Extra photos for bloggers: 1, 2, 3.

We’ll admit it, we’re obsessed with iPhoneography.

We take our cell phone lenses everywhere we go, we share our photos in real time, we even dress up our phones to look like our favorite cameras!

We thought it was about time that we started taking our photos out of our phones and sharing them with the material world.

Today we’re showing you how you can make your own phone photo stickers, magnets, photobooth-style strips, lamps, and more with your iPhone photos using your household inkjet printer!

Use Your Cell Phone Shots To Make DIY Projects!

p.s. The awesome folks at Easy Canvas Prints (wizards at turning your photos into awesome canvas prints) are *giving away* free canvas prints on our Facebook page today!

Create A Set of Stickers

Want to make some rad stickers that’ll show Lisa Frank who’s boss?

Most craft or office supply stores carry photographic sticker paper that you can use in your home printer like photo paper.

Squeeze as many photos onto one sheet as you can, cut ‘em out with scissors when they’re dry, and stick them anywhere. (Even the back side of your phone!)

*Tip: Sticker paper can be a little pricey. If you’re looking for an inexpensive alternative, try blank label sheets from an office supply store!

Photo-Booth Style Strips

First, you’ll need to print your favorite photos out on some nice photo paper.

For this and other projects using Instagram photos, we recommend printing your photos between 2-3″ wide for best resolution. (We found they still look good up to 8″ for some projects, so try experimenting with what you like best.)

We found that printing 16 photos on one sheet of 8×10 photo paper made for a perfect size photo strip!

Use a paper cutter or pair of scissors to trim the edges around each column of four pictures. (If they’re not aligned correctly for a photo-strip, change the configuration of your printer from vertical to horizontal.)

They’re perfect for collecting, using as bookmarks, to remember a fun day, as a gift, on your fridge, or even in a DIY snowglobe!

Make A Lamp With Fotoclips!

Fotoclips are the cutest little clear helpers, made to keep your photos together so you can build stuff with ‘em.

They’re also perfect for playing with your homemade printed Instagrams!

Print your photos 2″-4″ wide each. Use fotoclips to snap ‘em together, and build yourself a photo curtain or a lamp!

We made this lamp by clipping together Instagram prints with fotoclips until they were tall enough to cover the base of our desk lamp.

Make Your Own Magnets!

You don’t have to use a mail-order service to get professional looking magnets with your Instagrams or cell phone photos on them.

In fact, you can make them in under 5 minutes at home!

Sheets of magnetic paper compatible with inkjet printers are available at most office supply stores.

Feed your printer one piece of magnet paper at a time, print as if you’re printing on photo paper, and trim when you’re done!

Your fridge is going to be *so* jealous of all the yummy food photos you stick to the front of it.

A Cell Phone Photo Wall At Home.

Always wanted a fantastic instant print wall but don’t want to pay for pricey Polaroid film?

We think iPhone photos are the perfect solution!

If you don’t already use Instagram to make square photos, you can crop them to square shape using your image editing program, or simply cut them down before you hang them.

We printed our instagram photos at different sizes between 2″ and 8″ and tiled them on our wall.

Hang with fotoclips, tape, or sticky putty!

Even more projects you can play with!

• Check out our roundup of the best Instagram apps, including ones that’ll make you books, stickers, magnets, and more!
• Try making a magnetic photo puzzle! Just print your photo 5-8″ on magnet paper, slice and dice it, and see if you can stump your room-mates!
• You can also print straight on to canvas with your inkjet printer using special fabric found at any craft or fabric store. Use it to make a photo pouch!
• Print your Instagrams or cell shots about 2″ wide on thick card-stock paper. Fill in your basic info on the other side and voila! As many instant business cards as your heart desires!
• Want to use a picture to send a quick thank-you note or share a photo of your Saturday with Mom? Our Polapost Frames will turn your Instagram prints into mailable instant print lookalikes! (Check out our mailable photo frames if square format isn’t your style.)

Related posts:

1. 12 Fantastic Fall Photo Tips — Our Extra-Crunchy Guide to Leaf Peeping ...
2. Two Easy Ways to Add Texture to Your Photos Extra photos for bloggers: 1, 2, 3 Gritty cell-phone photos...
3. 3 Easy Ways to Make Postcards from Your Photos (And Brighten Someone’s Day) Postcards are a lost art. If you’re like most people,...

If you know us, you know we love instant film. A lot.

So, when we heard Impossible Project would be releasing two new & improved instant films, we jumped at the chance to give ‘em a whirl.

First we met PX 680: A film that produces beautifully saturated prints that practically ooze with color.

Second, Black Frame PX 600 silver shade: A black and white film with sleek black frames for a classic, gallery-ready look.

