Most traditional photographers will be familiar with the range of aesthetically pleasing toners available in the wet darkroom, as well as their ability to infuse images with subtle, and more evocative moods. Traditional photographic prints have been toned since their beginnings for archival stability purposes and creative interpretation. Selenium, sepia, brown, copper, gold and blue toners are but a few of the time honored chemical processes for achieving tonal variations in prints. With the dawning of the digital age, we can now not only emulate the toning of traditional processes, but also utilize a whole new spectrum of toning possibilities never before possible; creating unique and wonderful new effects in the print-making process.

As with every process and tool in Photoshop, there are many different ways to add tone to an image. Let us start with some of the more simple methods and work our way into more complex ones. Keep in mind that these tutorials will create digital emulations that draw visual inspiration from their traditional sources, but can never fully recreate the truly distinctive look and feel of the actual processes. It is also important to note that the type of paper, tonality and brightness of the paper base will effect the results of these processes. Experiment with re-creating some of the old processes, and use these methods to create some new ones to your own!

Step 1: Convert the photo to black and white using your conversion method of choice.

Step 2: Create a new Photo Filter Adjustment Layer. Go to the Layer Menu > New Adjustment Layer > Photo Filter, or choose Photo Filter from the Adjustment layer icon at the bottom of the layers palette.

Step 3: Change the Filter to Sepia. Make sure Preserve Luminosity is selected and adjust the density to your liking, for this example I used 44%. Mouse over the images below to enlarge.

  
All images © Leslie Alsheimer

Step 1: Convert the photo to black and white using your conversion method of choice.

Step 2: Create a new Hue Saturation Adjustment Layer. Go to the Layer Menu > New Adjustment Layer > Hue Saturation, or choose Hue Saturation from the Adjustment Layer icon at the bottom of the layers palette.

Step 3: Click Colorize at the bottom of the dialogue box and choose a Hue that has a nice sepia feel. I chose a hue of 25 for this image and an opacity of 6. You should reduce the opacity, however, to something pleasing to you.

Albumen prints (1850–1890s) were made by coating ordinary paper with an emulsion composed of light-sensitive salts of silver suspended in albumen (egg white). Although these prints have been seen in many different color tones, the albumen print is most recognized by its very warm, creamy colored highlight areas and magenta to purple tone to the shadow values. With any color bias however, this process can be utilized as an easy method for split toning an image!

Step 1: Convert the photo to black and white using your conversion method of choice.

Step 2: Create a new Color Balance Adjustment Layer. Go to the Layer Menu > New Adjustment Layer > Color Balance, or choose Color Balance from the Adjustment layer icon at the bottom of the layers palette.

Step 3: For this image, I started with the highlight values and set the Color Levels input values to 0, .8, .52. For the shadow values I set the Color Levels input values to, .2, .16, 49.

Step 4: I found the results of these settings to be quite garish, so I next reduced the opacity of the adjustment layer to a pleasing interpretation. For this image I found about 30% to do the trick!

    
Gray (left), Split (middle), Albumen (right).

Also using a Color Balance Adjustment Layer, try emulating the Van Dyke Brown tone, Sepia tone and Cyanotype Print.

The cyanotype print was created by an iron salt sensitizer which could be exposed in sunlight and developed in water. Cyanotype prints are characterized by a very moody dark, deep blue tonality. For this image of the car below, I set the midtone Color Levels input values to .60, 0, 96.

Using an adjustment layer of curves is another powerful way to add tonality to a monochrome image. Any color imaginable can be achieved using curves simply by moving from the Master channel (RGB) into the individual channels of Red, Green and Blue. Placing a point in the midtone value, highlight, shadow, or any value on the curve and raising or lowering the curve will alter the tone of the image. Here are the steps:

Step 1: Create an adjustment layer of Curves.

Step 2: Click on the Master channel (RGB) drop down menu and click into the individual channels of Red, Green and/ or Blue. Place a point in the midtone value of the curve to begin and raise or lower the curve to alter the tone of the image. For a browner sepia tone as in this example, you need to add red by raising the curve in the red channel, and simultaneously remove some of its complement color cyan by lowering the curve in the blue channel.

