nearly monochromatic color image

[josh_thornton]

I'm wondering what to do to make a photo look almost monochromatic

with very little color variation. I want the photo to look like it

was taken a long time ago without digital manipulation. Any

suggestions? Overexpose by 2 stops and underdevelop? Thanks!

 

Josh

[grahams]

Josh - You could just photograph an appropriate subject at an appropriate time without any manipulation, chemical or digital...<div></div>

[josh_thornton]

I've got a specific shot that I'm wanting to make look nearly monochromatic. I want to give it the look of an old photograph but not a true B&W or sepia print...just aged.

[silent1]

It sounds like you're seeking the look of a faded color print -- one in which the color dyes have deteriorated over time, as is often seen in Kodacolor prints from the 1950s and early 1960s. Is that correct?

 

If so, you should be able to get that look with mini-lab prints by asking for a lightened print with decreased saturation -- the same thing that would happen with an optical print from simply underexposing the print (not the negative). You could get some of the same effect by overexposing the film without a corresponding pull in development, but your lab will probably print it down to "normal" appearance, and in any case the overall "faded" look doesn't normally include blocked up highlights, as you would risk with overexposure of the negative (small risk, with modern C-41 films, but still...).