It’s a question I get asked daily & so thought I’d pull together a little blog post to give you a little behind the scenes on my favourite presets to use.
This is my absolute favourite B&W preset & my go to for every B&W edit I do. I struggled for ages to get the right balance between the contrast I loved, but without the shadows getting too deep & this preset gets it right every time. It has a nice almost matt look & gives that raw, filmy feel that I love, while still being commercially appealing.
These presets create the most gorgeous tones & also mute the whites very slightly which I love. A slight watch out is that they don’t work for every skin tone & may need a fair bit of tweaking, but as a base to start from they are fantastic.
This is a beautiful preset & creates a lovely natural, gentle image which is perfect for baby photography. It adds a little warmth & just enough contrast to give the image standout, but while still staying true to the original image. Stunning & timeless, plus it’s literally a one click edit.
For years this was the only preset I used & definitely a set to have available. It’s got a lovely film feel that I’m drawn to & creates really nice tones. I do always add a bit more contrast, but this is totally subjective.
This is another of my favourite B&W presets & has a lovely clean look with just the right amount of contrast which pulls out the detail in an image beautifully. Simple, classic & a one click edit with no tinkering needed at all.
Plus as an extra special treat, after writing this blog I spoke to the wonderful Helia of Helia Visuals & she’s given me a fantastic 15% discount code for her presets.
Simply head to her website & when you’re checking out type in the code littlewhite15
Happy editing x
Thanks for this. I’m using Mastin Fuji 400h at the moment. Once you tweak the reds it’s a really nice clean edit with whites. I love SMAL skin tones but find them unrealistic on babies, despite loving them! Helia looks lovely but out of budget at the moment! I’m glad you flit about a bit with presets. As I’m finding each have benefits depending on client and it’s ok to flit! Great blog x
Hello. your photo amazing! What Mastin labs you use – 160, 400 or 800? 🙂
Hi! Thank you so much for sharing as much as you do and loved this blog as I have been struggling to find the right black and white preset and love the one you use….I try to go and click on the website linked and it doesn’t work….is there another link I could use?
Thank you so much for sharing. I know this post was done quite a while ago but the Helia Love Presets website link doesn’t seem to be working. Any idea where I can find them?