Make a photo black and white

A plain desaturate can make a photo look flat. Photostar’s Black & White adjustment lets you decide how light or dark each colour becomes in grey, the same way photographers use coloured filters.

Photostar is a free online Photoshop alternative that runs in your browser. There is no account to make, and your files stay on your device.

Choose a photoOpens the free editor. Nothing is uploaded.

How to do it

Open the photo. Use the button above or drop the photo onto Photostar.
Open Black & White. Choose Image → Adjustments → Black & White, or press Alt+Shift+Ctrl+B (Option+Shift+Cmd+B on a Mac).
Shape the tones. Drag the Reds, Yellows, Greens, Cyans, Blues and Magentas sliders. Lowering Blues darkens a sky; raising Reds lightens skin.
Add a tint if you like. Tick Tint for a sepia or cool tone, then click OK.
Save it. Click Download image, or use File → Export As.

The Black & White adjustment window in Photostar with colour sliders, applied to a photo of coffee and croissants — Screenshot: Each slider sets how bright one colour turns in black and white. Captured 12 November 2026.

Quicker and softer options

Image → Adjustments → Desaturate turns a photo grey in one step. To keep the change editable, use Layer → New Adjustment Layer → Black & White instead; you can then lower its opacity to leave a little colour, or paint on its mask to keep one object in colour.

Questions

How do I make a picture black and white?

Open it in Photostar and choose Image → Adjustments → Black & White, then click OK. Download the result.

How do I keep one colour and make the rest black and white?

Add a Black & White adjustment layer and paint black on its mask over the object you want to stay in colour.

How do I make a sepia photo?

In the Black & White window, tick Tint. The default tint is a warm sepia.

Reviewed 12 November 2026, with a real photo in the current editor.

Choose a photo