What is Vintage Photography? The word “Vintage” has a broad meaning but in photography, it has a specific meaning.
The word in photography loosely means “old” or “old-looking”.
Even in today’s time through the evolution that eventually led to digital photography people still love vintage-looking pictures.
There’s just something about a picture that looks like it was taken about 20 to 30 years ago that gives it an extra flair.
Even though with today’s technology the digital way is more accessible and easier to understand vintage photography is still popular.
It can be nostalgic, mysterious, and moody.
There are many ways to take a vintage photograph.
the easiest one is using a smartphone filter.
However, as photography grows in popularity people are using more advanced ways to capture a vintage look.
Many digital photographers continue to embrace the look of vintage photography.
Tips To Improve Your Vintage Photography Like A PRO
Here are some tips that will help you to capture flawless vintage photographs…
- Choose a theme
- Use vintage equipment
- Choose the subject
- Choose the poses
- Use vintage props and backgrounds
- Use of faded colors
- Use Black and white mode
- Add Grain / Noise
- Crop the pictures
- add Borders
- Add a vignette
now let’s understand each tip in detail to capture better vintage photos…
1. Choose a theme
Photo by Andrew Neel on Unsplash
It is important to have an eminent amount of knowledge before starting.
Choosing a theme can make it easier and help avoid confusion.
Vintage photography has no single style.
Vintage photography is divided as per eras.
Black and white photographs were dominant through the mid-20s era.
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The photographs from the 50s have a yellow tint which is due to the chemicals and photo paper.
Then color photography started to acquire momentum.
During the 1950s and 1960s colored photographs tended to fade with time.
The prints belonging to the 50s or 60s era have soft colors that faded with time.
As pictures faded, the lost contrast, structures, and appear blurred.
In the 70s, instant polaroid cameras became quite popular.
Since the cameras and lenses were not that technically advanced the images usually had a grainy texture and lacked focus.
These are just some of the photography trends over time there are plenty more like these.
Hence, if you’re starting with vintage photography, you need to understand the various eras to know your preferred styles.
2. Use vintage equipment
Once you’ve decided on an era then the next step is to search for the equipment and the cameras from that particular era.
Photo by Peter Geo on Unsplash
The best way to do a vintage photo is by actually using the equipment used in the particular era for example a polaroid camera or maybe even a Nikon F2 camera.
On the other hand, you can always start with modern-day equipment and later process them.
You can either use editing apps to give the pictures a vintage look you had in mind.
You can also develop and print at home if you’re feeling particularly inspired and have the space to do it.
There are still many labs that can process the photos.
3. Choose the subject
To make your photographs look authentic and genuine, the subject and backdrop should be chosen wisely.
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Choosing a perfect subject is essential for the photograph.
The subject and the backdrop should fit your theme perfectly.
You can even use dresses, hairstyles, and makeup that match the selected era and the mood of the photograph.
You should choose a subject or model whose style is more similar to the time.
In simple words, the subject or model must get the fusion of the style of vintage and the theme of the photographs.
4. Choose the poses
Poses are what makes an image more attractive and appealing.
Poses is what vintage photography is all about.
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You can select some of the classic poses from the era of your choice.
Colors, fashion, styling, and many other elements are different too in each period.
A good idea is to look for famous images of the same era and study their style.
Photographs convey a message that the artist wants to send.
With the correct poses, backdrops, and equipment the message is sent out more clearly than ever.
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5. Use vintage props and backgrounds
A well-composed photograph is what has the right mix of the background, subject, props, and balance altogether.
You can use all kinds of vintage props like old chairs, typewriters, hats, old cars, etc.
For an indoor shoot, vintage wallpaper and some furniture from the chosen time can be used to give the pictures some definition.
In the case of an outdoor shoot, locations like empty fields, unpaved roads, rivers, historic buildings, markets, and fountains can help you create remarkable vintage-inspired photographs.
Also, avoid including modern-day technology or products in the photographs as it might break the illusion of the picture.
6. Use of faded colors
One of the more distinctive features of vintage photographs is the faded colors.
Old photos from these eras tend to fade or suffer some degradation of colors due to the frames or storage boxes they were held in.
Hence, to create a more realistic vintage photograph use faded colors in the setup.
You can even use editing apps to add fade by toning down the contrast and/or saturation.
If you still think it requires something else just add a red or a yellow tint to the photograph.
7. Use Black and white mode
Black and white portraits are the classics.
The first thing that comes to mind after hearing vintage photographs are black and white pictures.
You can use the black and white mode that is available on almost every device nowadays or you can use any editing app.
Also adjusting settings like contrast, saturation, and exposure can make a huge difference.
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The simplest way to get authentic black and white photographs is using a darkroom.
8. Add Grain / Noise
Today the pictures we take are high resolution they don’t have grain or any kind of digital noise but it was common in the bygone era.
It is an important detail of the vintage photographs.
You can use the editing apps to add grain according to you.
Generally, Grain is preferred as digital noise shows up as an increase in the number of visible pixels.
While grain increases in size which give the picture a more vintage look.
9. Crop the pictures
The cameras in different eras were used to produce pictures in different ways.
Analog cameras were used to produce square pictures, while others were specifically made for panoramas.
The size of the images varied for each era.
In Pre 1950s the photo size was 2.25 x 3.25 and In Post 1950s it was 3.5 x 5.5.
But ensure you don’t cut the essential details from the picture while cropping.
10. Add Borders
Vintage photographs all had borders of different sorts.
like extra borders to fix into photo albums and brackets of the film if it was made as a contact sheet.
Polaroids have a frame that contains chemicals which allows the picture to be developed.
There is a wide variety of frames available on editing apps to give a vintage look to your pictures.
11. Add a vignette
Vignette is darkening the corners, adding some spots, or brightening the subject in the picture.
It can help to bring focus on a centralized subject or models by removing distracting details from the background.
before and after Adding a vignette
As the cameras earlier had less focus hence it created a vignette.
You should avoid using vignettes when there are multiple subjects in the photograph.
as you can see the example related to before and after adding a vignette photograph.
it looks perfect if the subject is single and that little tool really draws every viewer’s attention to that subject.
so if you’re playing with a solo subject then you can use such features to draw your viewer’s attention.
Conclusion
Old photos tell a story in so many ways than just the moment captured.
Vintage photography connects us to the past.
Vintage photography also gives you a chance to experiment with your editing skills, new pieces of equipment.
You also get to know how your parents and their parents used to click pictures and capture memories.
if you know those remarkable stories then don’t forget to share them with me by commenting, I’m pretty excited to know 🙂
