Sepia tone is a type of monochrome photographic image in which the picture appears in shades of brown as opposed to greyscale as in a black-and-white image. It was originally produced by adding a pigment made from the Sepia cuttlefish to the positive print of a photograph taken with any number of negative processes. The chemical process involved converts any remaining metallic silver to a sulphide which is much more resistant to breakdown over time. This is why many "old time" photographs are sepia toned—those are the ones that have survived until today.

The sample photographs below show the action of taking a colour photograph and applying a conversion to greyscale. The last sample photograph shows the same coloured photograph converted to Sepia tone..

Image:Sepia-tone-01.gif|Color image Image:Sepia-tone-02.gif|Greyscale image Image:Sepia-tone-03.gif|Sepia-toned image

The following are real examples of the three types: Image:Pangong lake by martinl.jpg|Color photograph Image:Reichstag flag.jpg|Black-and-white photograph Image:Photograph.sept1895.arp.750pix.jpg|Sepia-toned photograph

The following is an example of a neutral black & white photograph converted to a sepia tone,

See also

• photography
• digital photography

External links

• Sepia-toning in a developing tray.
• Sepia-toning in the GIMP (also has Photoshop-related links).

Colors | Photography