Both films are so easy to use and versatile, your camera might write you a love letter for feeding it so well.

Plus: While experimenting, we found a technique that’ll let you transform your new black frame images into photo transparencies!

It’s simple, fun, and takes less than five minutes. We were so impressed with the results, we had to share.

How-To: Make Instant Transparencies

p.s. Dust off your Polaroid cam. Retweet this message for a chance to win Black Frame PX 600 instant film.

What You’ll Need:

• A fresh picture made with Impossible Project’s black frame instant film.
  (For best results, use a print that is no more than a day old.)
• A pair of scissors.
• A hairdryer.

Step One: Trim The Edges

To turn your instant print into a transparency, you’re going to be peeling the clear part of your print from it’s black backing.

Using your scissors, cut as close as you can to the outer edge of the black frame, trimming the edges off.

You can trim the borders to be as thick or thin as you choose. (We recommend trimming them as thin as possible at first, and cutting down after you’re finished if you want a smaller border.)

Step Two: Heat It Up!

Next, you’ll be heating your print up with a hair dryer.

This will make all the chemicals inside nice and warm so that you can easily dissect your masterpiece.

Hold your hairdryer about 12 inches from your print and carefully heat the print for 30 seconds on a medium or low heat setting.

Step Three: Test The Peel

Starting with the upper corner of your print, carefully separate the front layer from the back and slowly peel them apart.

The film should start to come apart like you see here.

If it doesn’t separate easily (or starts to rip), heat your film for another 30 seconds with your hair dryer and try again.

Step Four: Gotta Keep ‘Em Separated!

If your corner started to peel off well, great! Slowly and gently continue to peel the rest of your print.

Emulsion is very fragile and easy to rip, so it pays to be as slow and steady as possible while doing this step.

Once you’ve peeled the two layers from each other, you’re done!

Step Five: Ta-Da!

Throw away the scraps from the back of your print, and make sure you didn’t get any instant print goo on your hands.

(If you did, wash ‘em right away! Photo chemicals and skin don’t mix well.)

Leave the new transparency out to dry overnight, and then display it wherever you want!

Taking It Further:

• Use acrylic or watercolor paint to color your print like we did here! Simply apply the paint to the back (non-shiny) side and let it dry for about an hour.
• Make two transparencies and sandwich them together for a two-sided double exposure transparency!
• Use string and fotoclips to hang your transparencies in a window or doorframe as decoration.
• Combine your photo with text or illustration by attaching a fresh (not yet dry) transparency to a drawing or page in a book! The results will look like a double exposure of the two images.

Related posts:

1. How to Turn Instant Photos into Dreamy Image Transfers with Impossible Project Film Extra photos for bloggers: 1, 2, 3 It was just...
2. How To Make Instagrams, Hand-made Exposures on Instant Film! Extra photos for bloggers: 1, 2, 3 Did you know...
3. Two New Impossible Project Instant Films! PX 600 Silver Shade & PX 70 Color Shade Harvest moons, nippy weather, technicolor leaves. *Sigh* This is what...

Ever wonder how your camera works?

…If instant photos are actually made of something other than magic?

We sure as heck do!

In fact, we think the science of photography is half of the reason that being a photographer is so freakin’ cool.

While photography usually feels like magic, it’s actually very scientific and mathematical. (We even know the ISO of the human eye!)

We’re going to show you some of our favorite basic photography techniques, what makes them tick, and how you can try them all yourself for a hands-on view of how all your favorite photo stuff works!

5 Ways to Play with Photo Science

p.s. We’re searching for a few fabulous photogs to take photos for the shop! Got what it takes?

The Camera Obscura

Ever see pictures with an entire city projected onto bedroom walls?

Yep, that’s a camera obscura. The most basic type of camera in the world (it was around even before photography was!)

A camera obscura is basically just a dark room and a hole in a window opening.

The light rays from the outside world get squashed and travel through the tiny lens hole in your window, flip themselves around, and end up showing up again on a projected upside-down image.

It’s the most basic form of a lens, and works a lot like your very own eye!

The smaller you make the lens hole, the sharper and more in-focus your image gets.

If your lens hole is too large, light rays have too much room to move and make your image blurry and out-of-focus.

Camera obscura photo by afroboof (…want to read more about the camera obscura?)

The Pinhole Camera

You can practice the science of the camera obscura hands on by using a pinhole camera!

Like a mini-camera obscura, a pinhole camera is a fully functioning camera made with nothing but a pinhole, a box, and a piece of photo paper!

Check out how much you can do with a pinhole camera (which includes several ways to make your own!), try experimenting with different sized pinholes, or even make a solargraph!

