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Over the last couple of weeks I’ve showed some of my creative process for black and white photography. Today I’d like to show you another aspect of black and white – working with black and white plugins to emulate analog processes like platinum printing.
My philosophy for working with plugins is simple. They are for doing things that you can’t do in Lightroom Classic, which is why I use them to reproduce analog printing techniques.
If you like the idea of this, then why not give a black and white plugin a try? You can get started with Exposure X7, DxO FilmPack (both of these also work with color photos) or Silver Efex Pro (part of the Nik Collection). Download a trial and see if the plugin works for you.
For me, Lightroom Classic is business, plugins are fun. They are where I enjoy myself, playing with different presets and effects, and making prints from the best photos. It’s a more relaxed, expressive approach to developing photos.
Exposure X7 and the platinum printing process
My favorite black and white plugin, and the one I use the most, is Exposure X7. It has lots of beautiful presets, in both black and white and color. They are the heart of the plugin. When I open a photo in Exposure X7, I start by applying a preset, then using the sliders and panels to adjust tonal values and play with overlays like borders and textures.
The screenshots below show you just some of the black and white presets available in Exposure X7.
For this photo (below) I selected the Platinum Print Cool Narrow preset, then moved to the right-hand panels to adjust the tones and remove the border.
I saved the settings as new preset, and applied them to more photos, which you can see below. I got the best effect with photos that had simple compositions and dark backgrounds.
What is platinum printing?
I selected the Platinum Print Cool Narrow preset because I like the soft, muted tones of platinum prints. The Platinum printing process dates from the 1830’s and uses platinum, a metallic element, rather than silver to make the print. It never came into widespread use as the salt and albumen printing processes were more affordable and reliable, especially for commercial use.
Platinum prints have subtle tones, a wide tonal range and great longevity. But the expense and difficulty of the process means that not many people are interested in using it. Black and white plugins like Exposure X7 give you an easy way of replicating the process, which you can complete by printing your photos on a good quality fine art paper using an inkjet printer.
Exposure X7 and polapan
I also experimented with the Polapan blue preset. Polapan is an instant slide film made by Polaroid in the 80’s that you can develop yourself in a few minutes (you need a machine called an AutoProcessor). Here are some of my favorites from this experiment.
Let me know in the comments if you have any questions about using black and white plugins.
Further reading
The Magic of Black & White ebook
My ebook The Magic of Black & White takes you on a journey exploring ideas like the ones in this article that help you make better black and white photos. It covers topics like composition, light, the best subjects for black and white and post-processing.
