Take Photo

I was hoping to have another artist feature ready for Mob Street Tuesday, but it's still in the works so instead, I'm going to devote this post to recommending some of my favorite black and white conversion apps. Much of our street photography is either shot in or converted to black and white, so I am hoping these recommendations come in handy.

If you're not up for buying any more apps, a number of the ones listed below are free so you can give them a try to see if you like them. Also, if I've left off your favorite black and white conversion app, please mention it in the comments. I'd love to know what you prefer!

Below is the original image. This is actually not an iPhone shot, but captured with my Samsung NX300. 

Snapseed
My first choice is almost always Snapseed because I begin most of my edits here. Snapseed's black and white module allows you to apply a color filter (Neutral, Red, Orange, Yellow or Green). You can also choose between Presets (Neutral, Contrast, Bright, Dark, Film, Darken Sky). Within this module you can also adjust Brightness, Contrast and Grain by sliding your finger up and down over the image). In Snapseed you also have access to all of the other tools, so it can definitely be a one-stop app. Snapseed FREE on the App Store.

Monokrom B&W Photo Editor
Up next is Monokrom. It has a unique interface and you can read more about my experience with it here. Monokrom allows you to save presets in Memory so you can apply your favorite settings. Monokrom $0.99 on the App Store.

VSCO Cam has a number of black and white presets and I often use it especially when I want a faded black and white result. You can adjust the intensity of a filter and also crop within the app and make adjustments to exposure, contrast, skin tone, shadows, highlights, temperature, tint, saturation, fade, highlight tint, shadow tint. VSCO Cam FREE on the App Store with in-app purchases available.

An app you may not think of when you consider black and white conversion is Stackables. The reason I like Stackables is that in addition to the black and white presets, you can create custom formulas and save them. When applied to several photos, this makes a series more cohesive. Here's the image edited with one of my custom B&W formulas. When creating this formula I used one of the colored textures which gives it just a hint of color. Stackables $0.99 on the App Store with in-app purchases available. 

For dramatic effect, you can choose Dramatic Black & White. There are dozens of presets in three different styles to choose from - Black & White, Dramatic B&W and Infrared. You can also save customized formulas. Once you select your preset, you can fine tune the softness, contrast, tint B&W strength, and grain. Try your luck by hitting the randomizer button (two dice at the top right). Dramatic Black & White $1.99 on the App Store. 

Another app worth investigating for black and white is SimplyB&W which is one of the apps I've had on my iPad the longest. You can select a color filter using the circle on the lower left (none, red, green, blue, yellow, orange - there are even details on what each filter will do when applied). In the center of the control panel at the bottom you'll find the Vignette and Border settings. And on the right using the film icon you can adjust brightness, contrast and grain. SimplyB&W Free on the App Store. 

Black & White Master has twenty-two presets and once selected just slide your finger up and down to adjust the contrast and left to right to adjust brightness. Black & White Master Free on the App Store with in-app purchase.

Cool Cam isn't really a black and white conversion app but it does have one preset, Remix, that gives consistently good results. After selecting it you can then adjust the Brightness, Contrast and Saturation. The Cool Cam Free on the App Store.