L
lewisflowers
Guest
How do I stop Lightroom 2.4 from converting my RAW monochrome pictures to color after importing them?
-
Welcome to the Lightroom Queen Forums! We're a friendly bunch, so please feel free to register and join in the conversation. If you're not familiar with forums, you'll find step by step instructions on how to post your first thread under Help at the bottom of the page. You're also welcome to download our free Lightroom Quick Start eBooks and explore our other FAQ resources.
-
4 August 2026 It's Lightroom update time again. There are some new features, as well as bug fixes, new cameras and lenses.
See What’s New in Lightroom Classic 15.5, Mobile & Desktop (August 2026)?
You can't, if you are taking RAW format the basic data is in colour, the embedded .jpeg which you view on the screen is created in the camera according to a set of processing rules designed by the camera manufacturer. The instructions for this image are contained in the private part of the RAW file which most camera manufactures will not open (in any practical way) to Adobe.
That said you can usually create a much better b/w conversion using the tools in Lightroom and keep these as a preset, I have half a dozen I have created that can be quickly applied to any image I wanted in black and white. If I have a batch of shots taken with the sole intention of b/w reproduction I will often apply one of those as I import them
That said you can usually create a much better b/w conversion using the tools in Lightroom and keep these as a preset, I have half a dozen I have created that can be quickly applied to any image I wanted in black and white. If I have a batch of shots taken with the sole intention of b/w reproduction I will often apply one of those as I import them
Bosse
Member
- Joined
- Oct 21, 2008
- Messages
- 89
- Location
- Stockholm, Sweden
- Lightroom Experience
- Advanced
- Lightroom Version
Hello,
You are not giving very much information. What kind of pictures? RAW? Jpg?
How is the file treated in-camera? As a B&W picturestyle?
If it is a RAW-file it is in color. Always. Your RAW-importer (LR, AdobeCamraRAW etc) will first look at the files embedded jpg. If you in your camera have choosen a monochrome picturestyle it will first show up as B&W, then LR will look at the RAWdata which is colour. And the picture will turn full colour.
In LR you can at Import use a monochromepreset which will give you a monochrome picture.
If your pictures are jpg from camera they should stay monochrome. Mine does.
Hope this helps.
// Bosse
You are not giving very much information. What kind of pictures? RAW? Jpg?
How is the file treated in-camera? As a B&W picturestyle?
If it is a RAW-file it is in color. Always. Your RAW-importer (LR, AdobeCamraRAW etc) will first look at the files embedded jpg. If you in your camera have choosen a monochrome picturestyle it will first show up as B&W, then LR will look at the RAWdata which is colour. And the picture will turn full colour.
In LR you can at Import use a monochromepreset which will give you a monochrome picture.
If your pictures are jpg from camera they should stay monochrome. Mine does.
Hope this helps.
// Bosse
Bosse
Member
- Joined
- Oct 21, 2008
- Messages
- 89
- Location
- Stockholm, Sweden
- Lightroom Experience
- Advanced
- Lightroom Version
[quote author=lewisflowers link=topic=8818.msg59348#msg59348 date=12627'4824]
Actually I did shoot in RAW/JPEG but when I import the images they only import in the RAW format...............How do I get them to import in the JPEG format if I shoot in both formats?
[/quote]
Go to LR preferences (cmd+, on mac and probably ctrl + , on Windows) and under import tick the third button (Treat JPG files next to raw files as separate photos). Now LR will import both.
If you don´t like the RAW-format then only shoot in JPG. Then you´ll only get your monochrome photos from camera.
However I would advise you to use the RAW-files since they are unmanipulated files straight from the camera. You can from there export in whatever colorspace you like, as 16-bit instead of 8-bit, change colorbalance, save slightly overexposed photos and much, much more. With JPG-files most of that is done in-camera and doesn´t leave much room for your own manipulation.
Take one of your RAW-files, do a to you very good B&W-conversion and save that as a preset. Next time you import your RAW-files you can tell LR to use this preset directly and you don´t have to see the colour-file (unless you want to). And you still have the possibility to make it colour again and work with it non-destructivelly in LR and export it however you want.
// Bosse
Actually I did shoot in RAW/JPEG but when I import the images they only import in the RAW format...............How do I get them to import in the JPEG format if I shoot in both formats?
[/quote]
Go to LR preferences (cmd+, on mac and probably ctrl + , on Windows) and under import tick the third button (Treat JPG files next to raw files as separate photos). Now LR will import both.
If you don´t like the RAW-format then only shoot in JPG. Then you´ll only get your monochrome photos from camera.
However I would advise you to use the RAW-files since they are unmanipulated files straight from the camera. You can from there export in whatever colorspace you like, as 16-bit instead of 8-bit, change colorbalance, save slightly overexposed photos and much, much more. With JPG-files most of that is done in-camera and doesn´t leave much room for your own manipulation.
Take one of your RAW-files, do a to you very good B&W-conversion and save that as a preset. Next time you import your RAW-files you can tell LR to use this preset directly and you don´t have to see the colour-file (unless you want to). And you still have the possibility to make it colour again and work with it non-destructivelly in LR and export it however you want.
// Bosse
- Joined
- Nov 1, 2007
- Messages
- 3,116
- Location
- St-Hubert, Québec, CANADA
- Lightroom Experience
- Power User
- Lightroom Version
- Classic
And if no one told you already, welcome to Lightroom Forums BEL!
- Status
