Black & White / Sepia Filter
Turn photos black and white (monochrome) or sepia, and fine-tune the strength, brightness and contrast.
1. Choose an image
JPEG, PNG, WebP and HEIC (iPhone photos) are supported.
Drag and drop images here
or
2. Choose a filter
23. Download
Choose an image and you can save it here.
Everything happens on this device. Your images are never uploaded.
Saved images don't keep photo info (Exif) such as where the photo was taken.
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How to use
1. Choose an image
Tap “Choose files” and pick the photo you want to edit. A full-screen editor opens with a black-and-white version of your photo.
Drag and drop the image you want to turn black and white or sepia anywhere on the page, or use “Choose files”. Once you choose it, a black-and-white version appears right away.
2. Choose B&W or Sepia
In the band below the photo, tap the “B&W” or “Sepia” tile. Press and hold the photo with your finger to compare it with the original.
In the panel on the right, click the “B&W” or “Sepia” tile. Each tile shows a preview of your image with that filter. Press and hold the image to compare it with the original.
3. Adjust strength, brightness and contrast
Drag the “Strength”, “Brightness” and “Contrast” sliders below the tiles with your finger. Lowering “Strength” lets some of the original color show through, and raising “Contrast” makes the whites and blacks crisper. To go back, tap the “Undo” arrow at the top right. With “Pure B&W”, a “Threshold” slider appears instead of “Strength”. It starts at a value chosen for your image; move it right for more black.
Move the “Strength”, “Brightness” and “Contrast” sliders below the tiles. Lowering “Strength” lets some of the original color show through, and raising “Contrast” makes the whites and blacks crisper. To go back, click “Undo” or “Reset”. With “Pure B&W”, a “Threshold” slider appears instead of “Strength”. It starts at a value chosen for your image; move it right for more black.
4. Download
Tap “Save” at the top right of the editor to save the edited photo.
Click “Download image” at the bottom of the right panel to save the edited image at the same size and in the same format as the original. “-mono” (B&W), “-binary” (Pure B&W) or “-sepia” (Sepia) is added to the end of the file name.
Great for
Give photos a calmer, moodier look
Turning travel and street photos black and white takes away the distraction of color and brings out shapes and light. Sepia adds the warmth of old film photos.
People who want atmospheric photos for social media
Check before printing in black and white
See how a flyer or handout will look when printed in black and white. If some areas turn dark and muddy, fix them with brightness and contrast before saving.
People making school or community newsletters
Make photos of documents and notes easier to read
Turn a phone photo of a document or whiteboard into “Pure B&W” and the paper turns white and the text black, so it's crisp and easy to read. If shadows or uneven light leave smudges, fine-tune it with “Threshold”.
People sharing photographed materials
Treasured photos for albums and cards
Give family and kids' photos a sepia tone for a nostalgic feel in keepsake albums, holiday cards or wedding slideshows.
People who want to display special photos
Good to know before you start
- You can edit one image at a time. To apply the same filter to several images, choose the next one with “Change image” and your settings carry over.
- It can't add color to black-and-white photos (colorize them).
- To hide part of an image, use “Mosaic & blur images”. To change its shape, use “Crop images”.
Black and white vs. sepia
Black and white (monochrome) removes color and keeps only brightness. Instead of simply averaging red, green and blue, it gives more weight to green, which looks brighter to the human eye, and less to blue, so the photo keeps the same sense of light and dark as the original. Lower “Strength” for a muted look with a little color left.
Sepia turns a black-and-white image a brownish tone. It imitates the way old photos faded and turned brown over time, giving a warm, nostalgic feel. papatto's sepia mixes colors the same way as the browser's CSS sepia(), and you can tune the tone further with “Brightness” and “Contrast”.
“Pure B&W” uses no gray at all, only black and white. Anything at or above the “Threshold” brightness becomes white and anything darker becomes black. The threshold starts at a value chosen automatically from how the image's brightness is spread (Otsu's method). It works well for documents, notes, stamps and line art you want crisp.
FAQ
Answers to common questions before you start.
Are my images sent anywhere?
No. All editing happens inside the browser on your device, and your images are never uploaded to a server. It even works offline.
Does the quality drop? Does the size change?
The size (pixel dimensions) stays the same as the original. PNGs are saved losslessly, and JPGs and WebPs are re-saved at high quality (92%).
What format is the image saved in?
The same format as the original: JPG stays JPG, PNG stays PNG and WebP stays WebP. iPhone HEIC photos are saved as JPG, and GIF and BMP as PNG.
Can I compare it with the original?
Yes. Hold down the mouse button on the image (or press and hold with your finger on a phone) to see the original. Let go to see the edited image again.
What is “Strength” for?
It controls how strongly the B&W or sepia effect is applied. At 100% the image is fully B&W or sepia, and the lower you go, the more of the original color remains. Use it when you want a calmer photo with just some of the color taken out.
How do I make text in a document photo crisper?
Choose “Pure B&W” and the paper turns white and the text black. If the text looks faint, move “Threshold” to the right; if shadows stay black, move it to the left. To straighten a photographed document and turn it into a PDF, try “Document Scanner”.
Can I edit several images at once?
You can edit one image at a time. After saving, choose the next image with “Change image”, and the same filter and adjustments are applied to it.
Is info like the photo location kept?
No. Saved images don't include photo info (Exif) such as the location (GPS) or the date taken, so they're safe to post on social media as is.
What happens to PNGs with transparent areas?
Transparent areas stay transparent. Only the colored parts turn black and white or sepia.
Is it free?
Yes. No sign-up, no install and no ads. Use it as many times as you like.
More tools
- Remove photo location (Exif)
Remove location, date taken and other details from photos without losing quality.
- Edit photo Exif
Change the date taken, location, camera model and author of photos without losing quality.
- Mosaic & blur images
Hide names, addresses, faces and more in screenshots and photos with mosaic or solid boxes.
- Extract colors from an image
Pull out the colors used in an image and show them as color codes (HEX, RGB).
- Image Size & EXIF Viewer
Check an image's pixel dimensions, file size and DPI, plus EXIF details like date taken, camera and GPS location.
- Crop images
Crop the part of an image you need, as a rectangle, circle, heart and more.