Black-and-white photography can often feel like a forgotten art form—but transforming the pics you’ve already taken into monochromatic masterpieces is easier than you might think.

Here are three apps—VSCO, Darkroom, and Lightroom— that help photographers of all levels achieve the drama only black-and-white photos can bring.

VSCO’s Presets are a great place to start if you want to emulate old-school film, thanks to the app’s art-meets-tech-film-emulation initiative, which digitally re-creates the look of classic film stock.

Try it out: The B1 Preset, which accentuates shadows—or kick things up with B4. Its heavier contrast can shift photos into a different mood. You’ll find these presets and many more in the Black & White section of the Preset screen.

Edits in action: In the photo above, the Joshua tree becomes the focal point in the black-and-white edit (right), which really brings out the dynamic horizon line, dramatic backlighting, and angular diagonals of the shadows on the ground. (Keep those elements in mind when composing your shots too!)

Darkroom’s vast library of customizable black-and-white presets and robust editing tools can help you see your photos in a whole new (black-and-white) light.

Try it out: Play with light in real time using fine-tune adjustments like highlights, shadows, and more—all of which are beautifully displayed on a clean interface. Because Darkroom puts multiple tools on a single screen, it’s easy to see how your tweaks impact the image as a whole.

Edits in action: Because it separates the background so distinctly, black-and-white can make dynamic elements—like the cloud of chalk in the photo above—really pop. Don’t be afraid to experiment with a tight crop and play with grain and sharpness to breathe more life into an image.

The Tone Curve tool in Lightroom gives you precise control over each aspect of an image’s tonal range—use it to tweak the black, gray, and white tones independently.

Try it out: Toggle the menu on the upper right to edit, convert your image to black-and-white by tapping Color, then tap B&W. To access the Tone Curve graph, tap the Light icon, then the Curve icon.

From here, slide the default points along the horizontal and vertical axes. Don’t worry if you’re not sure what you’re doing—just experiment. (You can work entirely by feel.)

When you’re ready to get even more granular, add more points by tapping anywhere on the line.

Edits in action: The black-and-white version of this portrait makes the most of the contrast between deep shadows, brighter areas, and the shades in between on the subject’s face and clothing.