Sepia?

Aaron Wilson · January 3, 2005

On the lower end camera's a lot of them have a sepia setting on them. Is there a way I can do that same setting in photoshop cs? I have a friend that loves that style and she wants me to convert a picture of her from color to that.

Plus as her thinking goes her 2.1mp camera is better then my 20d... lol... they thing things like that make it a better camera vs. what the camera actually does

cletus · January 3, 2005

Lots of ways to make that happen. I'd write a step by step, but there are a ton of great ones already on the net. You might try Luminosity Masks and Sepia Toning or just google photoshop + sepia.

If you can't find what you're looking for let us know!

Aaron Wilson · January 3, 2005

thank you... I found some on a few web pages but you have to do like 6+ steps to get 1 thing.. thought there may have been a faster way.. lol.

cletus · January 3, 2005

Aaron Wilson wrote:

thank you... I found some on a few web pages but you have to do like 6+ steps to get 1 thing.. thought there may have been a faster way.. lol.

Here is the quickest method I found:

Convert the image to B&W, but leave the image in a color mode (i.e. RGB, CMYK, LAB, etc.) - One fast way is Image > Adjustments > Desaturate (press Ctrl + Shift + U on a PC or Command + Shift + U on a Mac)
Add a Photo Filter adjustment layer by clicking on the "Create new fill or adjustment layer" button in the layers pallete and selecting "Photo Filter..." If you hold down the Control key (on a PC, Command key on a Mac) while you click on the "Create new fill or adjustment layer" button you can bypass the New Layer dialog box.
In the Photo Filter dialog box select Sepia from the list of filter types and play around with the density slider to get the look you want.

One thing to keep in mind is that if you find a Sepia conversion method that you like, you can make it an action so it becomes a one button click operation.

ginger_55 · January 3, 2005

Aaron Wilson wrote:

thank you... I found some on a few web pages but you have to do like 6+ steps to get 1 thing.. thought there may have been a faster way.. lol.

There is, hi I'm ginger. I just put up a yucky sepia. If you have a Photoshop program go to Images, to Hue/Saturation/.......... click on that with your photo open. Then click on colorize.

The Hue slider, the top one, that controls the color. Over to the left, just before it gets to black and white, it gets to sepia. Then the saturation, it controls the, uh, saturation.

Basically with most sepia those two sliders are almost all the way to the left, not far enough for black and white, some brown will come in, that is the "sepia".

You can play with that, I do. I have found that usually I like the sepia toned down, not heavy. I try to get the hue where I like it, and I don't like much yellow, then I do the saturation a bit less than I used to. It is a personal thing, IMO.

There is also a thing on PS CS, Photo Filters, I think it is called, under images, under whatever... I use it to make a photo warmer or cooler, but it does have a sepia setting. That would probably do it right there.

I really do like that Hue/saturation thing as some things I want darker and some lighter, etc.

If I haven't been clear, get back to me.

ginger

ginger_55 · January 3, 2005

cletus wrote:

Here is the quickest method I found:
One thing to keep in mind is that if you find a Sepia conversion method that you like, you can make it an action so it becomes a one button click operation.

Thanks, Cletus, I just printed that out. It is funny how you go for layers, and I try to stay away from it, smile. And I discovered the sepia hue/sat so long ago, in one of your workshop things, it is second nature, but I am open, so I printed out your simple way.

Do you have a way you like better and why?

Also, could you do a short tutorial, I mean short like you just did on sepia, could you do it on making something an "action".

ginger

fish · January 3, 2005

Aaron Wilson wrote:

On the lower end camera's a lot of them have a sepia setting on them. Is there a way I can do that same setting in photoshop cs? I have a friend that loves that style and she wants me to convert a picture of her from color to that. Plus as her thinking goes her 2.1mp camera is better then my 20d... lol... they thing things like that make it a better camera vs. what the camera actually does

Your 20D will also shoot in Sepia. Menu / parameters / B/W / Toning / Sepia.

Nikolai · January 3, 2005

I prefer this method, too
While ther are several ways to achieve the practially same result sepia-wise, I'd say using Hue/Sauration dialog (and its Ctrl+U shortcut:-) is the quickest easiest one - for yours truly, that is.

Ctrl+U
Colorize
Hue=15
Saturation=25

This gives you a good starting point, which you can tweak on image-per-image basis.
It's much faster to do that to explain. And if you find out that you like a particular setting, make it an action, assign the shortcut - and it will be faster than any other tool:-) (let alone you 'll be even able to do the batch processing:-)

I clearly remember my own personal frustration when I was doing my first steps in photoshop and was trying to locate "sepia" command (for which I was used to from all the previous cheapo-foto-editors) and could not find it.
Now, six months, four books and hundreds of hours later:-), I'm just smiling at myself...:-)
PS rulez!

Good luck!
Cheers!

cletus · January 3, 2005

Nikolai wrote:

While ther are several ways to achieve the practially same result sepia-wise, I'd say using Hue/Sauration dialog (and its Ctrl+U shortcut:-) is the quickest easiest one - for yours truly, that is.
Ctrl+U

Colorize

Hue=15

Saturation=25

Yep... that is nice and fast. I've always converted my image to B&W before doing a Hue/Saturation-Colorize adjustment, but for quick stuff I guess it isn't neccessary.

ginger_55 wrote:

Do you have a way you like better and why?

I usually convert my images to B&W (using the channel mixer or zero-zero's technique) and then add a Hue/Saturation adjustment layer. In the Hue/Saturation dialog box I turn on the Colorize option and adjust the sliders to get the look I want.

ginger_55 wrote:

Also, could you do a short tutorial, I mean short like you just did on sepia, could you do it on making something an "action".

I'll try to have something up this evening

pathfinder · January 3, 2005

fish wrote:

Your 20D will also shoot in Sepia. Menu / parameters / B/W / Toning / Sepia.

Fish is correct - The 20D shoots very nice incamera sepia images like this

cletus · January 3, 2005

ginger_55 wrote:

Also, could you do a short tutorial, I mean short like you just did on sepia, could you do it on making something an "action".

Ginger,

Take a look here. Let me know if works for you!

ginger_55 · January 3, 2005

cletus wrote:

Ginger,

Take a look here. Let me know if works for you!

That looks good, Eric.

Thanks,

ginger

PS, you should see my REAL Tri-X photos under the People, etc thread.:D

GREAPER · January 3, 2005

Just to throw another method into the ring...

image>adjustment>channel mixer> check monochrome

image>adjustment>variations> check on more yellow, then more red until the proper hue is reached

image>adjustment>hue and saturation> lower saturation untill color intensity is correct.

cletus · January 3, 2005

Interesting aproach greaper

fish · January 3, 2005

pathfinder wrote:

Fish is correct - The 20D shoots very nice incamera sepia images like this

This one was also done in-camera:

Sepia?

Comments