Vintage tone/texture - possible with digital?

NIK has a set of plugins that appept to duplicate old cameras, such as Classic Camera, Wet Plate technique, a Toy Camera, or a Vintage Camera. Each camera type comes with several presets that use a host of different effects stacked together to simulate a desired look.

Make a print, put it in the washing machine with some rocks, turn it on and voila!

Not sure what soap powder would be best though. You might also need softener.

Seriously though, you are going to need something with layers to get all the effects including scratches, dust and such. Once you have a catalog of 'noise' adding it to the image is easy with gimp, Elements and the like once you choose the right layer blending mode.

Some will say you can never duplicate film grain, but I think you can get pretty close - there are also ways of making grain adding actions more like film grain.

I use LR for almost everything I do, and I love the VSCO presets for tone and texture. They are a bit pricey, but I use them constantly. Even if I don't use the film presets all the time, I often use the "tool" presets that accompany them.

I made an attempt at downloading the google NIK program. After the 3rd time it finally downloaded and opened - but I had to track it down in my computer. After I finally got it open it wouldnt cooperate. Tryed to open a photo and each time it would open 3 windows stacked on top of each other then freeze. And,oddly enough,it somehow effected my DPP - ide open it and when I opened one particular folder (the one with my City Hall shots) a window would open saying DPP has stopped working. Any other folder was ok. Downloaded from here https://www.google.com …products/silver​-efex-pro/. Got home from work and uninstalled it then ran virus scan - managed to pick up some sypware. So for now NIK is on the backburner.

I will instead focus on learning virtualStudio,and if I find I just cant take the pressure I will invest in LR.

The feedback has been great and helpful,thanks a ton guys! And by the way,at the bottom of this page are a few thread links - similar threads. The top thread,Vintage and texture work - the first processed pic on the thread is SIMPLY AMAZING. I dont expect to get to that level of dedication or determination. And besides,I mostly like nature and architecture. And,not only that,my determination factor is set by how much I make from my work - which is nothing. So I will be patient and just learn.

Again thanks for the input and direction!

Photoshop has a ton of vintage filters and actions, many are free

watt100 wrote in post #16755046
Photoshop has a ton of vintage filters and actions, many are free

Could I get you to direct me to something specific? I looked at the PS site and didnt see anything free. Or are you talking about something that gets added to an already existing PS program?

Seems the more I search the more issues I run into...viruses.

Just so you know, you can get adobe photoshop + lightroom for $9.99 per month right now.

If you go here you can click the "Try" link in the upper right and use it free for 30 days.
http://www.adobe.com …AGhwFB39:201403​15223515:s

kfreels wrote in post #16761091
Just so you know, you can get adobe photoshop + lightroom for $9.99 per month right now.

If you go here you can click the "Try" link in the upper right and use it free for 30 days.
http://www.adobe.com …AGhwFB39:201403​15223515:s

I totally forgot - I had gone to that site before and discovered my computers OS is not supported. I have vista home premium,which seems to be too slow or small. Im going to start shopping for a newer computer,something with the latest and greatest

But thanks for the info!

ItsJustEd wrote in post #16761117
I totally forgot - I had gone to that site before and discovered my computers OS is not supported. I have vista home premium,which seems to be too slow or small. Im going to start shopping for a newer computer,something with the latest and greatest

But thanks for the info!

i'm running it on vista myself.

In Lightroom: Split toning
In Photoshop: Gradient Map

Then just play with the colours of each setting (lights colour and Darks colour).

Easy

ItsJustEd wrote in post #16761117
I totally forgot - I had gone to that site before and discovered my computers OS is not supported. I have vista home premium,which seems to be too slow or small. Im going to start shopping for a newer computer,something with the latest and greatest

But thanks for the info!

kfreels wrote in post #16763688
i'm running it on vista myself.

Are we talking Vista 64-bit? If so, the software should run. I'm not sure about how all the various apps handle a 32-bit OS...I know the newer versions of Lightroom only work with 64-bits.

tonylong wrote in post #16763769
Are we talking Vista 64-bit? If so, the software should run. I'm not sure about how all the various apps handle a 32-bit OS...I know the newer versions of Lightroom only work with 64-bits.

Actually no. I made an error. I'm running CS6 on my Vista machine. Looks like I installed the trial on my Win7 Laptop. Sorry for the confusion.

For a vintage look I like using Alienskin Exposure 5. Oops, I just checked and unfortunately, the minimum requirements call for Windows 7.

Having an appropriate subject helps 'sell' the vintage look too. This was taken during a civil war reenactment locally.

My desktop must be Vista 32 bit. I am out now on my laptop which is 64 bit windows 7 - that must be the difference. Came down to NC for company training and brought my laptop. Installed PS creative cloud last night without any issue. This evening I will download Virtual Photographer and go from there.

Gene - your pic looks real good!

Im thinking real hard about doing the monthly thing - get in on the deal before it expires. I peeked at PS last night and I tell ya what,it is packed with features!! So many things to tinker with.

The especially nice thing about photoshop are all the free tutorials out there to show you how to do things. Being the industry standard has some advantages. The less common a program, the less stuff like this you'll find.