Lomography

I usually prefer “straight-out-of-camera” photos. One of my problems with altering my pictures is that once I start altering I can’t stop myself. I’m a perfectionist so I keep seeing flaws with the picture I’m working on and by the time I’m done altering it, I realize I’ve been working on it for a long time and I usually prefer the original version. Oh well. I do use basic editing software from time to time, usually for some collages or if I need some vintage-looking pictures.

Yesterday, I was playing around with some pictures I had taken over the weekend, converting them to black and white, when I discovered an effect called “lomo-ish”!

It gave the picture I was playing with exactly the look I was looking for! The colors were over-saturated and the edges were faded and blurry. I had no clue what “lomo-ish” meant so I googled it and discovered “lomography”!

According to Wikipedia; Lomography emphasizes casual, snapshot photography. Characteristics such as over-saturated colors, off-kilter exposure, blurring, "happy accidents," and alternative film processing are often considered part of the "Lomographic Technique.

Lomography means you are using a Lomo LC-A camera. But you can also use a digital camera and “lomofy” it using editing software. Some basic ones like Piknik will do it for you or you could use Photoshop and edit from scratch. To get a digital photo to look Lomo, you need to fake the cross-processing effect (E6 film in C41 chemicals). Since I don’t even own Photoshop and am not very good playing with the color contrast and saturation (which is what gives the pictures the lomo look), I used Piknik J

(Note: Lomos uses color slide film and cross-process the film in C41 chemicals. That’s how to achieve that look. For those that don’t know what cross-processing is, it’s when you develop film in a chemical other then what it was made for. Standard 35mm film is usually processed in C41 chemicals and Color Slide film is usually processed in E6 chemicals.)

Now this is the type of easy altering I like! Thank you Piknik! Here’s Emma enjoying a day in the sun, lomo-style. Enjoy!