Making Sepia Tone Effect

Making Sepia Tone effect is very simple because Photoshop CS has a Sepia Tone setting in its collection of photo filters.

Start with your color photo and choose Image> Adjustments> Desaturate. This brings us to a grayscale version without having to convert, so we can still add some color. The next step is to apply Photoshop's pre-packaged Sepia photo filter. You do this by choosing Layer> New Adjustment Layer> Photo Filter.

This will bring up the New Layer dialogue box. Enter the following settings:
Color: None
Mode: Normal
Opacity: 100%
Choose OK.

Now you will see the Photo Filter dialogue box. Enter the following settings:
Filter: Sepia
Density: 50% (or experiment)
Preserve Luminosity: Selected.
Choose OK and you're done.

Now I'll show you a way to create a Sepia Tone effect which will give you much more control over your results. This is the workaround for those without PS CS.

Convert To Grayscale & Apply A Duotone
Start with your original, untouched photo. Choose Image> Mode> Grayscale. A dialogue box will appear that says "Discard color information?" The answer is yes, so click OK. Now we'll create our Sepia effect by applying a Duotone.

Choose Image> Mode> Duotone. This will bring up the Duotone Options dialog box. First make sure that Type: Duotone is selected.

We need to pick two different inks. Ink 1 will be EB8B23. Just click on the little color square and enter the number via the Color Picker. You must name your Inks so name this one SEPIA 1 (or whatever you wish). Repeat this for Ink 2. You may find that the Custom Color box that appears is set to Pantone. Simply click on the Picker Button on the right side and you'll get your original color picker. Enter 000000 for the black we want and SEPIA 2 for the name. Finish this step by clicking OK.

Go back to RGB mode now. Choose Image> Mode> RGB Color. Next we'll play with the saturation levels to make the effect more subtle. Choose Image> Adjustments> Hue/Saturation. Move the Saturation slider to the left, down to -40%. Done!

Tweaking Opportunities
Everyone has their own idea of exactly what Sepia means and how rich the reddish brown should be. Experiment with the main Duotone color (but leave the black) and also experiment with the Saturation levels. Get in the habit of creating new layers for each tweak so you can turn them on and off to perform some comparative analysis.

(inspired by jennifer a.)