Vintage photography is back and better than ever. Some people are shocked to see younger generations walking around with disposable and toy cameras, shooting film as sometimes their primary means of photography. Whether we’re thirsty for nostalgia or just can’t let go of that classic grainy film aesthetic, one thing is for sure; we want more.
An article by The New York Times outlines how millennials are facing a case of early-onset nostalgia unlike any other. After 9-11 and the recession, millennials are unsure and untrustworthy of the future ahead of them. The article states, “Nostalgia comforts people and the Millennials are probably craving comfort right now.” We think that if you gain that comfort from photography, then the more power to you. Here are some different methods to use when you’re looking to give your photos a genuine vintage look.
Old photographs are infamously blurred around the edges. Whether it be from an intentional vignette effect or from the underdeveloped film technology of the day, blurred edges are the epitome of vintage film photography. Even if you don’t have a vintage camera, you have plenty of options of attaining this look. To get this look manually, you can surround the edges of your lens with Vaseline to get a blurred effect around the edges. (You can cover the entire lens if you’re going for a garden of Eden-type softened look.) If you don’t want to take the risk of damaging any of your lenses, you can use an app or Photoshop to attain the same look.
Before modern film technology was fully-fledged, it went through preliminary stages of its youth. These stages are marked by black and white color schemes, sepia, and other tinted-color variations. To get this look on a camera, you can cover the lens with nylon stockings or pantyhose. Using different shades, you can attain photos of varying types that have the graininess of genuine film photos. For those of you technologically inclined photographers, online apps and programs like Photoshop offer a huge variety of vintage-looking filters. Check out Vogue’s article on the top three best apps for vintage looking photos.
Another way to get a vintage look to your photos is to hold some sort of lens in front of your camera. Whether it’s a pair of tinted glasses, wax paper, or different variations of glass sheets, trying out different lenses is a great way to create your own vintage photos.
Though there’s not really a way to do this with many cameras, there are plenty of online tutorials on how to create the double exposure look on your photographs. In most cases it’s just a simple overlay technique, which is easy to learn for beginners of photo editing. (There are apps to get this effect as well!) Paired with a vignette or filtered effect, this technique will give you a super psychedelic pseudo-film photos.
As we’ve said before, programs like Photoshop are a great way to attain the authentic vintage look in your photographs. The benefit of using Photoshop is that you can not only filter and manipulate the photo, but you can also add artificial scratches and folds to make the picture look like it just came out of your grandma’s trunk. How cool is that?
Now that you know these quick tips on how to make your snapshots look more vintage, you’re ready to go out and apply these techniques! Whether you’re rubbing grease on your lens or just going full digital for this one, you’re sure to find a method that works best for the authentic look you’re going for.
