What Is a Sepia Pose?
While sepia pose is not a standard photographic term, it sometimes describes a common aesthetic in sepia portraits, which reflects the historical use of sepia prints.
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Color
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Sepia, commonly used in photographic context, is a dark brown-grey pigment originally derived from the ink of a cuttlefish. Today, even digital cameras often include a sepia option.
Pose
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Usually, photographers use sepia for more elegant or rustic-looking photos, and often models' poses reflect a 19th-century aesthetic of propriety.
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History
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Photographers in the early 20th century used sepia paper, which was extra sensitive to light; therefore, their negatives had to minimize contrast and use delicate lighting. Certain close poses and minimal shading helped sepia prints develop more crisply.
Slang
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Often the term sepia pose refers to a shot in sepia that reflects a sense of nostalgia, historic photography or an intimate portrait.
Pop Culture
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The book "Trance" by Christopher Sorrentino uses the phrase sepia pose to describe the positions in which his characters sit, like "a 19th-century family group."
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References
- Photo Credit Image by Flickr.com, courtesy of D. Sharon Pruitt
