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Harry H Inner circle 1526 Posts |
I ahve some actual Victorian pics but how to make modern ones look the same?The paper is different etc.
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kaytracy Inner circle Central California 1793 Posts |
It is not just the paper, it is the silver halide and colloidian emulsion and how it ages, and works with light.
If you are letteing folks handle the items, then you might conisder actually having the images done as photos, with the real paper, emulsion, and chemistry involved. It is a bit more difficult these days with all the digital, but it can be done. There are a few other things one can do if close scrutiny is not going to be involved, one can lookat sepia OR blue toned prints, both of those had a fine run in their day. Otherwise, go black and white, try printing on a cream colored paper, and if going victorian, you will need to find something like the heavy tagboard cards the photos used to be mounted upon. k
Kay and Tory
www.Bizarremagick.com |
chmara Inner circle Tucson, AZ 1911 Posts |
Phtoshop can get the photo to look that way -- but the paper, if handled will need a treatment that will not leak through over time. Check various waxes for furniture finish.
Gregg (C. H. Mara) Chmara
Commercial Operations, LLC Tucson, AZ C. H. Mara Illusion & Psychic Entertainments |
George Ledo Magic Café Columnist SF Bay Area 3042 Posts |
Here's what I would do...
Scan one of the real Victorian photos and drop it into Photoshop or a similar program (there are even a few free ones out there that do much the same). Then scan one of the new photos and drop it into Photoshop, right next to the other one so both are on screen at the same time. By doing this I can study the old photo and see why it looks that way, and then build up the effect in the new photo so it looks like the old one. Then I would play with the sepia, blur, and other effects. Maybe "sample" one of the shades in the old photo, create an adjustment layer, paint the layer that color, and play with the transparency; this way I can give the photo a very controllable color cast. If the old photo is vignetted, Photoshop has a vignette effect, or I can create one from scratch. If it's discolored or faded in spots, Photoshop has tools for that too. I've been using Paint Shop Pro for years and recently discovered Photoshop Elements, which sells for around $100 and can do a lot of what the full version can do at a fraction of the price. Or you can go to a graphic artist or find someone majoring in graphic art at a local college. Then, finally, I'd go to an old book shop or an antique shop, find an old sheet of paper, card, or something similar, and print the photo onto that. Hope this helps.
That's our departed buddy Burt, aka The Great Burtini, doing his famous Cups and Mice routine
www.georgefledo.net Latest column: "Sorry about the photos in my posts here" |
MagiClyde Special user Columbus, Ohio 871 Posts |
I would think that the simplist way, outside of Photoshop, would be to use a sepia filter on the lens of the camera.
Magic! The quicker picker-upper!
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The Curator V.I.P. Beware Vampire, I have 3908 Posts |
Faking a photograph is both a very nice exercice and a complex one.
According to the period, you have many variations (a photo dating 1850 doesn't look like one from 1880 or 1900...) Idem for the clothing, the accessories and "attitudes" of the people on the photo, but anything can be done... with real work. So, my advice to you is to buy some photos from the era you're working on, study them and then try yourself or go to an expert (what I often do). |
Dr. Eamon Inner circle ------------John Dream------------If you can Dream it, you can Do it! 1313 Posts |
Use some caffee...
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Bill Ligon Inner circle A sure sign of a misspent youth: 6437 Posts |
Dr. Eamon, I find coffee works better than tea, especially the molten-asphalt-like stuff I drink. It not only darkens and spots the paper, but it makes the edges black as if they are burned. However, the edges look even better than burned ones.
I soak the paper in the stuff, then put it on newspaper to dry. When about half dry, I put little pools of coffee on the paper and let it dry completely. This gives it an uneven coloring. Bill
Author of THE HOLY ART: Bizarre Magick From Naljorpa's Cave. NOW IN HARDCOVER! VIEW: <BR>www.lulu.com/content/1399405 ORDER: http://stores.lulu.com/naljorpa
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Sabrina New user Dallas, Texas 99 Posts |
There are photo studios that shoot antique black and whites...with period costumes, I think?
Perhaps if you go to a few sight-seeing attractions or medieval renaissance fairs there might be a good chance of getting shot in costume and handed partially aged prints for about 10 to 20 bucks. From those you could scan and work in photoshop to enhance as you wish (what George suggested, as well as, drop saturation, add grain and scratches). Next print to laser or ink jet paper, smear with transfer medium to transfer to some special paper, canvas or parchment. Really old ones were on tin and glass or ceramic plates depending on how old you want to go. Next you could age and wear them further. Like Doc and Bill mentioned, coffee is decent for heavy dark stains and use tea for lighter ones. Might also try pressing it dry between some old towels with an iron. Also there are texture stamps and stain stamp pads available at well stocked hobby stores in the ink stamp aisle that will impart more of the visual stress elements that you didn't get in photoshop (like on the border). Or else, send someone the image, pay a little bling, and hope for a quick turnaround. For a bit more bling, they could add a second image into the first to give a ghostly double exposure (nice for a ghost story). I'm a free-lance technical crafter. Available to do it and for really cheap, just PM me about it. |
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