There are several plug-ins within the Topaz software family that can be applied to render old school film and vintage photo effects that were commonly used by photographers in previous years and formats. If you are interested in giving your image a stylized, moody or nostalgic look, read on to find out which programs you should use.
Adjust
Lomo II
Vintage Grunge II
Retro Style IV
Toned Collection-> Vintage
Tungsten Film
Cross Process II
When you open Topaz Adjust 5 (download a free 30 day trial), navigate to the Film Collection. There you will find more than twenty photographic effects including Bleach Bypass, Lomo, Tungsten Film, Vintage Grunge and so on. I applied the Cross Process IV filter to this image, however the green was a bit too strong for my taste. Before Adjust:
Adjust -> Film -> Cross Process IV
To change the green tint to a different color, go to Finishing Touches and select the Tone panel. Then click on the green swatch in the Color 3 Region and change the hue to something a bit cooler. I preferred a purple tone for this image to help complement the warm values of yellow.
Along with tone, you can also change the amount of grain, temperature and vignette as desired. Here’s the final product:
Aside from the Film Collection, be sure to check out the Toned Collection within Adjust which contains presets such as Split Tone, Colored Sepia, Colored Selenium and other vintage photo effects.
Black and White Effects
Cyanotype Collection-> Cerulean Cambridge Dynamic
Toned Collection-> Copper Red I
Platinum Collection-> Platinum
Traditional Collection> Warm Tone I
Opalotype Collection-> Warm Papaya
Van Dyke Brown Collection-> Umber Dynamic
Topaz Black and White Effects is virtually a film simulation program. Just about every collection portrays old film techniques (minus the Stylized Collection which contains around half of that). Darkroom processes within the program include: Traditional, Cyanotype, Van Dyke Brown, Opalotype, Albumen and Platinum collections. The great thing about Black and White Effects is that it contains similar technology as Adjust, including adaptive exposure and regions so be sure to take advantage of this while in the program!
Lens Effects
Single Tone Filter Effect
Creative Blur Lens Effect
Toy Camera and Bokeh – Selective Effect
Tilt Shift Camera Effect
Fish Eye Lens and Single Tone Filter Effect
Tilt Shift Lens and Graduated Neutral Density Filter Effect
This program is a virtual camera lens and filter bag. Unlike Adjust and B&W Effects, collections of presets do not exist within the program; rather presets are grouped into camera, filter, lens, and bokeh effects. For this particular example I first went to Single Tone Filter and applied the Old School Haze II. I then applied a custom tilt-shift effect to blur out the foreground. Before Lens Effects:
Lens Effects -> Single Tone Filter-> Old School Haze II
Final Image
If you wish to learn more about the vintage filters and effects found in the Topaz plug-ins, check out this YouTube video for additional information and tips on adding unique and stylized effects to your image. You can also download a free 30 day trial to test the software out.