How to give your images a grainy monochrome effect

A grainy monochrome effect can give your images a raw power that harks back to classic documentary photography. Here’s how it’s done…

In an era when our lenses are ever-crisper and image resolutions evermore astronomical, we can produce photos that display a level of detail that users of 35mm film could only dream of.

But there’s still something to be said for a lack of detail. Just as modern-day blockbuster movies are arguably no more pleasing than old black-and-white classics, photos stripped of colour and detail can sometimes enhance the mood.

A grainy, black-and-white treatment is a classic look for street photography, evoking a documentary style that matches the subject matter perfectly.

In the days of film, graininess – an uneven clumping of silver particles – was more noticeable in the fast films photojournalists used, and emphasized even more when photographers pushed their ISOs by combining underexposure and over-development.

The lack of detail in grainy images simplifies a composition. The main elements gain impact, emphasizing shape and amplifying texture.

Applying the gritty mono look is easy enough. First we use the black-and-white controls in Camera Raw to strip out the colour, then the FX settings to add a fine grain.

If the grain applied in Camera Raw isn’t enough, we can then take the image into Photoshop and use a combination of filters and blending modes to add more until the balance between grain and detail is just right. Here’s how…

01 Increase the clarity
Open gritty_before.dng; it’ll open in Camera Raw. Begin by using the Basic panel settings on the right to boost tones. Hold Shift and double-click the Whites and Blacks sliders to set auto white and black points, then increase Clarity to crisp up the detail.

02 Convert to mono
Grab the Targeted Adjustment tool from the toolbar. Right-click in the image and choose ‘Grayscale Mix’ to convert the image to mono. You can drag up or down over different parts of the image to brighten or darken colour ranges, or use the sliders on the right.

03 Boost contrast and tone
Mono conversions benefit from a contrast boost, so go to the Tone Curve panel, click the Point tab and plot an S-shaped curve line to add punch. Next, go to the Split-toning panel and set Highlights: Hue 57, Saturation 18, Shadows: Hue 239, Saturation 11.

04 Add fine grain
Double-click the Zoom tool to jump to 100% view then click the FX panel on the right. Use the Grain Amount slider to add grain, and the Size and Roughness sliders to change the characteristics of it. Once you’re happy, hit Open Image to bring it into Photoshop.

05 Make a grain layer
Go to the Layers panel, Alt-click the New Layer icon; in the settings, choose Mode: Overlay, check ‘Fill with…’ and hit OK. Right-click the layer and ‘Convert to Smart Object’. Go to Filter>Noise>Add Noise. Check Monochrome and Gaussian, then choose a strength.

06 Soften the noise
The Noise filter can give harsh results; go to Filter> Blur>Gaussian Blur and set a low value, like 0. 2, to soften it slightly. To control the strength of the overall effect, either hit Ctrl+J to double the strength, or use the Layer Opacity slider to tone it down instead.

Film emulators
If you want to be a bit more fastidious about your grain then you could try a dedicated analogue film emulator, like DXO’s Film Pack 5 (Essential Edition £55/$79, Elite Edition £99/$129). Among the presets on offer are old favourites like Kodak T-Max 3200 and Ilford XP2.

The people at DXO have rigorously analyzed these films based on each one’s particular characteristics of colour, contrast, saturation and film grain, so the grain density and size is very accurate. You can even choose from different film sizes, like 35mm or medium format, to change the look of the grain.

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