# Anyone know how to achieve this look and color??



## MonteGraham (Mar 25, 2015)

Anyone know how to achieve this look and color??


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## Ryan708 (Mar 25, 2015)

Looks almost like a film shot, on the cold side (Fuji film maybe?) With a low contrast lens, so something cheap. perhaps a holga? Haha


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## Coldhands (Mar 25, 2015)

Using curves, you should be able to achieve something pretty close. The low-contrast look mostly comes from clipping the shadows and then raising the black level. Start with a strong s-curve then bring up the bottom end so that you almost get a horizontal line slightly above zero. To get the colours, add a reverse s-curve to the blue channel (adding blue to the shadows, adding yellow to the highlights) and a normal s-curve to the red channel (adding cyan in the shadows, red in the highlights). Experiment with the relative strengths of each curve until you're happy.

Hopefully that's clear enough to understand. If you're still confused try a google search for "faded film using curves" or similar. There are a number of tutorials available.


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## candyman (Mar 25, 2015)

If you are using Lightroom: there are tons of presets for LR that can be downloaded from the Internet. I remeber that there is one pretty close to it. Could be Nicolesy Matte. Just don't remember which one. But google for those presets on Internet.


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## quod (Mar 25, 2015)

it's probably best achieved in post. That said, some lenses can deliver a non-contrasty look directly in the image. My Helios 44 shots look similar to this.


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## YuengLinger (Mar 25, 2015)

Bleach bypass.

Instagram?

Yuck! She's green!


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## sparda79 (Mar 25, 2015)

VSCO


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## agierke (Mar 25, 2015)

its most likely a filter from a PS add on like VSCO or RadLab. super easy canned filter sets you can buy.


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## jdramirez (Mar 25, 2015)

I play this game a lot... What settings in post... And I'm not good at it... But it is a fun game to play.


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## curtisnull (Mar 25, 2015)

Go to East LA and find a hairdresser that specializes in 80's.


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## Vivid Color (Mar 25, 2015)

Get one of the Nikon cameras that has a built-in greenish tone.


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## zim (Mar 25, 2015)

curtisnull said:


> Go to East LA and find a hairdresser that specializes in 80's.




;D ;D ;D ;D That was funny


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## Besisika (Mar 25, 2015)

MonteGraham said:


> Anyone know how to achieve this look and color??


Funny answers.

This is a variation of Blockbuster color grading.
If you search the internet on the topic you would find a lot of how to especially from video/film folks.
You can find some paid presets as well.

The way how I achieve mine is by using color balance in Photoshop. Don't ask me the detail as I created some actions 3 years ago and I don't remember the detail anymore.
Anyway, generally speaking you create 3 of them. One for the shadow, one for the mid-tone and one for the highlights.
In this scenario, I would add cyan and blue in the shadow, orange and yellow in the mid, yellow and red (or could be green) in the highlights. You need to play with the ratio until you get the effect you want then create an action so that you could re-use it next time. The key is to shoot the photos under same condition so you could achieve fairly close repetition. You may need to use some brush masking as well from time to time.

Good luck!
Color grading forum would be the right place to find advanced users. I know just the basics.


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## keithfullermusic (Mar 25, 2015)

i'm looking at this, and it's a very simple look that can be achieved with curves.

first, go to the brightness channel and drag the black point up on the y axis. then, drag the white point down on the y axis. then, make a bit of an s-curve leaving the black and white points where they are. that right there is the bulk of the effect. it makes the blacks brighter, and the whites dimmer - that gives it the faded look. the s-curve brings back some of the contrast.

then, go to the blue channel, and drag the bright point down the y axis - this will add a yellow tint to the highlights. you can also drag the dark point up a bit, which will make the blacks turn blue, but it doesn't look like that's the case here.

then, go to the red channel, and add a tiny bit of reds in the middle of the curve - this will tint everything red without changing the darkest and brightest parts.

finally, go to the green channel and do what you did with the red channel.

i have to say that this is just me thinking about what i would do, and i don't have PS or LR open, so i am probably off a bit. but, don't go buying plugin's like VSCO or whatever, because about 99% of what they do is mess with curves, and you can do that on your own. just experiment and have fun.


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## JohnDizzo15 (Mar 25, 2015)

Agree with what most of the others have said. All this stuff can be done with a few adjustments in curves and a few other minor tweaks in color. 

However, VSCO, Nik, DxO and Alien Skin all offer ways to do this and other variants with little to no effort if that is what you're looking for. 

If I had to guess, this is probably closest to one of the polaroid emulations (available in VSCO 03).


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## EdB (Mar 25, 2015)

Back in the film days this would have been called a mistake.


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## JohnDizzo15 (Mar 25, 2015)

EdB said:


> Back in the film days this would have been called a mistake.



Haha. Agreed. I have all 6 of the film packs and never use them as they get old fast. Not personally a fan of the look at this point.


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## YuengLinger (Mar 25, 2015)

Just look how many people on facebook mess up their bad snapshots with this same look. I'm sure there's an app!

Otherwise nice photo, mate.


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## endiendo (Mar 25, 2015)

EdB said:


> Back in the film days this would have been called a mistake.



Yes, for me too. It's just a bad photo for me. -> recycle bin.


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## jdramirez (Mar 25, 2015)

EdB said:


> Back in the film days this would have been called a mistake.



That's funny. I don't like the shot either, but I realize there are those who may.


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## keithfullermusic (Mar 25, 2015)

this is why listening to too many people comment on the quality of a picture is pointless. there are always equal numbers of people who view things in opposite lights.


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## anthonyd (Mar 26, 2015)

keithfullermusic said:


> ... there are always equal numbers of people who view things in opposite lights.



Yes, but those people view things backlit. Sorry, I couldn't resist.


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## Hillsilly (Mar 26, 2015)

Adjusting the fading slider in Nik's analog efex 2 would get you there.


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## martti (Apr 18, 2015)

Looks like one of the film presets from Alien Skin. There are hundreds of them to give you the look that looks cool to you and your peers and make the purists defecate bricks and mortar. 

Photos by Roon adress on tumblr is http://roonchild.tumblr.com/

You can email him and ask.


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