DIY: Vintage Photography Tips, Part 3

Welcome to the final installment of my 3-part vintage effects series! Almost all of the effects I'm talking about in today's tutorial can also be achieved with Picnik.

Do you love vintage-looking photography with those soft colors and yellow-blue-red tints? Good. Do you like to take pictures? Good. Today I'm continuing the second of a three part series on how to get the above look, or similar, with your photos with different kinds of techniques and photo-editing software. Now don't fear, I have researched free tools and websites that will allow you to get very close, if not better, than the image above I have produced with Photoshop.

I have been doing this for years and years to my photos, I've always been obsessed with color and have experimented with different ways to tweak my photos to evoke the mood I want to create. It's very easy to do and it creates a beautiful result!

Before we begin I want to include a list of editing software and free tools available to you.

Software:
Adobe PhotoshopCS5 - this is what I use
Adobe Lightroom - this is what I use
Adobe Photoshop Elements - your best bet for using Photoshop without all of the bells and whistles, and for a fraction of the cost
Pixelmator - Most affordable
Corel Paint Shop Pro - I used to use this

Free Tools:
Photobucket - New and improved editing features
Pixlr - Very similar to Photoshop and should be able to follow the tutorial closely
Picnik - Easy to use
Photoscape -
Paint.NET - Very similar to Photoshop and should be able to follow the tutorial closely
Picasa - Google's photo editing tool

Vintage Effects: Part 3, Extra Effects - Vignettes, Rounded Edges, Polaroid, Filmstrip Frame
For this tutorial I will be using Photoshop, but do not worry - I will include examples below each section for how you can create these effects if you don't own Photoshop.

***Important***: Every image is different! There are different colors, different lighting, and different subjects. Because of this I do not use exact number/setting examples when I write tutorials so that you can experiment and begin to understand how an image works and what will work to get the end result you want. Experimentation is important!

Vignettes:

Open your image and create a new layer. Using the Elliptical Marquee Tool (M) hold the shift key and create a circle around the center of your image. Be sure to set your feather - experiment to see which effect you like best. I used 150px for my feather. The larger the feather, the more your image will show through. You can also create a non-constrained circle by not holding the shift key when creating your selection.

Inverse your selection by going to Select->Inverse and fill in your selection with black (or another color of your choice).

Adjust the opacity of your new fill layer until you have a result you are pleased with.

Rounded Edges:

For rounded edges I use the Rounded Rectangle tool. Create a new layer, then select your Rounded Rectangle tool (U) and set the radius for the rounded edges. I selected 100.

Select the area you want to be your new image. You can go as close to the edge as you like.

Right-click (PC)/option-click (Mac) on your shape and select "Make Selection" and click ok when the window pops up.

Select your base image and hid the delete button to delete the edges. You can now delete your shape layer. You now have snazzy rounded edges.

Polaroid:

You can download a polaroid frame (look in the notes for download link), or you can make your own (which I do). Create a new image in the size that you want your polaroid to be. I've made mine 1400px x 1580px.

Using the fill bucket and setting your fill mode to pattern, fill your document with a tan or grey pattern. If you don't have one, here are a few that work well.

The next step can be done two ways. One: Select the area where you want your image to be on the polaroid and delete it, then replace the empty space with your image (resize it to fit there). Two: Simply resize your image and paste it over your document.

Crop your polaroid if it has too much lip at the bottom, which I have done for this example.

Filmstrip:

Download a filmstrip frame. When using frames all you need to do is resize your image to fit the frame. You may need to crop your image to fit your frame.

Other Site Examples:

Vintage Effects, Picnik - under "Create" tab




This concludes the final part of this three-series post.

I'd love to see what you come up with!

DIY: Vintage Photography Tips, Part 2

Do you love vintage-looking photography with those soft colors and yellow-blue-red tints? Good. Do you like to take pictures? Good. Today I'm continuing the second of a three part series on how to get the above look, or similar, with your photos with different kinds of techniques and photo-editing software. Now don't fear, I have researched free tools and websites that will allow you to get very close, if not better, than the image above I have produced with Photoshop.

I have been doing this for years and years to my photos, I've always been obsessed with color and have experimented with different ways to tweak my photos to evoke the mood I want to create. It's very easy to do and it creates a beautiful result!

Before we begin I want to include a list of editing software and free tools available to you.

