Sepia Filter Tool

Classic Sepia

The traditional sepia tone that most people recognize, with warm brown tones that give photos a timeless, slightly nostalgic quality. This style creates a balanced brown tone that's neither too orange nor too dark, with a moderate amount of grain and vignetting. Perfect for portraits and landscapes when you want that iconic sepia look without going too extreme with the aging effects.

Vintage

A slightly warmer, more orange-tinted sepia tone inspired by early 20th century photographs. This style includes more pronounced grain and moderate vignetting for an authentic aged look. The saturation is slightly reduced to mimic the fading that occurs in older photos, creating a nostalgic effect that works beautifully for portraits and street photography.

Antique

A stronger sepia effect with deeper brown tones and more pronounced aging characteristics. This style features heavy grain, significant vignetting, and very low saturation to recreate the look of photographs from the late 19th century. The contrast is increased to simulate the limited dynamic range of early photographic processes, creating an authentic period look.

Old Photograph

The most dramatic and aged-looking preset, designed to replicate the appearance of very old, degraded photographs. This style uses a more neutral brown tone, the heaviest grain and vignetting, and preserves whites to simulate the paper showing through in worn areas. The contrast is moderate and saturation is eliminated entirely, creating the monochromatic look of the earliest photographic processes.

Western

A warmer, more golden-brown sepia tone inspired by Western films and frontier photography. This style features increased contrast and saturation compared to other sepia presets, creating a dramatic, sun-baked quality perfect for landscapes and outdoor portraits. The grain is moderate but the vignetting is noticeable, framing the subject in the classic style of Old West photography and cinema.

Subtle

A modern, gentle sepia tint that adds warmth without the heavy vintage effects. This style uses a lighter brown tone with minimal grain and vignetting, preserving much of the original image's character while adding a warm, pleasing tone. Perfect for contemporary portraits or when you want just a hint of sepia without the full vintage treatment.

Sepia Tone Components

Our advanced mode gives you unprecedented control over the actual color composition of your sepia effect:

• • Red Component: Controls the warmth of your sepia tone. Higher values create warmer, more orange-brown tones.
• • Green Component: Affects the richness and depth. Balanced with red, it creates the characteristic brown of sepia.
• • Blue Component: Controls the coolness. Lower values create the typical sepia look, while raising this can create interesting split-tone effects.

The classic sepia ratio is approximately 5:3:1 for R:G:B, but experimenting with these values can create everything from warm chocolate browns to cooler bronze tones.

Effect Enhancements

• • Saturation: Adjusts color intensity. Negative values create more faded, aged effects while positive values add richness.
• • Contrast: Controls tonal range. Higher values create more dramatic sepia effects with deeper shadows and brighter highlights.
• • Vignette: Darkens the edges of your image, mimicking the light falloff in old camera lenses and creating a period-appropriate framing effect.
• • Grain: Adds photographic noise to simulate film grain, which is essential for authentic vintage and antique effects.

Preservation Options

Two special options give you more control over how the sepia effect is applied:

• • Preserve Whites: When enabled, very bright areas remain white instead of taking on the sepia tone. This simulates the look of worn old photographs where the paper shows through, or helps maintain a cleaner look in highlights.
• • Preserve Shadows: When enabled, very dark areas remain black rather than becoming dark brown. This creates more contrast and depth, and can help maintain detail definition in shadows.