Giving Your Photos a Vintage Appearance
There’s something alluring about old fashioned photographs. The colors, the softness of the focus, and the lighting within the frame all seem to evoke different feelings for people. Old photos frequently get a lot of attention, simply because they look so startlingly different to the crisp, colorful images that are everywhere today.
For this reason, many people like to use filters to help capture some of that old-fashioned appearance in their own photos. A single filter doesn’t always get the job done, though; use these tips to help get a true vintage vibe to your images.
Lessen the Black
The key to softening the image is to lessen the amount of pure black in the photo. Do this by dialing back the level of black in Photoshop under the “Layers” tab.
Increase and Decrease the Contrast
Next, give your photo a “High Pass” filter. This will increase the amount of contrast that any patterns in the image have. Next, open the Brightness/Contrast for the entire photo, and lessen the contrast overall. The High Pass filter will keep the patterns sharp while the rest of the image softens.
Burn and Dodge
You can help add some additional contrast to your photos by using the burn and dodge tool. Burn or darken the center of your photos, while you dodge or lighten the outer edges. Try to blend the areas where the two meet to bleed the color out as it moves to the edges. This will help your images achieve that older look.
Add a Little Warmth
Go to the Color filter for the whole photo, and increase the Magenta setting slightly. Watch the photo carefully; you just want to warm the colors up, not flood them with pink. You may need to play with the Magenta tone slightly until you get it right. Keep in mind that different decades had different amounts of color and depth to them in their images. The 60s in particular were pink, while the 70s were a little redder. If your images are too pink for your liking, you can also decrease the amount of Cyan to add a little true red to the photos.
Go Vintage
Adding a little vintage touch to your images can help set them apart from the crowd. Whether you’re looking for something new for your profile pics or just want to play around with the images you take every day, these tips will help you get the look you’re after.