How to get Sepia toning for an image using Curves in Photoshop CS6 (Non Destructive method)

Sepia tone means giving a brownish color to the black and white version of the image.It gives a somewhat antique look to the image.
There are  various ways of getting Sepia tone on an image.Here we shall discuss the method that is  non destructive which means that the method uses separate layers to apply the changes.It does not make any changes directly to the image.We will use a Curves... command to get the sepia toning.

                                                               Before               After
1) Opening the image in the Photoshop window
Open the colored image in Photoshop CS6 by using the menu File > Open or by using the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + O .This will open a dialog box.Select the image by clicking on its name and click on Open button.

 


















We can see the image opened as Background layer in the Layers panel.

2)Converting the image to Black and White
After we see the image in Photoshop window we need to convert it to Black and White.There are various ways of converting it to Black and White.We shall select one of the Non Destructive methods of converting the color image to black and white.

3)Selecting the Black & White... option

  We shall use a Black and White adjustment layer for converting the color image to black and white.There are different ways of getting a Black and White adjustment layer.

a)We can select the menu Layer > New Adjustment Layer >Black and White.This will open a New Layer dialog box asking us to enter a name for the Black and White adjustment layer.By default Photoshop names it Black and White 1 .We can leave the name as it is or change it to something else.Then we will press the OK button .

b)The other way to select Black and White adjustment layer is to click on the half colored circle at the bottom of the layers panel on the right side of the photoshop window.

4) Black & White Properties panel
Now we can see a  Black & White Properties panel with sliders for Reds,Yellows,Greens,Cyans,
Blues and Magentas. We can observe that the color of the image is black and white.

                                                     

















5)Closing the Black & White Properties Panel
To hide the Black & White Properties panel click on the double pointing arrow on the top right of the properties panel.To exit out of the Black and White Properties panel click on the cross mark on the top right corner of the properties panel or click on the down pointing arrow at the top right corner of the properties panel and select close.
                                                   
 We can see a new layer with a half colored rectangle added just above the image layer in the layers panel on the right side of the photoshop window.
                                               

6)Selecting the Curves... option.

After the image has turned black and white we need to change its tone to Sepia.For doing this we need to open the Curves properties window.For this we need to select the Curves option.There are two ways of selecting the Curves option.

a) Select menu Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Curves...

We can see a dialog box asking the name of the new adjustment layer.By default Photoshop names it Curves 1.If we want we can type in any other name or we can leave it as Curves 1.Click on OK button after naming the layer.

b) The other way to get the Curves option is by clicking on the Create new fill or adjustment layer icon (half colored circle) in the bottom of the layers panel on the right side of the photoshop window and selecting Curves option.

7)Curves Properties panel
Now we can see a Curves Properties panel.For getting Sepia tone we need to increase the magenta and yellow by decreasing the green and blue respectively.

                                           
a)Increasing the magenta 
For increasing the magenta we need to select Green channel from the dropdown either by clicking on it or by using the keyboard shortcut Alt + 4.In the Green channel we need to pull down the curve slightly below the midline somewhere near the center of the grid.This will increase the magenta and decrease the green in the image.

b)Increasing the yellow
For increasing the yellow we need to select Blue channel from the dropdown either by clicking on it or by using the keyboard shortcut Alt + 4.In the Blue channel we need to pull down the curve slightly below the midline somewhere near the center of the grid.This will increase the yellow and decrease the blue in the image.

 

8)Closing the Curves Properties Panel
We can click on the double pointing arrow on the top right of the properties panel to exit out of the properties panel.

9)Layers panel

We can  see a new Curves adjustment layer with a half colored circle added in the layers panel on the right side of the photoshop window.By default this layer is selected.

10)Saving the image

After we are satisfied with the adjustments we will save the image by selecting the menu File > Save or by using the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + S.This will open a dialog box where we can write the name of the image.After typing a name click on Save button.