You can make your own wondrous pinhole photos with our Darkroom in a Box or a DSLR Pinhole Lens.

Photo Paper

So you’ve filled your handmade camera with photo paper. Ever wonder how that magical stuff works?

Photo paper is made simply by coating a piece of paper with a light sensitive chemical called “emulsion.”

It’s then kept in complete darkness until you’re ready to make your picture. When you do, the light that comes into your cameras pinhole gets flipped, squashed, and projected onto the paper in the back of the camera (just like it was projected onto the bedroom wall with a camera obscura!)

The brighter parts of the projected image react with the tiny light-sensitive crystals in your photo paper. When a developer chemical is added, the brighter parts turn dark. Your photo paper stays white in the areas where no light reached it’s surface.

Good news! You can experiment with photo-sensitive paper without having to deal with messy chemicals! Sunprint paper will allow you to make pinhole pictures or photograms that develop in water.

Instant Film

Instant prints magically develop before our eyes. How do they work?

The bottom part of your instant prints contain something very special inside: a mini-darkroom!

That’s right, that tiny pouch on the bottom of your picture is actually holding packets of gooey chemicals that develop your film for you while you watch!

When your instant camera takes a picture, the light travels through the lens and lands on the surface of your instant film.

Then, your instant camera ejects the picture in between two metal rollers. The rollers pinch the chemical packets on the bottom of your film, break them open, and spread the developer chemicals all over the surface of your image.

Watch your instant image develop and you’re actually watching a chemical reaction in a mini-science lab!

BTW, did you know instant film still exists? Try an Instax Camera or the Impossible Project’s PX Films (which work with Polaroid cameras!).

Color Filters

Remember when we showed you how you can make a color image from three black and white ones? or how you can make an epic color mashup using colored lens filters?

Those techniques work because your film is actually made out of three color layers.

One layer records all the red information in your images, one layer records all the yellow info, and the last one records everything that’s blue.

If you hold a green filter in front of your lens, it will filter out all other colors and only allow green light to pass through to your film.

You can experiment with color filtration by using color filters to remove or add certain colors to your photos the old fashioned way!

Related posts:

1. Photo Toys: Don’t Play with Your Food, Play with Your Photos Hurly proved an important point in Episode 9 when he...
2. Use Photo Magic to Trick Your Eyes And Play Pranks With Friends Extra photos for bloggers: 1, 2, 3 Last week when...
3. Play Nicely With Others: Games to Play With Your Camera     A recent major university double-blind study has concluded...

Extra photos for bloggers: 1, 2, 3

Whether Easter inspires Donny Darko nightmares or delightful memories of Peeps o’ yesteryear, it’s an egg-straordinary holiday that calls for some celebratory photo fun.

No, we’re not talkin’ about the awkward Easter family portraits, or having your picture taken with the Easter bunny.

We’re talkin’ about using your own fantastic photos to spruce up an Easter egg—mosaic-style!

This DIY gives you the chance to showcase your pics while making your eggs look pretty, and you don’t have to deal with any messy dyes or markers.

The Peeps approve.

Make a Photo Mosaic Egg

p.s. Our pals at Artsy Couture turn your photos into rad Gallery Blocks. They’re beautiful solid wood blocks with your very own photos mounted onto them!

Why It’s Cracking

Who doesn’t enjoy decorating eggs for Easter??

It’s an activity where your creativity can let loose on a bunch of unsuspecting eggs.

Not only does this photo mosaic method make decorating eggs even more fun and unique, but it also makes it possible for your photos to be friends with eggs.

Cuz normally, friendships between flat objects—your photos—and round objects—the eggs—aren’t the smoothest!

Mosaic Materials:

• A computer
• Files of the photos you want to use
• Adobe Photoshop
• Photo paper of your choice
• A printer
• 2.5″ paper-mâché eggs—you can find these at craft stores, or plastic eggs will work, too
• An egg cup or something that can hold your egg (we used a paint palette)
• A ruler
• A 45 degree/90 degree right triangle ruler
• 2 different colored pens
• Scissors
• Small, clear adhesive glue dots (regular craft glue is fine, too)

To preserve our lovely egg creations, we went with a nonperishable egg option. If ya want, you can do this mosaic on a hard-boiled egg (with its shell still on, of course). However, if you do use real eggs, please note that they are good for up to 2 hours at room temperature, and up to a week in the fridge. As pretty as your eggs will be, don’t let them get spoiled rotten!

STEP 1: Prep that Egg-worthy Photo

Open up the photo file you want to use in Adobe Photoshop or a similar photo-editing program.

Make sure that photo file’s DPI (otherwise known as resolution) is set to 300 DPI.