Software:
Adobe PhotoshopCS5 - this is what I use
Adobe Lightroom - this is what I use
Adobe Photoshop Elements - your best bet for using Photoshop without all of the bells and whistles, and for a fraction of the cost
Pixelmator - Most affordable
Corel Paint Shop Pro - I used to use this

Free Tools:
Photobucket - New and improved editing features
Pixlr - Very similar to Photoshop and should be able to follow the tutorial closely
Picnik - Easy to use
Photoscape -
Paint.NET - Very similar to Photoshop and should be able to follow the tutorial closely
Picasa - Google's photo editing tool

Vintage Effects: Part 2, Advanced Techniques - Curves + Selective Color
For this tutorial I will be using Photoshop, but do not worry - I will include examples below each section for how you can create these effects if you don't own Photoshop.

***Important***: Every image is different! There are different colors, different lighting, and different subjects. Because of this I do not use exact number/setting examples when I write tutorials so that you can experiment and begin to understand how an image works and what will work to get the end result you want. Experimentation is important!

Step 1 - Preparing the image:

Open your selected image(s) in your editor of choice. I'll be using a picture of an awesome classic car from a mini-car show. If you are in Photoshop, make sure you unlock your layer! (Window->Layers->Drag the lock icon to the trashcan icon)

If your image is dark or the white balance is off you're going to want to make it brighter. Create a brightness/contrast layer (Image->Adjustments->Brightness/Contrast) and adjust the brightness settings to make the image brighter. Not too much brighter, just give it a little extra something. I added about 30% brightness to mine.

Other ways to adjust the brightness/contrast settings include adjusting the exposure and levels (both under Image->Adjustments), experiment with your image settings.

Step 2 - Adjusting Curves:

Add a new curves adjustment layer (Image->Adjustments->Curves). When the window opens you will have the option to adjust the RGB channel. When you add a positive output it will make the image brighter, and if you add a negative input it will make the image darker. With the drop down menu go through each channel - red, green, and blue and adjust the inputs. Add positive inputs to all of the color channels you want to emphasize in the image. For example, I want to emphasize red so I add positive red input of 65/100 and a negative input of 190/200 to pull back the red where I don't want it. Then I add positive blue input of 50/70 and a negative input of 195/175 to create that vintage tint. Negative blue creates a yellow tint, negative green creates a magenta tint, and negative red creates a COLOR tint. This creates the overall tint for the image.

Step 3 - Selective Color + Saturation:

Now that we have our colors adjusted we want to make certain colors pop and dull other colors. Add a new selective color adjustment layer (Image->Adjustments->Selective Color). Selective color adjusts specific color temperatures and tones. Use the drop down menu to select which colors you want to adjust. For example: I adjusted the settings for the reds, yellows, cyans, whites, neutrals, and blacks. The whites, neutrals, and blacks adjust the brightness/contrast in a similar way to the levels adjustment layer. I wanted to make the red, yellow, and cyans pop so I adjusted the colors to reflect positive red (lowering the cyan, and adding magenta, yellow, and black for saturation of the red). Experiment with the settings to see the potential in using selective color.

Add a saturation adjustment layer (Image->Adjustments->Hue/Saturation) and add a positive saturation input if you want a more vibrant image of the 60s and 70s, or if you want that soft vintage glow then put a negative saturation input. You can also drag the sliders to experiment with the effect you want.

Note: You can combine the techniques described here with the techniques described in the first part of this series, which is what I usually do. To create the final image from the before/after example I added a solid-color cyan layer set to screen at 10% opacity as well as a magenta solid-color layer set to screen at 10% opacity.

Other Site Examples:

Curves + Exposure: Available in Photobucket, Pixelr
Photobucket, (under geek tab)used curves
Pixlr, used brightness/contrast, hue/saturation for color balance, and solid color layers.

This concludes part two of this three-series post. In the third part of the series I will show you how to do some extra effects, like a vignette, to add little vintage touches to your images.

I'd love to see what you come up with!

DIY: Vintage Photography Tips

Do you love vintage-looking photography with those soft colors and yellow-blue-red tints? Good. Do you like to take pictures? Good. Today I'm starting the first of a three part series on how to get the above look, or similar, with your photos with different kinds of techniques and photo-editing software. Now don't fear, I have researched free tools and websites that will allow you to get very close, if not better, than the image above I have produced with Photoshop.

