Photoshop post-processing example
Jason Scragz 3 months ago // Creative Endeavors Tips, tricks, and advice

Some people were asking me how I got the effect in the series this photo came from. Not that this effect is anything super-special, but maybe the process will help you with your own experimentations. In any case, I want to archive it here for posterity.

In the second image you will see a screenshot of the action that I created.

1. dupe background layer
2. set to overlay at 80% opacity
3. under that, create a “photo filter” adjustment layer with sepia color at 45% density (preserve luminosity checked)
4. under that is a “black and white” adjustment layer with red filter preset

All that works together for washed out color with medium brown toning. You can mess around with the amount of the photo filter and also with the black and white settings for different results.

The key in this is the duplicated background layer giving the photo some of its color back. You could also give this layer a gaussian blur for a more dreamy effect, or even apply a cutout filter. Experiment until you get the results you are looking for.