making a color photo physically OLD

[jano]

Okay.. there was a discussion in one of the threads about beating furniture with chains and what not to make it look old and dilapidated.

Let's say I want to make a color photograph look physically old, like it's from well before the 1950's..

Ideas on doing this?

I've made old treasure maps before (don't ask why), where I'll use tea bags or coffee grinds to age the paper, crumple it up while still wet, mash some sand into it, burn the edges, leave water marks on it, etc. and the results are pretty good (although they smell funny).

How about paper types?

 

[trittium]

Put in under a uv lamp or in the sun for a while....

they also have machines that perform "aging" cycles on materials .....

cross processing adds a vintage look

 

[MelanieC]

In my experience, leaving it where dogs can walk on it, drool on it, and rub dirt into it works well.

 

[BJ Bignell]

If you're looking for "old and weathered", here are some suggestions that sound good to me, but are not based on any actual experience:
- Print to a lower contrast
- Underexposing the print so that the image starts out light
- Print with high saturation (lots of those old old colour photos looked a bit overdone, due to technological limitations, I guess)
- Print with a deliberate colour cast (blue, yellow, even magenta)
- Lots of UV
- Some of the aforementioned dogs
- If it's small enough, put it in the back pocket of your pants for a week
- Hang it in the bathroom while you shower, and bake it in the oven every evening

Mix and match. It might turn out good, or it'll look like you were intentionally trying to destroy the picture! Have fun, and post some results/techniques if you find something that works.

 

[Andy K]

Do you mean make it look old when you shoot it or make the print look old?

If the former I would overexpose slightly to wash out the colours a bit. If the latter put the print in your trousers back pocket for a couple of weeks. 😉

 

[jano]

Well, it's a digital photo I took a year ago, did some manipulation to it in PS then, and have the result you'll see below. Trouble is, it looks terrible and fake when printed with those dusts and scratches, so I'll be printing the photo clean and trying to wear and tear and weather it myself. BJ, thanks for the tips, I'll try a few. I also like the back of the trousers bit, haha.

Inkjet print might not be a good idea, and neither would glossy photos from ritz. Some ind of card stock might be good, with some color fastness.

here's the image: