadows are, how they add depth and contrast to your work and take control of the entire photo.
To get the best results, try playing around with lighting and angles to see how the shadows fall. Get it good in camera. Then use Lightroom presets and Capture one Style to mix the shadows with the light in ways you would not usually try manually during post-processing. Don’t underestimate the power of shadow or presets to balance that shadow.
It’s NOT about more, it’s about knowing what works.
I laugh when I see people telling packs of 1000 presets. If a maker has that little confidence in their formulas, they have no idea how to edit and are wasting your time. I would rather you had only the free presets from my black and white mini pack for Lightroom or Capture One than a pack of 500 useless repeats sold by an internet marketer.
I want to see us improve our black and white in 2023, so grab Silver 5 complete or just the free pack to start and see how much good formulas and good shadow technique quill transform your black and white this year.
Stay tuned to my newsletter and I’ll be sending you more tips and videos in the coming weeks.
Gavin Seim
