The History of Sepia Photography

Photography technology has come a long way in the last 200 years, although we can still see many seeds of the older styles of photography alive today. The use of Sepia canvas effect being used in digital photography is one great example of this phenomenon. Sepia canvas photography is still an alluring way to photograph because it gives a softer feel than a photo in gray scale.

While today, a digital photograph would be able to be turned into a Sepia canvas effect by changing the color scale on the photograph, historically Sepia canvas photography was created using ink that was extracted from a Cuttlefish. This technique of Sepia canvas photography was used in the 1700's and 1800's and at the time was a new an important development in the production of photography. The term "sepia" from Sepia canvas photography comes from "Sepia officinalis" which is another term for the common Cuttlefish. The Cuttlefish was found in the English Channel and became a very in demand breed of fish when it was discovered that their ink was useful in the production of Sepia canvas effect. The Cuttlefish released a unique colored blackish brown dye from its siphon when it was alarmed, the fish would use the dye to mask itself as it made a getaway from its predators. This dye was extracted from the sac of the Cuttlefish and harvested for the production of Sepia canvas effect. After the dye was extracted from the fish it would be made into a pigment by dissolving it into a mixture of photography fluids and acids. Once this process was complete the Sepia canvas photography pigment was finished.

After the pigment was created the sepia canvas photography was developed as a side effect of an attempt to make photographs more durable and long lasting. Sepia canvas photography was created by a photographer developing their prints as he would normally do. At a certain point he would bleach the paper to remove all of the silver pigments from the photo. After this step he would add the Sepia canvas effect pigment and soak it in the Sepia bath. From this process the photos would take on a brownish tint and now recognized as a Sepia canvas effect. The original reason for adding sepia to prints was to make the photographs more sturdy and durable and from that Sepia canvas photography was born.

In order to produce this sepia canvas effect today there are several options. If photographs are shot with a film camera, the photos can be treated with an updated version of sepia canvas effect pigment during the processing phase. Currently using this processing method to develop your Sepia canvas photography can be quite pricey and many photographers look for a digital option in getting their Sepia canvas effect. Most up to date photography software has an option to add the sepia canvas effect to your photos, this is the most simple and effective way to get Sepia canvas photography of your own.