Still Journal :: #12. Simulating Light Leaks

Still Journal is a weekly digest of accumulated links, tutorials, news, tricks, ideas and creativity on the culture and art of modern photography.

Still Journal is currently on hiatus - hope to resume updates soon.

Saturday, September 01, 2007

Solve Difficult Exposure Problems with Photoshop | A nice PDF extract article on achieving a graduated neutral density filter replacement by combining two exposures into one perfect image using layer masks and gradients.
creativepro.com

First ever World Film Photography Day announced | "The first ever World Film Photography Day (WFPD) is to be held on 20th March 2008.
This will be an opportunity for photographers to go out on the same day, shoot some film, and within the following four weeks post one of their resulting images on the WFPD website."
photondetector.com

Flickr vs 'Vernacular Photography' | I found this simple post and its well thought out comment feedback about the photo community, quality, and flickr to be well worth a read.
jmcolberg.com

Fun With Fake Transparencies | A simple and fun little creative tip by using a magazine cover as a form of fake transparency.
flash.popphoto.com

Saturday, September 01, 2007

#12. Simulating Light Leaks

Another bygone characteristic of the film age that you can resurrect with a simple layer trick in Photoshop.

The source of inspiration for this week's effect is a Deviant Art tutorial called Lomo Light Leaks by Luke Roberts.

This is a great little illustrated tutorial which steps you through various ways to add a stylistic light leak, reminiscent of Holga and Lomo cameras, to a photo.

This is a nice follow on from the Vintage Film Effect I featured recently. With this image, I started as this effect as the basis and then added a gradient light leak as demonstrated in Luke's article.

Conclusion
This is another example of a modern trend to create dirty/grungy/retro effects. Not suited to a lot of different subject matter, but a handy tool to have in your box.

About The Photo
Taken at the beautiful city of Sucre in Bolivia.

Quick Tips: Lomo Light Leaks (deviantart.com)
Illustrated tutorial on Deveiant Art by Luke Roberts.

Posted on Friday, August 31, 2007

#16. Paranormal Blurry TV Effect
An effect frequently used and abused by horror/thriller films these days - now you can give your still images a spooky look.
View Technique

#15. That Cross-Processed look
Take a few years of a photograph and give it that nostalgic colour shift.
View Technique

#14. Soft Focus for Holiday Shots
The technique of applying Soft Focus to a photo is not just for portraits - give a dreamy look to your holiday photos.
View Technique

#13. Black & White Colour Overlay
A distinctive method of bringing out detail and depth in a photo.
View Technique

#11. Creating dramatic skies.
Give your skies more punch with a simple Photoshop layer effect.
View Technique

#10. Vintage Film Effect
A quick and easy way to transform an image back in time with a vintage film effect.
View Technique

#9. Morning Light
Give a dazzling morning glow effect to a photograph.
View Technique

#8. Grunge Effect
Give an aged and grungy look to a photo.
View Technique

#7. Half Sepia Toning
Give a warm, yet grungy look to a photo by applying a half sepia effect.
View Technique

#6. Extreme Contrast (Faux Bleach Bypass)
Punch out the contrast and hold back the saturation of an image in this Faux Bleach Bypass technique.
View Technique

#5. Velvia Effect
Add subtle saturation and depth to bring out the best in a colour photograph.
View Technique

#4. Digital Infrared Effect
Creating a dramatic infrared effect in Photoshop.
View Technique

#3. Lens Blur (Selective Focus)
Give your action shots a visual boost with this selective-focus/lens-blur effect.
View Technique

#2. Ray of Light
Adding shafts of light to photos with a single light source.
View Technique

#1. Faux Lomo Effect
A modern digital approach to creating a traditional alternative process.
View Technique