Black and White Photo

About black and white photos

A colour photo can look much stronger in black and white. Without colour, the eye goes to light, shadow, shapes and faces. This free tool turns your photos black and white in a second — one photo or a whole folder of them.

Pick a look, move the sliders, and drag the line across the picture to compare before and after. Everything happens in your browser: your photos are never uploaded.

Features

• Five looks — grayscale, high contrast, pure black and white, sepia and film grain
• True grayscale — each colour is weighed by how bright it looks to the eye, not a plain average
• Brightness and contrast sliders — the preview changes as you move them
• Before and after split — drag the line across the photo to compare
• Many photos at once — one click downloads them all as a ZIP
• Keeps the format — a JPG stays a JPG and a PNG keeps its transparency; or save as PNG, JPG or WebP
• One click to download — the file is ready before you click
• Private — the photos are changed on your device and never uploaded

The five looks

• Grayscale — the classic black and white photo, with every shade of gray. Best for portraits, street photos and old-style family pictures.
• High contrast — deeper blacks and brighter whites, with an S-curve. Gives a bold, dramatic look to buildings, landscapes and sports.
• Pure black & white — every pixel becomes black or white, nothing in between. Use it for logos, signatures, stencils, line drawings, and scanned text. Move the cut-off slider, or click Find the best cut-off to let the tool pick it.
• Sepia — warm brown tones, like a photo from 100 years ago.
• Film grain — soft contrast plus fine grain, like a black and white film print. The Grain slider sets how much.

Each look shows a small preview of your own photo, so you can see the result before you pick it.

Why "true" grayscale matters

Many quick tools make gray by averaging red, green and blue. But our eyes see green as much brighter than blue. With an average, a blue sky comes out too light and green leaves too dark.

This tool uses the luminance weights of the sRGB standard (Rec. 709), worked out in linear light. Each colour turns into the gray that matches how bright it looks to you. Every pixel of the result has equal red, green and blue values, so it is a real gray image.

Common uses

• Portraits and wedding photos with a classic, timeless look
• Old-style family pictures in sepia
• Logos, signatures and stencils in pure black and white for printing, cutting or laser engraving
• Photos for print — black and white saves colour ink
• Product photos and social posts with one matching look for a whole set

To change brightness, contrast and colour on one photo and turn it in 3D, use the Image Editor. For a PDF, use Black and White PDF. For a negative, use Invert Image Colors.

Frequently asked questions

How do I make a photo black and white?

Choose your photo, keep the Grayscale look (or pick another one), and click Download black and white photo. The file is ready at once.

Can I convert many photos at once?

Yes. Choose or drop as many photos as you like. The same look and sliders apply to all of them, and the Download all (ZIP) button saves them in one ZIP file. Only this photo saves just the one on screen.

Is the image quality kept?

The photo keeps its full size in pixels. A PNG is saved without loss. A JPG or WebP is saved at high quality (92 %).

Does it keep transparency?

Yes. A transparent PNG stays transparent — only the colours change. If you save it as JPG, the clear parts become white, because JPG cannot be transparent.

What is the difference between grayscale and pure black and white?

Grayscale keeps all the shades of gray between black and white. Pure black and white keeps only two colours: each pixel is black or white. It is the right choice for text, logos and drawings, but not for normal photos.

Are my photos uploaded?

No. The photos are opened and changed by your browser, on your device. Nothing is sent to a server.

How to use it

• Click Choose photos, or drop one or more photos onto the box
• Pick a look: Grayscale, High contrast, Pure black & white, Sepia or Film grain
• Move the Brightness and Contrast sliders if you like
• Drag the line across the photo to compare before and after
• Choose the file type, or keep it the same as the original
• Click Download — one photo saves directly, many photos save as a ZIP