A 1960s Look?

Dear Debbie,

I hope you can guide me. I took a picture of a friend and I want to make it look like it was taken in the sixties. We did a good job with the makeup and clothing but the picture look obviously like it was taken today. How can I make it seem older?

Thank you so much,
Lost in time

***

Dear Lost in Time,

It's true, modern pictures have a modern look. And these days people seem to go for lots of brightness, contrast, and sharpness (see my post The Zapless Pic). The sixties look is almost the opposite - washed out and much less contrasty. To get that old school aspect, just make a few quick adjustments in Photoshop.

Start by reducing the contrast. Make a Curves Adjustment Layer, and set it to look like this:

Then shift the color. Make another Curves Adjustment Layer. Switch to the Red channel, and pull it up a bit. Do the same with the Blue:

Next, make a copy of the Background Layer, and got to Filter > Blur > Gaussian blur. Just a little will do:

Finally, add a little grain. Go to Filter > Noise > Add Noise. Makes sure it's set on Gaussian:

Good luck, and hope that helps,
Debbie

[Before]

[After]

Image copyright Jörg Jahn/Fotolia

Comments

[Vladimer Nachkebia]

I think it is very good example why digital photo can never be photoshoped to make it look like film, it will look cheap and fake, as is this example, sorry...

[Ron Newton]

I have a problem with changed photos after they have been takin.
Use of flim or digital you can make your photo come out the way you want.
also depends on where you get your prints made.

[Kyle B]

That still doesn't seem to look right. I tend to go with filters or odd white balances on the camera (shooting is raw is good here) to get the colours where they need to be. Post-editing in photoshop is good and jolly and all, but messing with the raw options (and coloured filters if you have them) seem to do a cleaner job. Digital noise added to photos just does not seem right.
I may just be thinking of another idea of older photos.

I like the result. I think it gives the right feel.

[David Beloff]

I think Debbie is brilliant. Keep 'em comin' Deb!

[peter Nuttycombe]

HOW ABOUT A NICE THICK BOOK WITH ALL DEBBIE TOOLBOXS.

[mbooz]

picnik.com actually has an application that lets you turn it to look almost exactly like 1960's images.
i've been working on the photoshop version.
so far,
1. Create vignette using the lasso tool with feather at 90 px and then merge layers.
2. Make an "S" shape in Curves instead of a "U"
3. Make a New Layer
4. Fill the new layer with Paintbucket using an orange-yellow tone.
5. Set the layer to "Darken" with about 50% opacity. Merge layers.
6. Desaturate to about -15.

But as always, there is no true sub for the original. Digital takes the "soul" away from it.

Hope this helps!