This ensures your photo won’t be pixelated when you print it out.

STEP 2: Copy & Crop

Make a copy of your photo file.

Then, crop this photo file so that it is a 3″ by 7.5″ rectangle.

STEP 3: Print it out

Time to print out your cropped photo!

Make sure you print true to size—sometimes your printer, by default, will resize your photos to fit the whole page, which you don’t want!

We printed extras just in case. This mosaic business can get messy.

While your photos are printing, see how many Peeps you can fit in your mouth!

STEP 4: Mark it up

Cut out your photo printout and turn it over.

Use a ruler and one of your pens to measure and mark 3.5 inches in from the left of your photo

Make a line from the top to the bottom of the photo from where your 3.5 inch mark is.

STEP 5: Initializing Diagonal Mode

The line you just drew in Step 4 is going to help you start diagonal grid of your mosaic pieces.

Take your right triangle ruler, and place its corner right on the top of the vertical line you drew.

With your other colored pen, trace along both sides of the triangle ruler.

STEP 6: Diagonal Get Down

You’re going to be using the sides of the triangle you drew in Step 5 as guides to drawing out a diagonal grid that will form the mosaic pieces for your egg.

However, only the left and right side of the triangles will be needed; the “bottom” side of the triangle will not be used.

With your regular ruler, measure and make .5 inch marks along the left side of the triangle.

From those .5 inch marks you just made, use your right triangle ruler as a guide to make diagonal lines parallel to the right of the triangle.

Draw your diagonal lines past the “outline” of your triangle, to the edge of your photo.

Now measure and make .5 inch marks along the right of the triangle, and use those marks to draw diagonal lines parallel to the left side of the triangle.

Remember to have these diagonal lines drawn past the triangle’s outline, too.

STEP 7: Work the Grid & Make some Diamonds

From drawing all these diagonal lines in Step 6, you should see that you’re basically making a diagonal grid with diamond shapes that measure .5 inch on every side.

You want to continue making this diagonal grid until you cover the whole back of the photo.

To do this, you’re going to be draw lines beyond the triangle’s outline.

On the left side of the triangle outline, draw diagonal lines at .5 inches apart from each other that are parallel to that left side.

Do the same to the right side of the triangle’s outline, making diagonal lines .5 inches apart that are parallel to the right side.

Keep adding diagonal lines, using previously drawn lines as guides, until you have pretty much covered the back of your photo with a diagonal grid.

These diamond shapes you’ve created within this diagonal grid are essentially the mosaic pieces for your egg.

STEP 8: Label like a Label Machine

With your mosaic pieces all drawn out, it’s time to label ‘em.

Labeling the pieces now will help you when you’re gluing the pieces onto the egg.

This step is important, but may be slightly confusing, so please feel free to refer to the photo on the right to help you understand it!

You’re going to be using one of your colored pens for this labeling action.

First, the parts of the grid that aren’t going to be used in the mosaic are colored in so they won’t be accidentally labeled as a mosaic piece.

Then the pieces that are going to be used in the mosaic can get labeled.

These mosaic pieces are labeled in a backward sequence, since we’re labeling them on the back.

We labeled each piece by “row” and their order in the row. For example, a piece labeled ” 4.3″ means that it’s the third piece in the fourth row.

There are seven “rows” of mosaics, and 8 pieces in each row except row number 1. Row number 1 has only 4 pieces.

Click on the photo for this step to get a better look on how we labeled our mosaic pieces in this step!

STEP 9: Cut Out Your Mosaics

Now that you have your mosaic pieces labeled, you can cut them out with your scissors.

STEP 10: Let’s Get Organized

Before you get all glue-happy, first lay out and organize your photo mosaic pieces.

Lay them out according to their row as well as their individual number.

Doing this will make gluing these pieces much easier and faster in the next steps!

STEP 11: Glue from Da Top

You are now ready to commence Operation Glue.

Gluing will start from the top of the egg, with the 4 pieces of the first “row” of mosaics.

Apply the small glue dots to the bottom corner of your mosaic piece and then stick your piece near the top of the egg.

We use glue dots since they are less messy than using craft glue, but small dots of craft glue should work just fine, too.

While you’re gluing, use an egg cup—we used a paint palette—to help prop your egg up.

STEP 12: Gluing the Second Row

The second row of mosaics is tricky; you’ll be squeezing 8 pieces for that rather narrow row.

Glue the first piece of the second row between the first and last piece of the 1st row.

Each piece in the second row will slightly overlap the previous piece, as well as overlap the first row of mosaics.

STEP 13: Get the rest of your mosaic on

Alright, give yourself a nice pat on the back—you made it through the second row, huzzah!