Step 3: Creating tonal adjustments with curves is a sophisticated method that requires a bit of control. Curves tend to shift the density of the overall image in the process of adding tonality. To compensate for this, change the blending mode of the adjustment at the top of the layers palette layer to Hue or Color.

Use this technique to create depth with still life, add energy to portraits, or mood to landscapes.

Black and White

Split toned

Split toning is a traditional process that originated in the wet darkroom where the toners applied to an image would adhere to only certain areas of the print, like to the shadow values alone, for example, while leaving the remaining portions unchanged. One common technique with this method was to warm the highlights and cool the shadows. This technique would add more apparent depth to an image, as well as a greater amount of visual complexity.

Step 1: Apply your grayscale conversion of choice.

Step 2: Isolate the area you wish to tone. For this image, I chose to select the highlights. Go to the Select Menu > Color Range > Highlights.

Step 3: Feather the selection to soften the transition edges. Go to Select Menu > Modify > Feather. Choose a value that works for the area selected relative to the image size dimensions. For this image I chose a value of 15.

Step 4: Create a new Hue Saturation Adjustment Layer. Go to the Layer Menu > New Adjustment Layer > Hue Saturation, or choose Hue Saturation from the Adjustment layer icon at the bottom of the layers palette.

Step 5: Click Colorize at the bottom of the dialog box and choose a Hue that has a nice sepia feel. I chose a hue of 45 for this image and an opacity of 10. You should choose the Hue and reduce the opacity, however, to something pleasing to you.

Step 6: Select the Shadows. Go to the Select Menu > Color Range > Shadows.

Step 7: Feather the selection to soften the transition edges. Go to Select Menu > Modify > Feather. Choose a value that works for the area selected relative to the image size dimensions. For this image I chose a value of 15.

Step 8: Repeat Step 4 to create another Hue Saturation Adjustment Layer. Click Colorize at the bottom of the dialogue box and choose a Hue that has a cool selenium feel. I chose a hue of 45 for this image and an opacity of 10. You should choose a Hue and reduce the opacity, however, to something pleasing to you. For this image, I chose a Hue of 222 and a saturation of 72. Experiment with what looks to be the best to you for your images.

The advantage of working with selections is that changes can be edited and refined with precision and mastery via layer masks. With a selected area active, Photoshop automatically creates a layer mask for you as an adjustment layer is applied. Editing masks is easy. Activate the mask by clicking on it, and with a paint brush, paint with black in areas to conceal the adjustment, white to reveal, and with gray to reduce the intensity of the adjustment. Experiment with just how many different and compelling tonal variations you can create.

Duotones, Tritones and Quadtones are yet another wonderful method to add tonality to a monochrome print, especially in the prepress world. A Duotone takes a monochrome grayscale image and typically uses a black ink color for the shadow information and a lighter tone of another color for the midtones and highlights. Tritones and Quadtones use a third or fourth color for finer gradations of control. As tritones and quadtones are the same basic concept as Duotones just with more colors in the mix, for the purposes of this text, we decided to discuss Duotones alone.

Duotones are created by printing a grayscale image in two different ink colors. Printing photographs by the duotone method produces a richer and far greater tonal scale than is possible using only one color. Like split toning, Duotones allow you to work within the tonal range of an image and specify a different color to any particular value within the image’s tonal range.

Duotones require a color proofing system that can substitute PMS colors in place of the CYMK 4-color process, which, typically, most inkjet printers cannot accurately reproduce. Before taking on a duotone project, it is recommended that you consult your printer or service bureau.

Photoshop has some great preset duotone templates, as well as curves developed by my good friend Stephen Johnson, who also customized the duotone curves of my first book, Reality from the Barrio. Use these as a great starting point to create some pleasing effects. To access the curves, click the Load button in the Duotone options box and find the Goodies folder in the Photoshop folder for the duotone presets. These can be modified indefinitely or utilized as they were created.