If you love retro photography, you have probably thought at least once about trying to age your photos to make them look more vintage and mysterious. In this article, we will look at the most popular type of retro photo cards - polaroid photos. How to achieve the polaroid effect using a computer or phone?
Polaroid photo - easy and simple?
Usually, at the mention of the word "retro", associations with monochrome or texture photographs appear. But the Polaroid effect is lively, interesting cards with a special style. The easiest way to get the cherished square shots is to go to a photo workshop, where they will not only process them, but also print them. But let's try it ourselves.
You can use special sites for processing photo cards, for example, polaroin.com. This service is specifically designed for the Polaroid effect. Here you can select the area of the photo that will be included in the final version, the effect, the frame, and even the fill color of the image - red, blue, green. You can add a signature to the card. The free version of the site allows you to get a fairly normal quality, however, if you want better pictures, you can increase the resolution of photos for a fee.
Another fairly easy site for such photos is instantizer.com, which helps you to write on the photo and rotate the composition. Here you can not choose the area of the photo that will fall into the picture, and the site may also crop it in a way that you would not like.
Polaroid in Photoshop - the easiest lesson
In order to get a photo with the Polaroid effect using Photoshop, you need to follow the following instructions. First you need to open the photo and duplicate the layer, change the blending mode to soft light. Next you need to create a new layer and fill it with #070142 color, setting the blending mode to exclusion. After that create a new layer and fill it with #de9b82 color, change the blending mode to soft light and opacity to 75%. Next create a new layer and fill it with #fed1eb with soft light and 50% opacity, fill this layer with #070044 and apply an exclusion overlay.
After the done manipulations, the layer with the original photo is duplicated, dragged to the top and the blending mode is changed to soft light. Now you can crop the photo and paste it into the pre-downloaded Polaroid template.
Programs for polaroid pictures
What program for photos helps to get a similar effect? Among the most popular programs for IOS users are Polamatic, Instant, ShakeItPhoto, Swing, Afterlight. There are also interesting applications for Android smartphone owners: Instant, Polamatic, InstaMini, PolaroidFx and others. All of these apps are intuitive and easy to use.
Polaroid's instant printing cameras are remembered for many unusual look of the finished photo, which is made in a small frame and contains free space for an inscription at the bottom. Unfortunately, not everyone now has the opportunity to take such pictures on their own, but you can add just one effect using a special online service to get an image in a similar design.
Polaroid-style processing is now available on many sites whose main functionality is focused on image processing. We will not consider all of them, but will only take two popular web resources as an example and describe step by step the process of adding the effect you need.
Method 1: PhotoFunia
The PhotoFunia website has collected more than six hundred different effects and filters, among which is the one we are considering. Its application is carried out in just a few clicks, and the whole procedure looks like this:
- Open the main page of PhotoFunia and proceed to search for the effect by entering a query in the line "Polaroid".
- You will be offered a choice of one of several processing options. Choose the one that you think is the most suitable for you.
- Now you can familiarize yourself with the filter in more detail and see examples.
- After that, start adding the image.
- To select a picture stored on a computer, click the button "Download from Device".
- In the browser that opens, left-click on the photo, and then click on "Open".
- If the photo has a high resolution, it will need to be cropped, highlighting the appropriate area.
- You can also add text that will be displayed on a white background under the picture.
- After completing all the settings, proceed to save.
- Choose the size that suits you, or purchase another design option, such as a postcard.
- Now you can view the finished photo.
You did not need to perform any complex actions, the management of the editor on the site is extremely clear, even an inexperienced user can handle it. This completes the work with PhotoFunia, let's look at the next option.
Method 2: IMGonline
The interface of the IMGonline Internet resource is made in an outdated style. There are no familiar buttons here, as in many editors, and each tool needs to be opened in a separate tab and uploaded a picture for it. However, he copes with the task perfectly, this also applies to the use of Polaroid-style processing.
- Check out an example of how the effect works on a photo, then move on.
- Add an image by clicking on "Select a file".
- As in the first method, select the file and then click on "Open".
- The next step is to set up a Polaroid photo. You should set the angle of rotation of the image, its direction and, if necessary, add text.
- Set the compression parameters, the final weight of the file will depend on this.
- Click the button to start processing. "OK".
- You can open the finished image, download it, or return to the editor to work on other projects.
Cyclical fashion brings back to us white retro frames, scuffs and other highlights that were created using a Polaroid camera a couple of decades ago. How to take a Polaroid style photo to make your shots look vintage and super super original?
nomo
The first app with a Polaroid-like frame is called Nomo. Here the shooting is as close as possible to the long process of shooting in the 70s and 80s. You need to select a good frame, and then click on the button.
In the application, you can take pictures with both the front and rear cameras.
Unfold
Unfold. Some frames are free (for example, the CS1 template set), and some are paid. The examples use frames from the set FF1.
If this application is not available on your phone, then here
molycam
Polaroid style photos can be taken with the MolyCam app. The program offers only 1 white retro frame. But for aesthetes, this is enough! After all, the application is full of vintage effects that can be applied to the picture.
Instants
A white Polaroid photo frame with wide white margins is in a program called Instans. There you can also process the image to your taste, artificially age it or apply a fashionable old-fashioned filter.
Pixlr-o-matic
How to take a Polaroid style photo? Try using frames in from the Pixlr-o-matic app. This option is more suitable for horizontal photos. The best frame has a name Nolaroid.
