B&W Processing

[big soft moose]

I'm sure this must have been asked a squizoodle times alread, but i'm looking for advice on how to make a better B&W conversion

for example i just did this one



its a shot of a freinds dog - and just a grab shot with the compact so i'm not looking for C&C of the shot itself - just of how its converted to B&W

(my procedure was open, duplicate, hue up to red, flatten image, saturation to zero, adjust levels, save - I'm using elements 5)

so what could I do different for a better result

 

[swanseamale47]

Does E5 have the channel mixer? Failing that try this method if you have ajustment layers.
Open your image, create 2 ajustment hue/saturation layers.
Take the saturation on the top H/S layer to 0
Then on the middle H/S layer change the blend mode to colour and ajust the hue, when you move the slider the image should change a lot as it alters the tone, when your happy save out or flattern.

 

[Dunstan]

Wayne, I really like the adjustment layers method. Thanks for tip.

 

[swanseamale47]

Wayne, I really like the adjustment layers method. Thanks for tip.

 

[Harlequin]

A list of ways to do it in GIMP (but often very similar to photoshop):
http://nathanculpepper.wordpress.com/2007/11/26/converting-a-color-image-to-black-white-in-gimp-2/

The Decompose to RGB is very useful and i use it for shots like:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/lcb503/5679417829/