printable version

How to create toy camera effects

What you'll need Photoshop CS1/CS2
What you'll learn How to stack up layers to create vignette effects and alter contrast; How the Gradient Took can simulate light leakage; How to mask a blurred layer, altering focal range
It only takes 15 minutes

Toy camera photography has an appeal for those of you with an interest in experimentation.

These cameras provide very little help for the user – no control over exposure and minimum control over depth of field. They're cheaply manufactured using a plastic lens and light often leaks through the body onto the film. However, the result of using a toy camera is quite unique and the prints produced definitely bear the signature of the tool used (see www.toycamera.com for examples of cameras and images).

In general, the images contain vignetting as a consequence of the cheap lens, as well as random areas of bright white around the edges due to light leakage. Certain toy cameras, like the famous Holga series (www.holga.net), use medium-format 120mm film, which produces a square negative that measures 6cm x 6cm.

Holga recommends using ISO 400 film in daylight conditions to achieve the right exposure, resulting in high-contrast images that lose focus completely around the edges (the cheap plastic lenses in these cameras cause dramatic fall off in focus). The inferior components and cheap manufacturing are seen as a positive factor, giving the images such an interesting appearance. Each Holga is unique and the results will vary from camera to camera.

For the digital photographer who wants to simulate these toy camera effects, you needn’t look any further than Photoshop itself – the process is simple and provides control and flexibility only dreamt of by those wielding Holgas! Follow the step-by-step instructions shown on the page opposite and you’ll be adding brilliant toy camera effects to your everyday images in no time.

1 Start: Crop the image To crop the image to a perfect square, select the Crop Tool from the toolbox. Click in the bottom-left corner and drag upwards and to the right while holding down the Shift key. The area to be removed will be darkened. Press Enter to crop the image.	2 Duplicate and flatten Once you've cropped the image, duplicate the background layer by targeting it in the Layers Palette and then choosing Layer > Duplicate Layer from the menu. Change the Blending Mode of the duplicate layer to Overlay and choose Layer > Flatten Image.	3 Blur the new duplicate Now duplicate the newly flattened background layer using the same method. Target the duplicate layer in the Layers Palette and then choose Filter>Blur>Gaussian Blur. Choose a Radius value of 23 pixels and click OK to blur the contents of the new layer.
4 Add a layer mask Click the Add Layer Mask button at the bottom of the Layers Palette to add a mask to the current layer. Select the Gradient Tool. Choose the Radial Gradient Method in the Tool Options bar and then set the foreground to Transparent Gradient Preset from the Picker.	5 Edit the mask Press 'd' on the keyboard to set the foreground colour to black. Then, with the layer mask targeted in the Layers Palette, click and drag from the centre of the image out towards the edge. This will mask the blurred layer, restoring focus to the centre of the image.	6 Edit a brush preset Choose Layer>New>Layer to create a new layer. With this layer targeted, select the Brush Tool from the toolbox. In the Tool Options bar, choose the Soft Round 300 Pixel brush preset from the Preset Picker and then increase the size of the brush tip to 600 pixels.
7 Create a vignette effect Your foreground colour should still be set to black; if it isn’t, press the ‘d’ key. Set the Brush Opacity to 25% in the Tool Options bar and then paint over the upper-left, lowerleft and lower-right corners of the image on the new layer.	8 Enhance the vignette effect Change the Layer Blending Mode to Colour Burn and then duplicate the layer. Next, duplicate the top layer and then change the Blending Mode of the new duplicate layer to Linear Burn. You should have three layers stacked up, the first two set to Colour Burn and the third set to Linear Burn.	9 Finish: Create a light leak Create a new layer, select the Gradient Tool and the Linear Method in the Tool Options bar. Type ‘x’ to set the foreground colour to white. Click and drag on the new layer from the top-right corner inwards. Set the Layer Opacity to 70% and the Blending Mode to Overlay. Finally, flatten the image and save.