322
T
HE STACK OF
photographs above was
for a feature in the Guardian
about life 20 years ago. The
main image was originally in
black and white, and needed
recoloring.
Creating the effect of a
stack of snapshots involved
two processes: adding creases
and wrinkles to the images,
to make them look as if
they’d been lying around in
someone’s attic for years; and
adding shadows, to give the
impression of a pile of curled
photos.
These are two separate
techniques, and they’re both
detailed here. First, we’ll look
at how to create a snapshot
effect from a flat image; then
we’ll see how to add folds
and wrinkles to make an old
photograph look even older.
Simulating old photographs
1
This photograph of film director
Martin Scorsese is an ideal
candidate for being turned into a
snapshot. But we need to make it a
more photo-like shape first.
2
Delete all but a photo-shaped
portion of the layer. Then select
a smaller rectangle within that – our
image area; inverse the selection, and fill
the area outside it with light gray.
3
Load up the selection of the photo
layer, and apply some feathering
to it – around 8 pixels or so. Now make
a new layer, and fill this selection with
black to make the shadow.
4
Move the shadow layer beneath
the photo layer, and lower its
opacity to around 60%. If you’re placing
it on a dark background, you may want a
stronger shadow.
5
Now use Image Warp (CS2 and
above only) to curl the corners
of the photo up slightly. Because we
created the shadow based on the flat
photo, it remains straight – and this is
what makes this technique convincing.
6
Finally, use Dodge and Burn to add
a little highlight and shadow to
the frame. Because we initially filled the
frame with light gray, rather than white,
we can be sure it will show up against a
white background.
11
Paper and fabric
SHORTCUTS
MAC WIN BOTH
323
2
This texture is the inside cover of an old paperback book,
which has yellowed naturally with age; some of the
creases are natural wear and tear, and some were added.
3
The building is made into a clipping mask with the
texture layer, so that it only shows up where the two
coincide. The mode is then set to Hard Light, which allows a
little of the texture and color to show through.
5
All we want from this second texture layer is the folds and
wrinkles, and none of the color. So begin by desaturating
it using CSu LSu, which knocks all the
color out of it. Now use Brightness and Contrast to boost its
strength.
6
Now for the border. Hold C L and click on the
texture layer’s thumbnail to load it as a selection.
Contract that selection by say, 16 pixels, inverse the selection
and make a new layer above the texture; fill this with white,
and set its layer mode to Hard Light.
4
Now to add some more texture. Duplicate the original
texture layer and bring it to the front. Set the mode of
this new texture layer to Hard Light as well, so we can see
through it to the photograph beneath.
HOT TIP
The inside cover
of a book is a good
starting point for
our texture since it
contains no text or
pictures. Similarly,
if you want to
photograph a
book to mock
up a cover on it,
take the existing
cover (as long as
it’s a hardback)
and simply turn it
around so that the
white side faces
outwards.
1
This photograph of an old Western saloon looks far too
crisp. We can age it by a hundred years by adding some
texture on top.
How to Cheat in Photoshop CC
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