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It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Photographic print toning. (Discuss) |
Sepia tone refers to the coloring of a black and white photographic print or motion picture film that has been toned with a sepia toner to simulate the faded brownish color of some early photographs. This process can be simulated using a computer and digital photo-editing software.
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History
Beginning in the 1880s, sepia was produced by adding a pigment to the positive print of a photograph. The pigment is made from the Sepia officinalis cuttlefish, found in the English channel1. The chemical process converts any remaining metallic silver to a sulphide, which is much more resistant to breakdown over time. This is why many old photographs are sepia toned—these are the ones that have survived until today.
Although sepia toning began as a printing method, today it is seen as a genre, much like black and white photography.
Digital sepia tones
Sepia can be produced in many digital cameras and camcorders, or it can be produced in the digital darkroom.
Software, such as Photoshop or The GIMP, offers control over the sepia achieved (there is no single color known as “sepia”—the term covers a range of yellow and brown mixtures). Simpler photo-editing software usually has an option to sepia-tone an image in one step.
More sophisticated software tends to implement sepia tones using the duotone feature.
- Adobe recommends setting Hue = 27 and Saturation = 21 and checking the Colorize box in the Hue/Saturation filter in Photoshop2
Examples
The sample photographs below show the process of digitally removing color from a photograph, then converting the black and white image to sepia-tone.
 Color image |
 Grayscale image |
 Sepia-toned image |
The following are real examples of the three types:
 Color photograph |
 Black-and-white photograph |
 Sepia toning |
Sepia tones in pop culture
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Lists of miscellaneous information should be avoided. Please relocate any relevant information into appropriate sections or articles. (April 2008) |
Sepia-toned images are associated with period photography of the 1800s and "that old-time feel". Many photographs of the American Old West were recorded in sepia tones, a notable example being Edward Weston's photos of Carmel.
The Kansas scenes in The Wizard of Oz were in sepia tone, until Technicolor takes over in the land of Oz.
See also
- Sepia (color)
- Monochrome
- Selective color
- Photographic print toning
- List of software palettes — Color gradient palettes section
References
- ^ Sepia officinalis, the Common Cuttlefish, http://www.thecephalopodpage.org/Soffic.php
- ^ "How To: Create sepia toned images". Retrieved on 2007-03-17.