Creating An Old-Faded-Print Look

Add a nostalgic feel to your Raw images with a faded print vibe using Canon’s DPP

- Brian Worley

Photos with accurate colours are what we are used to seeing, but sometimes the muted tones reminiscent of faded prints is the ideal look when you’re making something different. Using Canon’s DPP you will see how to replicate the old faded print look and keep it as a recipe for the future. DPP makes it easy to create sharp punchy results and in this tutorial we’ll take you through a different way of working with modern images, recreating the old look.

Faded prints lose their vibrance, though for old shots it’s likely it was never possible to capture that vibrance with the film stocks and processing available. What stands out about these pictures is that the greens look much more muted with warmer tones and less detail. Contrast also fades, and the full range of deep shadows and bright highlights are lost. Lenses and our abilities with manual focus often meant these prints are much softer than we’re used to seeing too.