Adding vintage effects to your photos may not be one of those photo editing options that you immediately consider adding to your images. However, there are several reasons why it is something that is worthy of consideration. 

Take a look at photo sharing websites and you will see that this is an effect that a lot of people have great success with. And if you are considering selling your images this can also be a particularly popular choice with those people who are looking to purchase photography for their homes. 

Here we look at just a few reasons you should consider adding vintage effects to your photos. 

Sense of romance

If you have ever looked through an old photo album full of vintage images, then there are probably a couple of things that will have struck you. The first is likely to be the clothing that is being worn in the photos, and the other will be the look of the photos. This is particularly the case if you are looking at photos that were taken when colour photos were rare. The term sepia is the one that is commonly used to describe many of these older photos that you might come across. In short, sepia is a form of print toning that is applied to photography, it makes black and white photos seem a little warmer. They have a slight brown, almost tea stained, quality to the colour that makes them seem less harsh than a simple black and white photo. 

Sepia has been used in this way with photographs since the 1880s and whilst many might consider it to be adding colour to the photograph, they are still referred to as monochrome. The addition of sepia to newer photos can give them this warmer depth that is present in so many of those older photos and can make them look rather romantic. It is a great way of turning a rather simple image into something really special. An image of a “chocolate box” cottage will look like it was taken decades ago, an image of a bride and groom will also seem romantic. However you go about adding a vintage effect to the photograph, this will give it a more timeless romantic quality. 

Add a look of authenticity

Vintage effects can add a sense of authenticity to photos that you want to make look older than they actually are. If you are hosting an event with period costumes, then bright colourful photographs will not be in keeping with a style that would be appropriate for the event. Adding a vintage effect can transform these photos and in combination with the costumes really add a sense of authenticity and history to these photos. It can be a great way of making an event of this type seem even more realistic. 

Nostalgia

Sometimes it can be great to add vintage effects to photographs just to add a sense of nostalgia. Daguerreotype is another particularly great effect that can be added to photos and gives them the look of some of the earliest photos. By doing so, they will take on a slightly more grainy texture, the black and white colours in the image will become a little less crisp. This type of photo was taken when photography was a slow process and subjects needed to sit very still for quite some time, moving resulted in a much blurrier image. 

Fun

Finally, sometimes adding vintage effects and filters to your photos can just be a fun thing to do. It can be interesting to see what things look like in a different light. 

If we’ve piqued your curiosity about adding vintage elements to your photographs, why not give it a go – you could be impressed with the results it brings.