Create a matte retro look

Use the Point Curve in Lightroom to give your photos an old-fashioned (but very trendy), film-inspired feel

If there’s one thing that seems to be flourishing rather than fading, it’s our appetite for the antique – and this is even true of our digital photos, where retro colour is in fashion. Some of it stems from the films we watch: they often have their own unique colour palette to evoke moods, and the colour changes subtly as the movie progresses. Some of it stems from a reaction to the harsh reality of digital photographs: the clinical look is cold in comparison to the warmth of the Polaroids and slides of yesteryear.

And, of course, social media platforms like Instagram and camera apps like

Hipstamatic also drive this look through the filter of nostalgia. Fortunately we’re not restricted to our precise digital renderings, and can inject a little analogue feel into our photos with Lightroom.

The main tool for this in Lightroom is the Point Curve. While you can colour photos with Split Toning, the Point Curve offers far more control. As well as allowing overall contrast control, you get access to the individual colour channels: red, green and blue. This enables you to change the colour hues within a photo as well. Using a mix of points on the curve or even just by moving the end points of the curve, you can create really interesting looks quickly.

1 Enter the Point Curve

Open your photo and go to the Tone Curve. By default this is set to the Parametric Curve: click on the small curve icon in the bottom right of the panel to change to the Point Curve. Either grab the endpoints to move them, or drag on the curve. Drag up to lighten the corresponding tones in the photo, or down to darken them. To swap from doing contrast curves, click on RGB in Channel and choose from Red, Green or Blue.

2 Fade the photo

Drag the bottom-left point of the curve upwards. Be careful not add another point just yet. Dragging up the bottom-left point will fade the entire photo. This is a little too much, though – so add another point in the centre of the curve and drag it back to the middle of the curve, so only the darker parts are affected. To increase the contrast, add a third point about a quarter of the way in from the right, and drag up.

3 Play with colours

Each colour channel increases the amount of that colour as you drag up in the channel, but decreasing acts to add the complementary colour. In the Blue channel, I’ve made the image warmer (more yellow) by pulling the top-right corner point down. With the Red Channel, pulling the bottom-left point in towards the right increases the cyan in the shadows. A little bump of a point in the highlights adds red to the highlights. In this case I opt not to change the green/magenta balance.

4 Add retro effects

Go to the Effect panel, and go to the Grain section. You’ll be best served zooming in to see the results better. With this photo I’ve gone for Amount 36 to make the effect reasonably visible. Adding grain adds highlights in the photos, but also reduces sharpness. Size controls the size of the individual grains.

I’ve opted for larger than the default at 47. I’ve pulled back marginally on roughness, which makes for more random grain. It’s like increasing or decreasing the film’s ISO.