How to Make Photos Look Vintage or Retro

Various decades seem to be making a big comeback these days. From TV show reboots to new fashion collections. Vintage and retro aesthetics are also big on Instagram, with celebrities and social media influencers editing their posts as call back to yesteryears. Below you'll find some tips on How to make photos look vintage/retro, with examples from some of our favorite IG personalities. 

View this post on Instagram

get back to u soon

A post shared by 𝕞𝕚𝕝𝕝𝕚𝕖 (@milliebobbybrown) on Sep 2, 2018 at 6:34pm PDT

It’s a great look to apply to your feeds, too! Here are some tips to get that vintage / lo-fi look for your own feed using a retro photo editor:

Here's how to make your photos look vintage using Instasize.

1. Apply retro filters.

Giving your photos (whether taken on GoPro, DLSR or smartphone) that coveted retro feel doesn’t require too many different apps, or even technical know-how. Instasize has more than a few filters that can instantly transform any photo into a cool edit with a retro vibe. In fact, there are even studies that show that using filters on Instagram generates more Likes for your posts!

• Tokyo - this filter gives any photo a bluish tint, giving photos an 80s / 90s look

• D2 - this premium filter’s reddish hue gives photos that insta-vintage look

• N3 - this darker filter gives photos that signature Polaroid look

You can adjust how much (or how little) these filters are applied on your photo by tapping the filter and adjusting the slider.

View this post on Instagram

Perfection on my hand now. Just received my newest buddy, the #VivoV9. 😎Experience #PerfectShotPerfectView now and be the first to own #VivoV9. Visit the link to preorder http://vivoglobal.ph/v9preorder/

A post shared by Kathryn Bernardo 🐘 (@bernardokath) on Apr 3, 2018 at 2:05pm PDT

2. Play with grain.

View this post on Instagram

Just a sleepy girl with a busy schedule ☁️☕️🕊 // chillin in my calvins 🌬

A post shared by KENZIE DAWN (@kenziexdawn) on Nov 19, 2018 at 3:11pm PST

One way to give your photos a distinctly vintage or retro look is to add some grain on it! On Instasize, tap the adjustments option and choose ‘Grain’. Adjust the slider to achieve the exact look you’re looking for.

Make sure to use a light touch when increasing the grain on your photo. Too little might not be noticeable, while too much could ruin the quality of your edit.

3. Adjust the settings.

If none of the pre-made filters match the aesthetics you’re going for, you can always edit the settings of your photos manually. This will give you more creative freedom on your edits, and end up with something unique!

Here are some of the settings you should adjust to achieve a vintage or retro effect:

• Saturation: this increases or decreases how vibrant colors are in your photo. Desaturating your photo will help bring out the colors of filters as well as other edits you’re applying to achieve that vintage style.

• Highlight: this increases or decreases the bright spots on your photograph.

• Contrast: reducing contrast will help you get that lo-fi look.

• Warmth: adjusting warmth will give your photo a warmer or cooler feel to it. Photos that are ‘warmer’ suits the vintage aesthetic well.

• Vignette: this darkens image corners for a more dramatic effect.

• Grain or Noise: this effect will drastically give any photo the vintage feel as it copies effects from film cameras popular in previous decades.

View this post on Instagram

On a constant emotional roller coaster because of this weather 🌪 Happy Wednesday, sharing my favorite #ootd styling my fav #vintage pieces 🕊 #stylebysvanukaa

A post shared by Mariam A. (@svanukaa) on Feb 20, 2019 at 7:19am PST

Don’t be afraid to play around with your photos settings. Manually adjusting and editing your photos will help you get the same look every time, even if your photos are different or have vastly different compositions.

It’s fun to make photos look vintage for Instagram posts, and best of all, it’s very easy! It’s also a versatile style you can apply to nearly any kind of photo. Check out more vintage photoshop actions at Fix The Photo.