Before continuing, put on some good music cuz this mosaic biz-ness is about to real serious.

Start your third row between the second row’s first and last pieces.

Glue pieces in that row, slightly overlapping the row above it.

Repeat until you have all the photo mosaic pieces on your egg.

STEP 14: Your Egg-traordinary Result

If you’ve used craft glue, let your egg dry before handling it.

If you used glue dots, your egg is ready to take on Easter.

Admire it, show it off, and/or make some more as Easter gifts!

The other eggs in your Easter basket will be green with envy, that’s fo sho.

Mo mosaic, mo fun

• Hey look, it’s somebunny’s face on the egg above! Make a mosaic with a photo of your face, and if you’re equally feeling festive, rock some bunny ears like we did!
• This photo mosaic method can be applied to any other round object you’d like! Put a photo mosaic on any and all sizes of paper-mâché spheres, or whatever other gluable round object you can think of! Heck, that orange on your kitchen counter looks like it could use a mosaic makeover!
• Feelin’ adventurous? Piece together a mosaic collage of all your travel adventures and put it on a globe!
• Extend the holiday love—do a mosaic makeover on those round Christmas ornaments!

Related posts:

1. How to Turn a Photo into a Mailable Mosaic (or, a Photo a Day and They’ll Think You’re Monet) In the age of the Internet, keeping in touch when...
2. Sometimes Bigger Really Is Better — Turn Photos Into Posters With Block Posters Wanna blow up Uncle Lou to Leviathan-like proportions without breaking...
3. How-To: Turn Digital Photos into Artistic Sunprints! Extra photos for bloggers: 1, 2, 3 Boy, do we...

Hey, you got a new camera strap! Wow, that looks really good on you.

So what are you gonna do with your old one? What?! No way, you can’t just let it lie around in a drawer.

Tell you what. Dig out that old tote bag and put the strap on that. Oh you know — the bag you never use because the handles are too short.

It’ll be easy. Just put an eyelet in each side of the bag and attach the camera strap to those.

Here, look, we’ll show you how. C’mon, it’s gonna look great!

Reuse Your Old Camera Strap on a Shoulder Bag

p.s. Know what else you could do with that tote bag? Turn it into a stealth camera bag.

Why You Cannot Resist It

What you have on your hands is:

1. an unwanted camera strap, and…
2. a bag you don’t use because it doesn’t fit nicely over your shoulder.

We feel a mad scientist moment coming on…

Why yes! It’s so simple! Combine the two to make some sort of mutant unstoppable camera/bag hybrid!

Mwa ha ha ha HA! Now where’s that dratted Igor gotten to?

Whatcha gonna need?

• Camera strap
• Any old tote bag, purse, satchel or murse
• Eyelet kit, large or extra-large (found at sewing/craft stores)
• Hammer
• Block of wood (optional)
• Pencil
• X-acto knife

Ooh, ooh! Shortcut!

Look closely at your bag: if there are loops or D-rings on the sides of the bag, you’re already halfway done.

Just thread the strap through the loops, cinch it up tight, and that’s it! Dang that was simple.

What the Hell Is That Thing?

If you have a plain old loopless, ring-free, ordinary bag, you’ll want to get some eyelets.

Here’s what comes in the eyelet kit:

• Mysterious metal tool, AKA “setter”
• Round black plastic thingy, AKA “anvil”
• Flattish ring with spikes, AKA “washer”
• Ring with tube sticking up, AKA “barrel”

Step 1: Sizing It Up

Position the barrel eyelet on the side of the bag where you want to attach the strap.

Use a pencil to trace the inside of the barrel onto the fabric of the bag.

Step 2: Cut Yer Bag A New One

Use an X-acto knife to cut out the hole you just traced.

Put the block of wood (or a cutting mat) underneath the bag so you don’t cut into your worktable by accident.

Repeat Steps 1 and 2 for the other side of the bag.

Step 3: Go Outside Now

Things are about to get very loud. Seriously. Go.

Step 4: Put It Together

Place the anvil on top of the block of wood.

Put the barrel on top of the anvil with the tube sticking up.

Push the barrel up through the hole you just made in the fabric.

Fit the washer over the barrel, on top of the fabric.

You should now have a sandwich that goes from top to bottom:

• Washer
• Fabric
• Barrel
• Anvil
• Wood

Step 5: Knock the Bejeebus Out of It

This part is going to be seriously loud. Do it outside so your neighbors don’t complain.

Place the bag (with its little eyelet sandwich) on the ground, preferably on concrete.

Fit the setter tool into the barrel eyelet. Make sure all the pieces of the eyelet sandwich are lined up on top of each other.

Now hit the tool very very hard with the hammer. A lot. Do it again.

