4 Monochrome Jpeg Recipes for the OM SYSTEM OM-3

Black and white RULES.

Aug 05, 2025

We’re back with more OM-3 recipes!

This time, we’re taking a look at four jpeg recipes I tweaked a few nights ago. I like these a lot, and I can’t wait for you to take these and photograph the ENTIRE PLANET!

That being said, I’m generally not a monochrome/black-and-white photographer. If you’ve ever seen any of my work, color is my thing. (The following four photos are also taken using my previous OM-3 recipe, “Eternal Sunshine.”)

But the allure of black-and-white is always there… waiting for me.

I’ve learned a lot about photography over the years, mostly because I constantly push myself… and I just have never done that with black-and-white.

So… as we enter late summer and fall, the OM-3 and I are going to be even better friends, because so far these jpegs are AMAZING.

Every photo on this page is SOOC using four monochrome jpeg recipes for the OM-3, all from a two-hour walk last night to test these out. Remember - I didn’t edit these at all, and I really like the different looks we get.

(All of these photos were taken with the new, tiny, awesome 17mm f/1.8.)

These are a work in progress, and I thought about taking more time to develop them. I’ll need to adjust some of the shifts, and white balance also has a huge impact that I haven’t totally dialed in. But you know what? That’s what community is for, right? So take these for a spin and tell me what you think - let’s do this TOGETHER!

Turn your Creative Dial to “MONO” and let’s get started!

*all recipes are using White Balance set at 5300k - A5, M4.

“HIGH NOON” - OM-3 Monochrome Recipe 1

Profile: MONO 1

Color Level: None

Curves: Shadows: -2. Mid: -7. Hi +3.

Shading: 0

Sharpness: -2

Contrast: -1

Grain: Medium

Color: N

Dark shadows. Bright highlights. This look is inspired by harsh light, industrial tones and stark emotion. Some grain adds a little kick.

With this one, we're going after a rock solid jpeg that speaks to low latitude film. When it hits, it’s FANTASTIC, but the exposure can be tricky. These shadows are pretty deep, so a quick shadow recovery edit to the jpeg doesn’t work too well.

Still, for JPEGs straight out of the camera, these rock.

“Black Glass” - OM-3 Monochrome Recipe 2

Profile: MONO 2

Color Level: Blue +3

Curves: Shadows: -2. Mid: -1. Hi +3.

Shading: 0

Sharpness: 0

Contrast: +2

Grain: Low

Color: N

The before/after here really shows how this recipe works in the scene.

I dig this, but this is a pretty intense recipe. Turn down the color level from "Blue +3" lower.

Overall, this recipe is a little more neutral than the others and has a lot of potential.

The deep blacks are just wonderful.

Amazingly, though, even the jpegs have a lot of recovery available to the shadows. There is a TON of detail in them, as you can see below.

The jpeg on the left is SOOC (straight out of camera), while the right was edited in Lightroom using only the shadow slider.

So contrasty and moody!

The lower grain helps keep the jpegs clean and bright.

“Silver and Dust” - OM-3 Monochrome Recipe 3

Profile: MONO 3

Color Level: Red +3

Curves: Shadows: +1. Mid: -4. Hi -3.

Shading: 0

Sharpness: +1

Contrast: 0

Grain: High

Color: N

This one works in multiple situations well, but can be difficult too!

Looks wonderful on some flowers I found downtown next to the parking lot:

A few more examples from the parking lot:

Be careful, though. The adjustments make highlights difficult. The next photo has a blown out sky. I have to remember to adjust my exposure a bit to the darker side with scenes like this.