I have always wanted to try tinting my own black and white photos. I have seen it done, and even have the supplies to do it myself…but have never tried. That is, until now.
I don’t know what was stopping me…photo tinting is super easy and a lot of fun!
In photo editing software, tinting a black and white photo is pretty simple, but none-the-less it involves several steps, the use of layers, masks etc…not to mention, the software.
So here are a few easy to apply steps using supplies you have on hand to achieve a similar effect.
Gather up a few black and whites photos, some Distress Inks by Ranger and a handful of cotton swabs. I also had on hand (who knows why) a few Fantastix by Tsukineko…which after playing with them I will say I prefer them to the cotton swabs; their tips stay nice and firm and allow for a lot of control when applying the ink. They are a lot costlier than cotton swabs though, running about $0.75 to $1.00 a piece…so that is something to consider.
Distress Inks are perfect for this process, and will work on most types of photos – home printed or lab printed. For my experiment I am using photos printed at Costco on gloss paper. The Distress Inks are fade resistant water-based dye inks that will remain wet on your photos to allow for blending of colors.
Simply blot a cotton swab onto the felt ink pad.
Apply the color to the photograph. I used a combination of circular motion and dabbing motion.
When blending two colors together, I suggest starting with the lighter color and working towards the darker color.
In this photo I just wanted to add color to Clyde’s eyes, I used Tumbled Glass on the outer edges and then added Broken China to the inner eye.
In this photo I highlighted the straw and Starbucks logo with Peeled Paint...
and then went a little crazy adding a summer blended background in Fired Brick, Rusty Hinge, Spiced Marmalade and Wild Honey, and inked the edges with Vintage Photo.
I have been having a very hectic week, what with work and a studio full of foster kitties, I didn’t actually get to scrap my crazy summer drink photo…I have so many fun and funky ideas going through my head I think I will need to make some me time this weekend to get something put together!
So was the experiment worth it? Here is the tally:
Cost: $0 (again, I had everything on hand…but Distress Ink pads run about $5 a piece)
Fun Factor: Oh my stars…I want to keep playing with this!
Time: Varied, but not too long.
Skill Level: Intermediate (just let go of you inhibitions and get to it!)
So there it is, Fun Photo Tinting! Easy Peasy…and Cheap! Cheap!
Oh I have a ton of Black and whites of my boy from when he was a toddler. I will have to try this on a couple! Great idea.
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