Achieve a sepia-like/brownish tone to BW pictures?

[amanda_b.]

Using a Canon Rebel Print Camera and black and white print film, is

there either a better film or a filter that I can use to give my

black and white pictures a browner tone, as in sepia prints? I don't

necessarily want a true "Sepia" tone nor am I looking to make them

look old per se....just something to give the pictures more richness

and a little bit of a brown color and warmth.<br>

 

<br>I've used Kodak TMAX 100 with a yellow filter and wasn't too

pleased...just that the pics look....kind of cold and flat.<br>

 

<br>An example (I like the picture but to me it needs some warmth,

just a hint of sepia-like tone):<br>

 

<br><img

src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v205/BlackDoll/Florida/greenwoo

d2.jpg" align="center"><br>

<br><i>Kodak TMAX 100, Yellow Filter</i><br>

 

 

<br>Thanks in advance!

[ann_clancy3]

the tones you are referring to are created by another chemical process that is done after the inital development of the print.

[amanda_b.]

<br>I don't know.<br>

 

<br>Basically, I buy a lot of photography books of thigns that I take pictures of and I feel that my pictures are just as good as far as composition, subject matter, point of view, etc., but all the pictures I've seen published have this certain coloring to them.<br>

 

<br>Could be the processing...if so is there anything I can ask for from the lab? Or amd I stuck unless I develop my own?<br>

 

<br>This is a poor scan, but it is one of the pictures I am talking about with that tinge of "brown:"<br>

 

<br><img src="http://www.southsideoxford.com/photographers/eudora_welty/cemetary-monument.jpg"></br>

 

<br>The photographer is Eudora Welty, and it was waken in the 1930s/1940s. So I would not be surprised if it is the camera in this case....but I have seen modern prints this way as well.

[mfophotos]

If you are using B&W film and not chromogenic b&w like XP-2 or Kodak's T400CN, the

only way to get color other than b&w are post-exposure. Using a filter will only

change the tonality of the colors that are filtered. You still have a b&w image. With a

yellow filter, yellow obbects will be lighter, and blue objects will be a tad darker -

you'll get more contrast.

Post exposure toning can be done two ways - scan the negs and tone the images in

phonyshop, or use sepia toner (or whatever toner that gives you the effect you are

seeking) on the b&w prints after they have been processed. This is the traditional

method. One can also use warmtone papers that have a distinctive look, too.

If you use chromogenic films, the lab can print them sepia for you by using a filter in

the process. Note however, that you are getting color prints, not true b&w. One

advantage of using traditional sepia toner, is that it also makes the prints more

archival. That does not happen with color printing.

So, in summary:

1. To make true b&w prints warmer or toned, you used a toner bath for the b&w

prints, or use warm-tone papers.

2. You can scan negs into Photoshop to get the same effect.

3. Use a chromogenic film and ask lab to do the appropriate filtering.

4. Filters do not make b&w film "warmer".

[stephen_allan]

Hi Amanda, using B&W film there is nothing you can do in camera to get the effect you are looking for. <p>If you are only after a hint of warmth in your prints without having them sepia toned, you will need to get them printed on a warm-tone paper, preferably processed using a warm-tone developer.<p>Like all B&W work, not all papers and developers give the same effect. I take it you are having the prints done at a lab, and do not have the facilities to experiment. Asking on the B&W Printing forum might get you suggestions of some good combinations.<p>Steve

[mfophotos]

Your example was undoubtedly a print that had been placed in a toner bath. That is

the way to go, if you really want that look. However, I don't know that labs will do

that. You can have prints made at a lab, and then tone them yourself with a kit from

Berg. It does not require a darkroom for the process, as it is done on finished b&w

sliver prints.

[neal_wydra1]

Dear Amanda,

 

The film will not contriubte to the print color. Ilford Warm Tone paper has, to my eye, an ever so slight brown color. You can also use sepia toner to generate a slightly warm tone. Instead of leaving the print in the first bath until the image essentially disappears, remove it early and move to the second bath. There are also other types of brown toners out there. If you only want a subtle change, use a hardening fixer to slow down the toning action and remember that toning can be nasty business. Read and heed all the label instructions.

 

Looking at your photograph, you may want to consider printing it using a lower contrast setting or paper grade. This may be the effect you are looking for.

[amanda_b.]

Thank you for the lightening fast responses. I will try your suggestions.

 

I know I loose a lot of control not being able to do my own processing.

[titrisol]

Amanda, BW film will produce that BW images.

 

However, the papers you can use to print your work are the ones that are going to determine the tonality of your images.

