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How to Make a Photo Look Old - Photo Editing Photoshop Lesson

November 18, 2008

Photographs capture the moment and intensity of any given event.  It also catches how a person is and how that person looks at a given moment in time thereby eliciting a certain kind of emotion and feeling when that picture is looked upon years and years after.

Currently, there are various hi-tech programs that could enhance, modify, put special effects on a particular photograph as needed and as wanted minus the hassles of subjecting it to a darkroom or denying it the exposure from any available light. 

Thanks to the magic of Photoshop,  there are a lot less worries now when handling photos.  All one has to do is to make a few clicks on the mouse and viola, an instant masterpiece is created.

When one has a desire to make a particular photograph look a bit old than how it really is, there are specific directions to go about it when using the program called Photoshop. To have that - sort off - worn out look and feel that old yellowed photographs have, the following are helpful tips to get that picture the way you just want it.

Apply sepia

Applying sepia to a photograph to make it appear a bit aged is an effective way to achieve that old look.  What is sepia then?

In Photoshop, sepia is a tone that basically consists of a reddish shade of brown tint in monochrome. Once this specific color is applied to a particular photograph,  the result is immediately a picture perfect look of warmness and an actual feeling that one is looking at an antique visual artifact.  One simply cannot help but feel sentimental towards a picture that looks older than one’s grandmother. 

The following are the steps that one could take to change a current picture to one that would appear more mature than you.  Believe it or not, this skill could be learned by anyone and everyone.  All it takes is a little tweak here and a little tweak there in as little as five short minutes courtesy of the ever reliable Photoshop.

The first step is to open the file image or picture using the Photoshop program.  Check to see the image opened.  Is the picture taken in color?  If it is taken in color,  click the tab where it says Image,  then go over the tab that says Adjust and then choose Desaturate.  After doing this,  immediately go to the tab that says Image, then choose Adjust, then choose Variations. 

Then, there is a slider that says Fine on one end,  Coarse on another.  Go move this slider a notch lower compared to the middle.  After which, carefully click on the button that says More Yellow.  Do this only once.  Then, go click on the button that says More Red.  Do this once also.  After this, click OK. 

Drum rolls please, take a deep breath and then, tadaaa!  You have officially made a photograph look old using Photoshop. 

However, if the image that is to be changed is in grayscale,  do the following steps.  After opening the picture file using Photoshop,  go to the tab that says Image, then choose Mode, then choose RGB Color.  After doing this,  immediately go to the tab that says Image, then choose Adjust, then choose Variations.  The next steps are similar to the steps listed above as when a picture is in color.  Follow the same directions and you are clearly on your way to achieving a picture-perfect  image. 

In summary, it is extremely easy to modify a picture using the current programs available.   All it takes is a little bit of patience and skill plus a lot of practice and surely almost everyone can do it.

Written by admin · Filed Under Photoshop Lessons 

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