Keep banging away until the pieces fit snugly together to become one whole eyelet.

Repeat Steps 3 and 4 with the other side of the bag.

Step 6: Cut Off the Old Straps

Holy flurking shnit, that was loud. See? We warned you.

The good news is, you’re almost done.

You can leave the bag’s existing straps on if you like them, but we decided to streamline our bag by cutting them off.

Use the X-acto knife to trim the straps off, cutting close to the body of the bag.

Step 7: Attach the Strap

You ready? ‘Cause this is the last step.

Just thread the camera strap through the eyelet, the same way you would if you were threading it onto a camera.

Tighten it up so it stays on, and you’re all done!

Squee! New Bag Joy!

And there you have it.

Once you were burdened with an unwanted strap and a so-so tote. Now you have an eminently practical, highly comfortable and trés trés stylish shoulder bag.

You may now commence to do the Loopy Happy Slidey-Socks Victory Dance.

You Want More, Don’t You? Thought So.

• Ya know those eco-friendly reusable grocery totes? The ones you hate carrying because the strap cuts into your hand?

  Well, our camera strap hack just made your food-totin’ chores a lot more comfortable.

  You’re welcome. (It’s ‘cos we loves you.)

• We happen to think this trick looks rather fetching with our seat belt camera straps.

  Not that we’d be all skeevy and try to upsell you or anything. Ahem. Sorry. (But seriously, look how awesome it looks in our photo!)

• The possibilities are just about endless here. Turn your laptop sleeve into a bag. Turn your clutch purse into a shoulder bag. Turn your evil stepsisters into mice!

  Well, maybe not that first one, but you get the idea.

Related posts:

1. How to Make a Reversible Cover for Your Camera Strap Extra photos for bloggers: 1, 2~Have a cool photo product...
2. DIY: Make a Scarf Camera Strap
   (It’s Chilly Out There!) Extra photos for bloggers: 1, 2, 3 What’s incredibly soft,...
3. The Dashing DIY Hand Strap Extra photos for bloggers: 1, 2~Have a cool photo product...
]]> http://content.photojojo.com/diy/reuse-old-camera-strap-as-shoulder-bag/feed/ 0 http://content.photojojo.com/diy/make-analog-sunprints-from-digital-photos/ http://content.photojojo.com/diy/make-analog-sunprints-from-digital-photos/#comments Thu, 03 Mar 2011 11:00:09 +0000 sarah http://content.photojojo.com/?p=16134
Extra photos for bloggers: 1, 2, 3


Boy, do we love digital photos.

They’re easy to make, and we can take hundreds of pictures every day without wasting a single roll of film.

Yet after hours of photo-editing and Instagramming from our phones, sometimes we’re left yearning for some old fashioned hands-on photographic fun.

So, imagine how happy we were to discover a super fun, easy, and chemical-free method that you can use to transform your digital pictures into homemade photo sunprints!

While we’d love to spend lots of time in darkrooms printing all our photos, this method let’s us get into some analog printing fun while playing with our digital-based creations.

Make Sunprints from Digital Photos!

p.s. Tumblr isn’t what we drink out of or how we do gymnastics. It’s where you should follow us.



So, what’s a sunprint, anyway?

A sunprint is a print made on special photographic paper that is sensitive to the sun. Unlike normal photo prints, these prints can be made quickly and without any photo chemicals at all.

In fact, they develop in water in less than a minute!

Read on to see how you can transform your own digital pictures to authentic homemade photo prints using this quick and easy process.

What you’ll need:



• A printer or copier to print out a paper negative.
• Sunprint paper (We’ve got some here, or check for it at your local art supply store.)
• A piece of glass (picture frame glass is perfect!) or plexiglass (some sunprint kits already include this)
• A digital photo to transfer
• A dish/bowl of water
• Tape
• A sunny day!

Step 1: Picking & preparing your image.

You’ll want to pick a photo that’s clear and high in contrast without a lot of tiny important details.

If you have digital image editing software, open your digital image, convert to black and white, and invert the colors. (In Photoshop, you’ll find this option under Image > Adjustments > Invert, or Command + “I”.)

You will get better results by increasing the contrast on your negative images before you go on to the next step, but if you don’t have software to edit your images, don’t worry! You easily can get them printed at a local copy shop.

Step 2: Printing your negatives.

Now you’ll want to print out your paper negative.

If you’re printing from home, set the size of the image to the same size as your sunprint paper (ours was 4″x4″).

If you’re printing at a copy shop, simply let them know how large you want the image printed and that you’d like it inverted to make a negative print.

Make sure you print your images in black and white only on everyday printer paper (not on photo paper!)

