Black and white photography is and remains a popular activity. Not entirely surprising, because it can lead to artistic results. Especially in combination with a sophisticated app like Carbon for iOS and iPadOS. If you want to use it to transfer a photo to black and white, you can do this as follows.
For starters, it’s important to be careful if you want to download the Carbon app. In the app store you will find two with the same name, but from different makers. It is Carbon by Enrique Garcia that you must have. The other is also nice, but there you are stuck with an expensive annual and mandatory subscription. So let it be, as far as we’re concerned. The Carbon that we are working with costs only € 2.99 and offers a lot of options for that amount.
Originally only available in iOS version, Carbon has recently been released for the iPad. And on the larger screen, it actually all comes into its own much better. So if you have an iPhone and an iPad, we advise you to photographing with the phone and then later transfer the photos to be converted to the tablet via AirDrop. Then fire up Carbon and tap the camera roll button (the one with the stylized mountain scenery) to import photos from the film toll into the app’s own library.
Select one or more photos, then tap Import†Wait (maybe) for a few moments to transfer everything, then tap one of the photos you want to convert to black and white.
Working with presets
You now see the photo, for now in color. To achieve quick results, tap in the button bar on the right presets†Divided into various categories, you now see presets including a preview. For example, by choosing a preset that converts a photo to a ‘heavier’ version of black and white, you quickly create a somewhat oppressive atmosphere, depending on the subject.
The Classicpresets are always useful. For example, pay attention to the sky, depending on the preset you emphasize it or not. So think about what you want to radiate with your photo.
Don’t forget that you can also scroll through the preset categories; after NOIR there are three more: TRENDY and EMULATION†With the latter (divided into two groups) films can be emulated, which is of course a nice feature for the purists. Anyway: more than enough options to experiment with.
Fortunately, Carbon does not appear to be an app that just applies some filters to a photo and leaves it at that. No, you get a lot more options to tweak! After applying a preset, there is still the toolbar on the right, which contains a lot more options than ‘just’ the filters. For example, you can play with contrasts, color gain (actually color filters) in the B&W option, while using the options under Effect can make a photo much harder and sharper (or less).
The Overlays button allows you to add layers with specific effects to a photo. Keep in mind that you then really start tinkering with a photo and you get a mostly quite exaggerated effect below the line. Very occasionally that can be nice for a specific application, but not always.
Perhaps the average Instagrammer thinks differently about this, but it is better to convert something more subtle and especially with knowledge into a good black-and-white photo.
Export
Once you’re happy with a creation, it’s time to tap the export button. You can save a photo locally on the camera roll, fortunately that the file format is PNG. It means that there is no annoying lossy (re)compression.
As a result, you can effortlessly continue to use an image in another photo editor or, if necessary, a layout program or word processor without losing a single bit of data. Exporting to the almost inevitable Instagram Stories is also possible.
Also color
In principle, you are certainly not only stuck with black and white in Carbon. To start with, there are presets where colors or color tones are left behind anyway. Combined with, for example, a color overlay, very nice effects are also possible, although the emphasis of the app remains on black and white as the basis.
We also see, for example, that the overlays – although the preview suggests otherwise – does not really deal with color channels. No drama, but something to keep in mind.
Saving Profiles
Once you have achieved an effect with a lot of tweaks and settings that you want to use later (for example to use a consistent set of photos for a document, expo or book), you can save this set as a Profile (bottom button of the toolbar on the right). Tap that button and then in the opened panel, tap the plus button. Give your profile a logical name and you can apply it quickly with a single tap.
Be careful with that, especially if there is an overlay in a profile. In reality, of course, every speck and every scratch is never in the same place in a photo. That is what happens when you apply a profile. Perhaps it is better to save a profile without an overlay, then you can always add an overlay. But preferably a different one than the one you have already used elsewhere.
Versatile and powerful
With Carbon you put an amazingly versatile and powerful tool on your iPhone or iPad, with which you can get very creative. Don’t overdo it. Or exaggerate a lot so that it becomes artistic. But in the latter case, the line between ‘beautiful’ and ‘total fail’ is often very thin. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t experiment. Perhaps a whole new aspect of photography will open up to you. And that’s always fun!
Finally, while exporting, we saw something weird happening here on an iPad Pro, with a sort of blocky “overexposure” effect. Since there are no export settings, there is nothing you can do about it. Given that the app is actively maintained, that shortcoming will be solved. After all, remember that we are discussing the first iPad version here.
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