ABSTRACT
Toning – chemically altering the image – was originally carried out to stabilise photographic images and prevent fading. All darkroom toning is based on some change to the chemical nature of the silver-halide image. The familiar sepia process turns the neutral grey silver salts of the image to brown silver sulphide. Gold toning – for a rich red brown – was once popular because it not only increased the life of the print but also beautified it. Today these remain the reasons why photographers tone their images; for archival purposes (to give the print a longer life) or for the reasons of aesthetics (because they like the look of the effect).