Step 3: Get ready to make pictures!

Set up your “developer tray”, (a.k.a. dish of water) and other supplies on a table indoors.

To prepare the sunprint for exposure, place your paper negative directly on top of the paper (blue side up), and cover with your glass or plexiglass.

Once the negative, sunprint paper, and glass are lined up, flip them over and use a few pieces of tape to secure their spot on the glass.

Step 4: Expose it!

Now it’s time to let your print sunbathe! Bring it outside and sit it somewhere safe in the sun where it won’t be moved easily. (We put ours in our front lawn.)

Next, give your print some alone time. Let it sit in the sun for 10-20 minutes until the sunprint paper is fully exposed.

To check the exposure of the paper, carefully lift one corner of your sunprint paper up from the back of your frame. If you can see a clear imprint of your image on the paper, you’re good to go!

If not, let your print stay in the sun for an additional 5 minutes and check again.


Step 5: Developing your sunprint.

The best part!

Now that your paper is done exposing, you can develop it in the most simple developer of all time: water!

Just take your sunprint off the back of your glass and place it into your dish of water.

The print will change from a negative to a positive before your eyes! This really gets our photo nerd engine revving.



Step 6: Tada!

After your print has been in water for 30 seconds, it’s good to go.

Take it out of the water and let it air dry. (Be careful! Don’t wipe it dry, or you could wipe away some of your picture!)

After it’s dried, you’re done! (You may now proceed to make sunprints of your entire Flickr stream :D)

Want to do even more?



• Check out this construction paper contact print that photographer David Friedman found at his parents house. It took 30 years to make!
• Want to add some color to your sunprint? Cool! The paper surface is perfect for adding your own artistic style to each print, so why not draw, color, paint or collage over your sunprinted photos?
• Try making a double exposure with two paper negatives at the same time, or one object (like a flower or your keys) and one paper negative.
• Mash up this method and our instagram (instant photograms) method to make prints of your digital photos on instant film! (If you try this, print out a paper positive instead of a negative)
• Love sunprint paper? Try using it in a pinhole camera! (and if you don’t have a pinhole camera, make one out of an oatmeal box!)

Related posts:

1. DIY: Turn Digital Photos into Vintage-like Prints with Mulberry Paper Extra photos for bloggers: 1, 2, 3 What is it...
2. Black and White Conversion: The Best Ways to Turn Color Digital Photos Into Beautiful B&W ~Have a cool photo product or site? Reach 270,000 photo...
3. Digital Picassos — Use Digital Cameras to Create Modern Day Cubism As with many groundbreaking artistic techniques, the validity of art...
]]> http://content.photojojo.com/diy/make-analog-sunprints-from-digital-photos/feed/ 0 http://content.photojojo.com/diy/how-to-make-a-photorealistic-pouch/ http://content.photojojo.com/diy/how-to-make-a-photorealistic-pouch/#comments Thu, 17 Feb 2011 11:00:07 +0000 kelly http://content.photojojo.com/?p=16433
Extra photos for bloggers: 1, 2, 3


Marsupials are jerks.*

Look at ‘em, with their beady little eyes, lording it over us because they’ve got pouches. “Look at us,” they say, “our young don’t even have to walk because we’ve got these rad pouches.”

We found the cure to pouch envy.

It’s an amazing way to turn photos into pouches. All you need is some easy-to-find photo fabric and some glue: you don’t even need to sew.

These are just like the pouches you see in hip shops that look like cassette tapes, tacos or PB&J sandwiches. You can make your pouch look like any object you can find!

Now we can carry anything: cameras, credit cards, spare batteries, tiny fetal marsupials…Take that, smug koalas of the world.

How To Make a Pouch That Looks Like Anything


p.s. Facebook called. It said you should probably “like” us.




Why’s it so frakkin’ rad?

We’ve been seeing these little pouches in hipster gift stores that look like tacos, cassette tapes, pizza, etc. And we thought, “That’s so easy, we could totally make those ourselves!”

So we did. And now we’re gonna tell you how. You can make yours look like anything, but we’re going to start with one that looks like a vintage camera.

Whatcha gonna need?



• Something rectangular to photograph (like a vintage camera)
• Sheet of white or black paper
• Ruler
• Inkjet-printable canvas (found at places like Staples or Office Depot)
• Scissors
• Iron
• Clean kitchen towel or t-shirt
• Fabric glue (found at sewing/craft stores: Unique Stitch or Liquid Stitch are brands you can look for)
• Small Velcro dots (the kind without adhesive on the back)
• Scotchguard or other waterproofing spray (optional)

Step 1: Photograph the Camera

Lay the camera face up on a sheet of paper.

