Almost all digital cameras capture images in colour. You can either leave it to the camera to convert colours to black and white with a monochrome picture style or do it yourself in software? But which method is best – convert to greyscale, desaturate the colours, use Photoshop's Channel Mixer or go for more modern colour/mono mixing tools instead. And don't forget that these days we also have presets, LUTs and profiles...

Hello. I'm Rod Lawton and I'm a full-time photography journalist writing about camera gear, shooting techniques and photo editing. You can find my work on digitalcameraworld.com, amateur photographer.com and in print. I have my own websites at lifeafterphotoshop.com, fotovolo.com and rodlawton.uk.

What's with these dedicated monochrome cameras now appearing and do you need one? Is sensor size important for black and white, do you need a retro-styled camera and can you really shoot black and white on a phone?

Hello. I'm Rod Lawton and I'm a full-time photography journalist writing about camera gear, shooting techniques and photo editing. You can find my work on digitalcameraworld.com, amateur photographer.com and in print. I have my own websites at lifeafterphotoshop.com, fotovolo.com and rodlawton.uk.

We see the world in colour, so can we train our eyes to see in black and white? Can your digital camera help? Do you still need black and white filters, and should you be shooting JPEG or RAW?

Hello. I'm Rod Lawton and I'm a full-time photography journalist writing about camera gear, shooting techniques and photo editing. You can find my work on digitalcameraworld.com, amateur photographer.com and in print. I have my own websites at lifeafterphotoshop.com, fotovolo.com and rodlawton.uk.

Why shoot in black and white at all? Maybe you have a fascination for black and white photography but you can't explain why? This episode attempts to explain why monochrome photography has its own very special appeal – and how to explain this to people who don't understand!

Hello. I'm Rod Lawton and I'm a full-time photography journalist writing about camera gear, shooting techniques and photo editing. You can find my work on digitalcameraworld.com, amateur photographer.com and in print. I have my own websites at lifeafterphotoshop.com, fotovolo.com and rodlawton.uk.