FROM applause
Be the most stylish! Use super effects.
When I asked our instant photography enthusiast Dmitry Bout what creative things can be done with the received Polaroid photos, he answered simply and beautifully: “Yes, anything!”
I tried to structure "anything" into 10 ideas: for home and holidays.
For home
In your native four (or more) walls, you can have fun practicing decor.
1. If you deny Soviet wall hangings, and the time for rebellious rock posters is in the past for you, but it is vital to fill the void at the head of the bed - feel free to sculpt Polaroids on the wall. Make a square or a chaotic appliqué out of them, or you can even frame them and turn them into a huge panel.
Such a creation looks beautiful not only above the bed. You have at least four walls - so dare on all sides!
A variation on this theme can be a Polaroid calendar:
2. The next contender to get on your wall is the map. But I suggest bringing the meridians and parallels to life with snapshots. Just attach the photos you took there to the places of your travels. Each new trip is a new memorable photo on the map.
3. If you travel a lot and are worried that the card will not withstand the number of photos, you can allocate a separate frame for each trip and place several pictures in it. One trip - one frame per wall or shelf. So your pleasant memories will always be in sight (as in the Kiev Fotovramke store).
By the way, you can not just lay out the photo and cover it with glass on top, you can stretch small ropes between the edges of the frame and hang the pictures on them:
4. And this method is a low blow for all grandmothers. Down with conservation - roll Polaroids into jars! Just find the jars by size (approximately half a liter) and squeeze the pictures inside. You can add flower petals or multi-colored pebbles there. It is better to close the lid so that the photos are not covered with dust. And then arrange around the house where you want.
5. You can also have a polaroid tree as a decoration in the house. It does not need to be planted or cut down, just take a few branches, attach them to a jar of sand or any other dense filler and attach your snapshots to the branches with paper clips or thread. Such a structure can be placed on a table or window sill as a flowerpot. It should look something like this:
Winter version: we do the same with the Christmas tree and save ourselves from the need to buy holiday decorations.
6. We will not bypass the head of the house - the refrigerator. It is the refrigerator that is a wonderful plane for your Polaroid applications. All you need is some imagination and a bunch of little magnets.
7. A win-win option for home decoration is a garland with Polaroids. It can be made both from thin ropes, and from ribbons or “rain”. Horizontal, vertical, against the wall or under the ceiling - it's up to you. It can be both thematic decoration and everyday. And most importantly - it can always be painlessly changed or removed.
A subspecies of the garland can be called the idea of \u200b\u200bthe "Polaroid wreath". This is something like a mistletoe wreath that is hung on the door during the New Year holidays, only from the photo. We do it according to the principle of a garland, we just connect the whole thing into a circle.
For holidays
8. If you are a supporter of written holiday invitations, this idea is for you. A polaroid photo can be glued on top of a double sheet of paper, inside which you can write everything you need. Or even indicate the time and place at the bottom of the white Polaroid frame - concisely and clearly.
By the same principle, you can make original greeting cards:
9. With the help of snapshots, you can creatively congratulate or confess your love. True, for this you will need a room in which your object of desire will definitely enter.
You buy a bunch of balloons filled with helium, and tie polaroids to them with threads or ribbons (you can even write something on them - if anything, they will be a cheat sheet for you. Close this installation in the room and wait for the hero of the occasion to arrive.
10. But the tenth idea is not about pictures, but it is rightfully original and Polaroid. She was prompted by one of Fotovramke's friends, who arranged a Polaroid retro day.
He and his girlfriend dressed in vintage, walked around the city, rode a Ferris wheel, listened to old records and captured moments of this funny day with an instant camera - in short, gave themselves a real retro atmosphere. Therefore, if you run out of ideas for unusual dates, try this retro option.
Dima But was right when he said that you can do anything with Polaroids - there is room for fantasies to roam. So, if you are visited by original Polaroid ideas, come visit in Kyiv or Odessa, tell us, ask for advice - the Fotovramke team will be happy to help in implementation.
(All photos, except for the Kiev store, were found using Google and submitted without sources, because there are too many of them. Thank you for your understanding)
There were times when we could only view photos after they had been processed. Film stores were everywhere and it was a pretty lively business, as everyone could choose their favorite shots before sending them to print. Then Polaroid ruled the ball, which managed to make the photos printed within a few seconds after shooting. Polaroids were a huge success and many miss them.
Today, we print photos much less often. We limit ourselves to viewing them on a phone or computer screen and, at best, share cards on social networks. No one buys photo albums anymore - digital photo hosting sites have taken their place. But it seems that Printic is ready to revive the good tradition of printing your photos.
Printic is an iPhone app that allows you to print your photos from Instagram, Facebook or iPhone (99 cents per photo). Within three days, the service will deliver them to you and your friends by mail to North America or Europe. Everything works simply - you select photos, crop them and specify recipients. If desired, you can send a text message. The parcel will come in a beautiful orange envelope.
Agree, photos in the style of Polaroid 3×4 format will delight everyone who at least once missed the era of square film shots. And those who did not manage to catch that era will also be very pleased to receive alive photos that you can touch and not just email to a friend.
We can say that Printic has combined the best of modern technology and real photographs. Who knows, maybe this service will become as popular as Polaroid once was. What do you think? Did you enjoy getting the real picture? Or do you prefer digital format?
