Memorable Sepia

Make your photos memorable with this romantic Photoshop photo effect. In this Photoshop tutorial, you will learn how to create and combine a split sepia effect with a targeted vignette.

Step 1

Open a photo into Photoshop.
Use a wedding or engagement photo if you have one because this effect is most suitable for those types of photos.

Step 2

In the layers palette, click on the add adjustment layer button and choose Black & White. If you’re using Photoshop CS2 or older, you will not have access to the Black & White adjustment layer. For users of Photoshop CS2 or older, skip this step and proceed with the next step.

Step 3 (For Photoshop CS2 or older)

- If you’re using Photoshop CS2 or older, you don’t have access to the Black & White adjustment layer. Instead, you can use the Channel Mixer and Hue/Saturation tool to achieve similar (but not exact) results.
- Add a Channel Mixer and Hue/Saturation adjustment layer and apply the settings shown below.

Remember to have the Hue/Saturation adjustment layer on the top.

When done, hold the Ctrl key and click on the two adjustment layers.
- Then press Ctrl+G to group the layers.
- The layers should now appear inside a group in the Layers palette.
- Select the group and choose Layer --> Layer Mask --> Reveal All.

Step 4

In the layers palette, click on the layer mask thumbnail to select it.
- If you’re using Photoshop CS2 or older, click on the layer mask for the group.
- Choose Image --> Apply Image and use the settings from the image below.
  Don’t click OK yet.

Depending on the effect that you like, you can enable or disable the invert option.
(With the invert option unchecked, the sepia effect will be visible on the highlights of the image. With the invert checked, the sepia effect will be visible on the shadows of the image.)
- Click OK when you’re done using the Apply Image tool.

Step 5

Now we’ll add a vignette that can be position anywhere in the image.
- Select the Background layer and add a Gradient fill layer. This will add a Gradient fill layer above the Background layer.

In the Gradient fill option, copy the settings from the image below.
- On the document window, click and drag the gradient and position it where your subject is. For the image used in this Photoshop tutorial, I positioned in on the faces of the subjects. If you cannot see where the gradient is being positioned, click OK,
- Change the blending mode of the Gradient Fill layer to Multiply, then double-click on the layer again to adjust the Gradient Fill settings.

Change the blending mode to Multiply, if not already done.

Final Results

Here are the final results of this memorable sepia Photoshop photo effect.
There are two variations to the effect and both have quite different results.

Basics - Selecting Hair

Selecting Hair

"Basics"

Extracting fine hair detail from a background is one of the most tricky jobs in Photoshop. A professional way to do it takes you to the channel palette, where you prepare a mask that can be loaded as a selection.

01 Prepare the Channel

After opening the photo, switch from the layer palette to the channel palette.
From the Red, Green, and Blue channel, choose the one that displays the greatest contrast to the background. Copy it by mouse-dragging it to the New Channel button. The copy is highlighted in blue and active.

02 Improve the Channel

Select Levels (Ctrl+L) from Image > Adjustments. Set the White and Black marker to make for a harder contrast.

Then continue improving the channel with the Dodge and Burn tools. Dark background areas should be lightened, too bright areas in the hair should be darkened.

03 Fill Contents

Now our goal is to select all remaining areas that need to be extracted and color them black.

You could use the brush tool with a black foreground color, or you could select those areas with the selection tools and fill them with black.

Then press Ctrl+I on your keyboard to invert the channel

04 Extraction

If necessary, fix remaining spots, then turn the black and white channel into a selection by holding the Ctrl key and clicking on the channel’s mask icon. Click on the RGB channel switch back to the layer palette.

Copy the selection in the menu (Layer > New > Layer via Copy) or with Ctrl+J.

With Elements, too?

Unfortunately, since Photoshop Elements doesn’t have a channel palette, you can’t use this image processing tip with the small Photoshop.

Alternatively you could try the background eraser or Image > Magic Extractor. Still, both tools deliver noticeably less professional results – at least when you’re extracting hair.