Photography Course Online - Toning Your Prints

If you are a beginner in the darkroom and want to move to another level, toning is a fascinating process to become involved with. It is really limitless in terms of results and can breathe new life into your prints as well as making them archival. By following a reliable photography course online, you could easily master these toning techniques and learn how to introduce toning into your everyday photography.

The most common toning processes you will come across are:

1) Sepia Toning

2) Selenium Toning

3) Blue Toning

4) Copper Toning

5) Gold Toning

Sepia Toning

This process converts the silver image into a brownish silver sulphide print. There are many variations on the tone and this can be achieved simply by adjusting the parameters for a unique tone. Toning with sepia makes the prints very permanent since silver sulphide is very stable.

Selenium Toning

Selenium toning gives a purplish colour on warm tone papers but there is no significant change on cold or neutral papers. Selenium does not give quite the same permanence as sepia but is often chosen for archival purposes as it does not change the image colour.

Blue Toning

This tone deposits ferric ferrocyanide on the silver image and yields a Prussian blue colour. It can give strong or subtle effects on the print depending on the dilution and time of treatment.

Copper Toning

Copper toning is similar to blue toning as it deposits copper ferrocyanide on to the silver print. However, copper toning produces a purplish-brown colour, which becomes more pinkish as the toning process is lengthened.

Gold Toning

Gold toning covers the silver image with metallic gold and is also used for archiving but gives less permanence than sepia and selenium. Gold yields a subtle blue colour and it does not produce a colour change on cold or neutral papers.

Toning in the early days of photography was a part of the overall process to make prints permanent. These days this still applies although not necessary, and an aesthetic element is now introduced. In addition to the above toners you can just about produce any colour you desire with the available chemistry. A reputable photography course online would provide training on how to tone your prints and many other aspects of photography for beginners as well.