I have been doing this for years and years to my photos, I've always been obsessed with color and have experimented with different ways to tweak my photos to evoke the mood I want to create. It's very easy to do and it creates a beautiful result!

Before we begin I want to include a list of editing software and free tools available to you.

Software:
Adobe PhotoshopCS5 - this is what I use
Adobe Lightroom - this is what I use
Adobe Photoshop Elements - your best bet for using Photoshop without all of the bells and whistles, and for a fraction of the cost
Pixelmator - Most affordable
Corel Paint Shop Pro - I used to use this

Free Tools:
Photobucket - New and improved editing features
Pixlr - Very similar to Photoshop and should be able to follow the tutorial closely
Picnik - Easy to use
Photoscape -
Paint.NET - Very similar to Photoshop and should be able to follow the tutorial closely
Picasa - Google's photo editing tool

Vintage Effects: Part 1, Color Balance and Solid Color Layers
For this tutorial I will be using Photoshop, but do not worry - I will include examples below each section for how you can create these effects if you don't own Photoshop.

***Important***: Every image is different! There are different colors, different lighting, and different subjects. Because of this I do not use exact number/setting examples when I write tutorials so that you can experiment and begin to understand how an image works and what will work to get the end result you want. Experimentation is important!

Step 1 - Preparing the image:

Open your selected image(s) in your editor of choice. I'll be using a picture of an awesome classic car from a mini-car show. If you are in Photoshop, make sure you unlock your layer! (Window->Layers->Drag the lock icon to the trashcan icon)

If your image is dark or the white balance is off you're going to want to make it brighter. Create a brightness/contrast layer (Image->Adjustments->Brightness/Contrast) and adjust the brightness settings to make the image brighter. Not too much brighter, just give it a little extra something. I added about 30% brightness to mine.

Step 2 - Adjusting Color Balance:

For my image I knew I wanted to create a soft red tint in the tree, as well as really make the car pop. Do this by creating a Color Balance layer (Image->Adjustments->Color Balance). Some color theory knowledge comes in handy here, but if you're not sure just experiment with the settings. I added more red to my image, around +80, more green, around +10, and more yellow, around -22. Don't forget to adjust the shadows and highlights, too! In my shadows I added just a pinch more red(+20), a hint of magenta (-10), and some blue (+19) to balance out my mid-tones. In the highlights I wanted to soften the image so I added cyan (-10), some more green (+10), and a bit of yellow (-2) to make the car really pop.

Step 3 - Solid Color Layers:

Now that we have our colors adjusted we want to get that softness and subtle color. To do this we use solid color layers and play with the blend mode settings. Color theory comes in handy again here. The first color I'm going to add is a dark pinkish-red, #B10636 to be exact. I set dark color layers to screen, then change the opacity of that layer to create softness and subtle tone changes. I set my red layer to about 20%.

The next color I'm going to add is a teal color, #20B8A4, and also set it to screen at around 25% (note: I find these percentages by experimenting with different values). This softens out the red. I also want to add a light purple, #DC74EF, to create a glow. I set it to screen and left it at 5% opacity, it adds a very subtle softness to the image.

Finally I add a light yellow, #FFEFB7, and set it to multiply with a 10% opacity to make the car have a little pinch of subtle green color to it.

Note: If you want a more vibrant vintage image leave out the teal solid layer for something like this:


Other Site Examples:

Color Balance: Available in Picnik, Pixlr, Paint.NET
Picnik, used temperature (under colors) for color balance and effects (under create) - tint, 1960s (there's also vintage camera style effects like Lomo and Holga!)
Pixlr, used brightness/contrast, hue/saturation for color balance, and solid color layers.

This concludes part one of this three-series post. Tomorrow we will work on the advanced methods such as using curves and selective colors to achieve the vintage look. In the third part of the series I will show you how to do some extra effects, like a vignette, to add little vintage touches to your images.

I'd love to see what you come up with!

Photography: Pacific Potato

I took this picture last summer. We flew out to Seattle for one night before driving (by bus for 4 hours) to Vancouver to sail away on our whirlwind cruise of Alaska. I spend most of the bus ride knitting a little sweater I had been working on for myself, but every now and again I would look at the scenery and snap a few quick shots. I fell in love with this building and quickly snapped the picture as we flew by it and today I opened it up in photoshop because I thought it would look nice with some vintage coloring effects. And I slapped a lens flare on there for shits and giggles.