Photoshop Master Series: Give your photos a cool retro makeover with cross processing
Make the most of Adobe Photoshop's powerful adjustment layers to transform your snapshots...
One of those happy accidents that led to a distinct visual approach, cross processing originated when it was discovered that using a chemical solution intended for one type of film to develop another led to some interesting results. Generally characterised by slightly unnatural colours and high contrast, the technique was adopted by many fashion photographers in the late 60s and 70s to give a highly stylised look to their work.
The look has become popular again in recent years, with several advertising campaigns combining the cross process technique with a faded effect, evoking nostalgic memories of long, hot and hazy childhood summers.
Of course, not everyone has access to film processing facilities. The look is just as easy to achieve in Photoshop though, and can transform otherwise plain holiday snapshots into something far more stylish! Better yet, the whole look can be achieved solely through the use of adjustment layers, making the process easy to replicate. In fact, if you're happy with the end results, why not record everything as an action so you can easily re-apply the technique?
Step 1: Make a copy...
As always, we recommend making a duplicate layer of your original snapshot to work on. Although this technique doesn't involve manipulating the source photo at all, it's still a good habit to get into.
Step 2: Nice 'n' curvy...
Now we've got our safety net in place, add in a Curves adjustment layer. This will be responsible for the bulk of our cross process effect, emulating the colour shifts that occur in the original film process. (NB: If you're recording this as an action, be sure to name your adjustment layers as you add them, otherwise Photoshop will simply apply using default settings when the action is run again.)
Photoshop's Curves adjustments allow you to change red, green, blue and RGB independently. Starting with the blue channel draw a shallow, inverted "S"-curve. To add to the faded effect, we want to limit the amount of black in the image, so with all curves make sure the bottom of the curve is clear of the lower end of the Output value (see screenshots).
For the green channel we draw a slightly shallower curve, and for the red a sharper incline, with a mid point to the right of the horizontal centre.
Finally return to the RGB channel, and draw a sharp, very "contrasty" curve to give the image a bit more punch. Reduce the opacity of the adjustment layer to around 80%.
Step 3: Level with us...
The image now has a quite distinct blue cast in the upper colour range. Blue tends to be one of the first colours to fade in older photos, so we want to simulate this. Add a Levels adjustment layer, and select the blue channel. Pull down the output level slider from the white end by around a fifth of the total range. This gives a nice yellow cast to the image, adding to the warm, summery look.
Step 4: Expose yourself...
So far so good. Lets tweak the exposure a bit, partly to give the effect of it being a bright day and partly to contribute to the slightly faded effect. Add an Exposure adjustment later, and very slightly increase the Offset value. It doesn't need much to make a difference, so use sparingly!
Step 5: Flares are in!
Lets have a bit of lens flare. It is the Seventies, after all! The easiest way to add lens flare in Photoshop is to create a black layer, then select Lens Flare from the Filter > Render menu. We've used the 105mm Prime, with the origin in the top right corner.
Step 6: Blend, blend, blend...
Next, change the blend mode of your lens flare layer to Soft Light, and pull the Fill down to around 75%. Using Soft Light to blend the layer means we're effectively using the lens flare as a very stylised gradient overlay, with the light areas adding a slight haze and fade to the image and the darker areas restoring some of the darker elements removed in the Exposure tweak above.
The finished article...
And thats about it! Flatten the image, add a few nibbles around the edges and corners with a rough white brush to add to the aged look, and before you know it you'll be pitching your own ad campaign to Diesel...
