I have created a customised Lightroom 4 preset that I use as a key starting point for mono / black and white conversion of X-Pro2 jpg captures. I am big fan of Silver Efex Pro but for quick conversion of jpg files I tend to stay in the confines of Lightroom.

I do prefer to shoot RAW but as the camera isn’t yet supported by Lightroom 4 I am living with the jpgs, that said they are surprisingly good.
The introductory photograph has been cropped significantly to fit with the FlixelPix webpage structure. You can view the photograph full size over on  Flickr here. I haven’t quite decided which of the two platforms I prefer.

This preset really is a starting point and it depends on the image how much tweaking is needed to get the overall black and white look you need.

For portrait images you may want to adjust the amount of “clarity” to bring out the detail around the eyes for that ultra sharp detailed look or alternatively reduce the clarity for a soft focus black and white.

[Peter Lynas, NI director of Evangelical Alliance]

There is a also a slight vignette on the preset that you may wish to adjust depending on personal taste. I tend to use a little vignette to hide background detail and draw focus to a particular area of the photograph.

If you are new to the pages of FlixelPix and the FREE Lightroom presets you can take the pain out of downloading each individual Lightroom file by buying the complete bundle of Ten Lightroom Presets.

Buy this on Selz
Selz powering ecommerce websitesA few people had asked about how I achieved the detail of the introductory photograph (shot on 35mm lens) so I thought I would share the Lightroom preset for others to enjoy and customise for their own work. I have a few more free lightroom presets here.