Creative minds love to play around with ideas and work with the things they have at hand. Similarly, a creative photographer is always trying to find ways to add to their photographs. Be it using filters or manually editing the photograph, there are many ways photographers get the best out of a picture. The ‘vintage look’ is one which has caught the fancy of many. Here are a few ways photographers create amazing vintage photographs.
1. Filters
The most obvious way – using filters from photo-editing apps. This one’s a no-brainer, but we couldn’t help mentioning it because of the host of options you have out there to help you achieve a vintage look. It’s a great way to convert a modern photo into an oldie with the least possible effort. The only reason why photographers hesitate to use filters because they don’t find it as creatively challenging as editing a photograph manually. If you’re one of those read on to know tips & tricks to manually edit your pictures.
2. Blur
Unlike the cameras we have now, even the sophisticated cameras of the retro years took pictures that weren’t all that sharp. The details, especially of the background were lost. So, one way to work a sharp image you clicked from your DSLR, into looking like a vintage photograph, is to blur the entire image a bit. You could also reduce the sharpness or make the subject the least blurred bit of the composition. The softness of the entire image can bring in a very nice vintage vibe to the picture.
3. Fade
In the days of film photography, photo prints used to spend a lot of time stashed away in albums or boxes. This would result in fading of the colours, and the details getting lost. This sort of a vintage photograph can be achieved by reducing the contrast or the saturation of a picture and adding a suitable tint for different effects. Adding a red or a yellow tint can also give the photos a fleeting sense of nostalgia. Photo-editing apps also have a “Fade” effect which you can work with.
4. Retro Elements
Picture this, you’ve edited a picture to give a very retro feel but, in its frame, you see a mobile phone or a laptop peeking out at you. Might not ruin the picture, but it surely is going to take away from the wow factor of the photograph. To really be able to pull off the vintage effect well, you need to not only avoid the new-age elements but also to include in your pictures, elements of a bygone era. Cigars, rotary telephones, typewriters etc. are objects one can still find. Using these in the frame, can really help you emphasize the retro vibes.
5. Monochrome and Sepia
Though, black and white today, is a genre in itself, you can’t think of vintage photographs without considering black and white. Slightly washed out black & white and even sepia tones are apt to impart a vintage look to an image, especially if there are significant vintage objects present in the frame.
If you like the idea of being a little more obvious with your vintage photograph you could also add vignettes, light flares and deliberate scratches or spots to your click. Creative use of props or a typical fake scenery backdrop can also help you bring the desired vintage vibe to your photograph. Let us know your favourite way of retrofying a photograph.
