When it comes to technically perfect color photos, digital noise is viewed as a blemish, and camera manufacturers are constantly improving their sensors to minimize it. And in fact we’ve published a number of guides to removing noise from your photos. But things are different for black-and-white photos—in these, “grain” is an element that’s not just tolerated; it’s downright desirable. Here’s how to add it to your photos easily.

Photo colorization breathes new life into old black and white images. You can use the process not only to restore old family photos but also to add some magic to digital ones. Learn how to do realistic colorization of black and white images in Zoner Photo Studio X.

Selective color consists of desaturating some colors in your photo. In the past, it was a very popular edit, especially in its extreme form where one object (such as a red rose or yellow taxi) remains in color and the rest of the photo is black-and-white. Let’s learn how to do this edit, as well as its less-dramatic version, which plenty of photographers use to subtly emphasize the main subject.

While modern photo technology is getting better and better, more and more people are trying to give their photos a vintage look. They’re trying to imitate old film photos and their defects. So let’s take a look at a few tools that will help you out with creating anything from a black-and-white portrait to a retro still life.

Even though color photos have been around for several decades now, black and white pictures still have their magic. And for that very reason, many photographers clothe their color pictures in more traditional attire. Especially since black-and-white conversions take just a few clicks.

Black-and-white photography can truly evoke a special mood and atmosphere. That’s one reason why it has so many devotees. But black-and-white pictures don’t always turn out how you expect. And yet you just have to respect a few simple rules to get black-and-white photos with a lot more magic.

Most of us connect photos of children with vibrant and cheery colors. But leaving the colors in a picture isn’t always the best approach. Learn these simple guidelines for photographing children, and your pictures will look cleaner and more professional.

The magic of black and white has been with us since the dawn of photography, and meanwhile digital technologies still let you enjoy high-quality B&W even today. But now you don’t need a darkroom, color filters, or a refrigerator full of film cans with different ISOs. You just need a few mouse clicks.

We see the world in color, and cameras can reliably record the colors we see. Despite this, a black and white conversion will often make a photo better. When does black and white pay off?

Does it sound crazy to you to use a black-and-white preview in your camera instead of color? Try it anyway. This preview will keep your eyes more focused on composition, making it easier for you to notice compositional flaws. That enables you to fix composition errors on the spot, instead of crying over your ruined pictures at home on your computer.