Visual Flow, a sister company of SLR Lounge, just launched their latest set photo editing tools called the Black and White Mixer. The new set of Lightroom tools gives photographers unprecedented control over black and white editing in Lightroom by introducing a new approach and workflow.
Created by Pye Jirsa, in collaboration with the team at DVLOP, the new pack starts with 10 one-click presets that have been tested over thousands of images for refined, finished looks. But what makes the pack unique is the proprietary “VF Mixer,” which gives you full control over the intensity of the presets. Then, if you’re still looking for more customization, use the remaining 20+ presets to adjust the tone curve, color grading, and stylization. Let’s jump into more detail below.
Watch the Demo
In this quick video, Pye demonstrates the power of the new pack.
Purchase Info
- Price – $95 ($80 for previous purchasers or when bundled with another pack)
- Where to Buy – Click here to purchase
About the 10 One-Click “Final Mixes”
The system begins with 10 One-Click presets or “Final Mixes” that are designed to provide modern and filmic looks to your portrait and landscape photography. Tested across thousands of images, these are our favorite Black and White styles. In most instances, one of these presets will get you to your desired look without additional tweaks.
“Final Mixes” are one-click presets designed to give you a range of professional, final looks. Like all Visual Flow Packs, these Final Mixes have simple names that tell you exactly what they do.
About the “VF Mixer” – Full Creative Control
What makes each of these Final Mixes more unique is our proprietary “VF Mixer.” The VF Mixer is a B&W Profile that we’ve designed to ramp up the overall intensity of each Final Mix Preset. This gives you an unprecedented level of creative control over each black and white look. Our custom profile gives you full control over the intensity of the presets (independent of the other sliders). In our test groups, THIS was the most exciting feature of the entire pack.
About the “Mixology Presets” – Customize Your Look
From there, we drew a little inspiration from some of our previous presets products on SLR Lounge. Specifically, we pulled into this pack the concept of “Mixology.” But of course, we’ve done this with a unique Visual Flow spin. Within the B+W Mixer are four additional preset folders that are labeled with numbers.
- 01 BW Profile + Lighting
- 02 Tone Curve
- 03 Stylization
- 04 Color Grading
The mixer gives you full control to customize and perfect the look of your black and white photos
What you’re seeing is a step-by-step workflow that allows you to customize and perfect your own black and white look. You can start with a Final Mix and then adjust the Tone Curve, Stylization, and Color Grading. Or you can start from scratch by selecting a Profile + Lighting Condition (which contains the VF Mixer black and white Profile).
While the pack has 10 beautiful One-Click looks, Mixology is what gives you a near-infinite variety of potential tweaks! Once you find a look you like, save it as a new Final Mix!
All-in-all, what we have in the B+W Mixer is another Visual Flow development tool that’s unlike anything you’ve ever used before. All of it is non-destructive and right there within your standard Lightroom workflow.
Black and White Mixer | Sample Before and After Images
More Info
- Price – $95 ($80 for previous purchasers or when bundled with another pack)
- Where to Buy or Find More Information – Click here to purchase