There are neutral tone, warm tone (brownish), and cold tone (bluish) papers. Further processing by using toners will achieve even different tones and colors to the prints. This is where it gets exciting! Combinations of developers/paper/toners will render the images way beyond monochromatic!

 

 

Here's a gallery with many examples of the "looks" a black and white print can achieve:

http://www.moersch-photochemie.de/galerie.php

 

Happy photographying

[robert_marvin]

If you're using regular B&W film and having your prints made on conventional B&W paper you could try toning them yourself. Kodak Rapid Selenium Toner is easier to use than sepia toner and will give the effect you want on some, but not all, papers. You'll have to wash the prints after toning. You'd just need a tray for the toner and some type of print washer, neither of which are very expensive. You'll also need rubber or latex gloves as you don't want to expose your skin to the somewhat toxic toner solution.

 

You might also try one of the chromogenic B & W films like Ilford XP2. These are developed in C-41 color chemicals and usually printed on color paper (there's also a B&W C-4, paper but many labs don't have it Many one hour labs print these with a brown tone, whether you want it or not.

[rustys pics]

Another way you can go is to have your b&W film developed by Dr5.com. Ask for

developer 2 which is a sepia. This process makes slides from your film, so you can scan

them if you want prints. Check his website above for some samples of sepia images. If you

mouse over the jpeg, it will show you a sepia version.

[ann_clancy3]

just some additional info. If the lab you are using is printing these b&w photos on color paper (which happens a lot) you can't tone them after the fact. If they are using color paper they can shift the tones for you as others have already suggested.

 

If they are printing on bw paper, it will depend on the paper type and the toners used to shift the color range, which means some tweaking of the toners. If you decided to try toning your self, please re-view the informaton regarding how to's on this site. It is easy, but needs certain precautions.

[frank.schifano]

While I've heard that the dr5 process is very good, and I have no reason to doubt that it is, the suggestion that you get your film done there is a waste of time and money. If you are going to use photoshop anyway, you can just play aroud with plug-ins, filters, or sliders and get the results you want from a straight negative.

[david_richert]

Using Sepia is simple to do, try this link to my web site <a href="http://davidrichert.com/Sepia_Toners/sepia_toners.htm">Sepia Toners</a>

[jimmy_o]

I heard some peoples use coffee or tea, anybody else hear this?

[al_kaplan1]

Coffee or tea will stain the color of the paper. Toners change the color of the silver image without changing the color of the paper.

[don_mckeith]

I think the main problem is camera,not color.

[maesphoto]

I tried to threat your picture in Tritone Photoshop.

open in photoshop, convert to gray, apply duotones, load tritones.

Reconvert to RGB that's it. you can apply as well duotones, tritones as quadtones.<div></div>

[maesphoto]

sorry, the corrected imaged didn't show<div></div>

[maesphoto]

3rd try<div></div>

[scott_walton2]

Amanda, When shooting with a yellow filter and B/W film, what your doing is getting a bit more tones in your blues. Regular B/W films don't see natural blue, like the sky and that is why your sky is always washed out when shooting without a filter. It sounds like your having a lab process for you. If you talk to them and if they print proofs on color paper like most labs do now, you can ask for a slight warm tone. They will just dial in the color. If your shooting a "chromogenic B/W" film (Ilford XP2 is beautiful), this gets developed in color chemistry but it is a B/W film... There again, you can ask the lab to add warmth if they are receptive. If they are a Pro Lab, you can have do whatever you want to the film. If you have scans made, you can easily do it yourself like I did in PS by doing a TriTone. Convert to grayscale, select duo or tri tone, have a black channel for density, next box select a yellow channel and then select a reddish channel for your tritone. Tweak it anyway you want...

The only other way would be to do an actual chemical tone... using Sepia Toner (smells like rotten eggs so do it in very good ventilation), Brown Toner or Selenium. With Selenium, it all depends on the paper you have printed on... Ilford will be cooler to almost no change, Kodak will have a slight warmth ect.

[scott_walton2]

sorry, here's a jpg

[amanda_b.]

Thanks again for the great responses.

 

Yes, I do use a lab. I used TMAX 100 to shoot the picture of the angel I posted here but I have used "regular/cheapy" black and white film that I think is really color film treated as black and white.

 

Anyway, using Photoshop is fine but my goal is prints and I don't/won't have the proper scanner/printer to get good prints. I'll call my lab and see what they can do for me.

 

Scott - I really like the sepia-tone you created!

 

amanda

[amanda_b.]

Oh Will Maes - I meatn to thank you too, your suggestion - "3rd try" is EXACTLY what I was wasking about achieving.

 

Thanks!