Putting your pictures into the past! (Photoshop CS5)

This tutorial is all about using post production techniques to make a digital image look like it has been taken on film, and a long time ago too! I have also done this tutorial for GIMP Image Manipulation software which I will write a follow-up blog for also.

I'm going to make this a step by step tutorial to break it down but here is the beginning and end result:

Obviously results will vary on how you set up your techniques so enjoy playing with your images and please do share what you achieve with this technique! So, on with the tutorial...


1 - Open you image in Photoshop and "Save As.." a new file so that you preserve your original.
2 - Go to Image > Mode > Grayscale

This will remove all colour information and make the image black and white.

3 - Filter > Noise > Add Noise

This will add grain to your image. How much grain you choose is up to you. Gaussian Noise mixes up the light and dark shades so that the grain appears more scattered. Uniform Noise tends to be more collected so that the darks and lights are more grouped.

I go for Gaussian for this style of image so that the grain is more obvious but it's up to you which you use. I set the amount to around 14% for obvious graininess but the amount you need will vary on the shades within your image so have a play around as you can preview the effect on your image before you commit!

4 - Filter > Lens Correction















5 - Choose "Custom" tab on the right hand side and edit Vignette Settings.

Amount = +values go light at the corners
                 -values go dark at the corners
Midpoint = Low values create a small spread of light from the centre of the image
                  Higher values create a larger spread of light so the corners are clearly darker than the rest of the                   image.

And that's it! Convert an original sharp digital image, to an old-fashioned style image as if it is taken on film not digitally.