HOW TO Create a retro look

1 Suitable subject

For a retro look, try choosing a convincing subject such as a vintage vehicle. We snapped this steam engine on an iPhone 12 Pro Max, so the colours are faithful and there’s a strong contrast. We can add retro artefacts with ease.

2 Tweak colour and tone

In the Color panel, drag Saturation left for time-faded colours. To evoke a retro look, go to the Tint panel and set the Color slider to 30. Increase Intensity to 70 for a stronger wash of sepia. Set Shadows to 0.30 and Contrast to -0.65.

3 Add artefacts

Go to the Detail panel and increase Soft Focus slider to 0.30. Increase Film Grain to 0.60 to evoke the sense of analogue film (rather than a noise-free digital image). Set Vignette Radius to 1 and Brightness to 0.20.