Q&A: Turning Pictures Into True Black and White
In black-and-white digital photography, is there a way to count how many black pixels and how many white pixels are in a picture? Also, can I modify a picture with shades of gray to turn it into a true black-and-white picture?
--Andrew Vaillancourt, Vancouver, British Columbia
I suppose, Andrew, that there's a way to count the black and white pixels in a picture, but it would probably require a magnifying glass, plenty of free time, and the patience of Job.
Certainly, many image editors can give you information about the color content of a picture. In Jasc Paint Shop Pro, for instance, you'd choose Image, Count Image Colors to see how many unique colors are in a photo. But I have not encountered a way to get separate tallies for specific colors.
I have a more satisfying answer for your second question, though. There are a few ways to make a true black-and-white picture. In Paint Shop Pro, you can choose Image, Decrease Color Depth, 2 Colors (1 bit). Or, if you want more control over which pixels are rendered as black or white, choose Adjust, Brightness and Contrast, Threshold. In the Threshold dialog box, use the Threshold slider to fine-tune where Paint Shop Pro draws the line between black and white.
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