 Add a vintage artsy flair to your images with our Polaroid Transfer Tutorial!
Polaroid Image Transfers were originally made by a technique using Polaroid peel-apart film. The photographer would cut the chemical process short that takes place after the film is pulled from the camera and place the emulsion on a non-photographic surface to create a one-of-a-kind original print. This tutorial shows you how to digitally emulate this process in six simple steps!
Stock photo of Zion National Park sign
Before you start!!!
To complete this effect you will need a clear photo and a Polaroid Transfer background file. We recommend using a photo with a touristy or artsy feel. We have chosen this photo of Zion National Park which is on the Lucky Oliver microstock site.
Step 1:
Copy the National Park image and paste as a layer (Layer 1) on top of the polaroid file. Change the layer style to multiply.
It will look like this:
Step 2:
To create a more vintage color scheme, navigate to Image > Adjustments > Hue/Saturation from the drop down menu (Apple + U). Change your Master saturation on Layer 1 to around -57. (Make sure Colorize is not checked).
This is the desired color we were going for:
Step 3:
Turn off visibility on Layer 1 so that you can see only the Polaroid background layer.
Navigate to Select > Color Range under drop down menu.
Your mouse will become the eyedropper tool. Next, click on the outer white area on the Background Layer to select it.
Now set your Fuzziness to somewhere around 80-100. The higher the number you enter the more pixels will be selected. You want the selection in the Color Range window to have some gradation to it, not just black and white. You may have to play around with this a little get it just right.
Hit "OK" when it resembles the example below.
Step 4:
Now turn on visibility to Layer 1 and select it. Hit "delete" to erase the selected areas. Hit "delete" again. (Deleting twice will make color halos less noticeable around your image).
You will be left with a jagged white border resembling your polaroid layer. Some of the image inside the border may become lighter and appear more grainy. Don't panic when this happens! This actually helps to achieve the desired look!
Step 5:
Deselect. Set your eraser tool to around 25 percent and erase the edges on Layer 1 to allow the Background layer to show through Slightly.
Step 6:
Now duplicate Layer 1. Adjust the opacity of Layer 2 to around 30-40 percent. The layer mode should automatically be set to multiply. This will bring a little more contrast back into the image.
Last step: Flatten the image and voilą! You have one digitally made polaroid transfer!
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