Take a photo of the camera from directly above. Fill the frame as much as you can while getting all of the camera in the shot. Turn the camera over and take a photo of the back.

Avoid directional lighting so you don’t get shadows or highlights. We used diffused window light and bounced our flash off the ceiling.

SHORTCUT!: If you’d like to skip over the shooting/making your own image part, you can download one of our PDFs to make a pouch that looks like a vintage camera. Click here to download the vintage camera PDF.

Step 2: Measure the Camera

Use a ruler to measure the length and height of the camera itself.

We like using centimeters because it’s easier to be accurate when taking small measurements.

Step 3: Crop the Photo

In Photoshop (or iPhoto or whatever), crop the photos as close as you can to each edge of the camera, while leaving a little sliver of negative space on every side.

Resize the photos to be slightly larger than life-size. For example, if your camera is 12cm long, make the photo about 13 or 14cm long. Set the resolution at 300ppi.

Step 4: Create a Layout

Copy and paste the front and back photos of the camera into a new document sized 8.5″x11″ at 300ppi resolution.

Center the photos in the middle of the document, one above the other.

The photo of the front should be on top, right side up. The photo of the back should be on the bottom, upside down.

Step 5: Contrast & Sharpening

Adjust the contrast of the photos so they look a bit darker, more contrasty and more saturated than you think you want. Photo fabric tends to look washed out when it’s printed.

Sharpen the photos to compensate for the texture of the fabric. We used Unsharp Mask at Amount 100, Radius 5 and Threshold 4.

Step 6: Print

Print one copy in grayscale on plain paper to see if the size looks right. Scale the photos up or down to make them close to life-size.

When you’re satisfied, print the image in full color on photo fabric. Refer to the package instructions for loading instructions and printer settings.

Let the print dry and see if you need to adjust contrast, color balance or sharpening (our first print came out looking dark and yellow).

After adjusting your color, sharpening and contrast to your liking, make your final print and let it dry completely.

Step 8: Cut It Out

Cut out the photo, leaving about 1/2″ or 1cm blank fabric around each edge. This won’t show in the final pouch, but you need some extra fabric to put the glue on. (It’s called a seam allowance.)

Fold the extra fabric toward the back of the print. Press the crease down hard with your fingers to make a nice sharp edge.

Fold the print in half along the divide between the top and bottom photos. Make sure that all the edges line up flush and square.

Step 8: Cut Corners

To make the pouch corners lie flat, cut the corners of the seam allowance off at an angle without cutting into the print.

Step 9: Iron the Fabric

Heat the iron to the synthetic fabric setting.

Place a clean tea towel or old t-shirt over the print and iron the creases flat. Putting a cloth over the print will keep the finish from melting and sticking to your iron.

Step 10: Connect the Dots

Glue Velcro dots to the seam allowance along the top of the pouch. This will be the opening to your pouch.

Put the fuzzy side at the top edge of the front photo, and the hooky side at the top edge of the back photo.

How many dots you use depends on how large your pouch is and how tightly you want it to close. You can cover the whole edge with a line of dots, or use just one. Up to you!

Let the glue on the dots dry completely before you test out the Velcro, otherwise you’ll end up pulling the dots right off.

Step 11: Glue it Together

Last step! Yay!

Now glue the sides together. Use a thin, even layer of glue on the seam allowances, and smear it as close to the folded edges as you can.

No biggie if the glue oozes beyond the edge when you press the seam allowances together; just wipe it off.

Let the glue dry completely, then spray the finished pouch with Scotchguard. This is optional, but gives your pouch a little added protection from the elements.

And you’re done! Hooray!

Extra! Extra!: More Amazing Ideas


• Make these pouches any size you want: 2×3″ to carry credit cards, 5×7″ to carry makeup or tech gadgets. You could even make huge 8×10″ ones by using two sheets of canvas instead of one.
• Leave one of the short sides open instead of the long side. Leave the Velcro off to make a slipcase instead of a pouch.
• Try photos of different objects: plates of sashimi, slices of Swiss cheese, packages of bizarre foreign candy. Once you get more comfortable making these, you can try different shapes like vinyl LPs or slices of pizza.
• If you sew, try making a version with a zipper instead of Velcro. How clever you are!
• Make a padded version: cut a layer of felt or fleece the same size as your print and glue it to the back of the print before you glue the seam allowances together.

Related posts:

1. Make Your Own Photo Cuffs Extra photos for bloggers: 1, 2 ~Have a cool photo...
2. Make Your Own Photo Pencils Extra photos for bloggers: 1, 2 This Photojojo made possible...
3. Make Your Own Cardboard Ring Frames Extra photos for bloggers: 1, 2~Have a cool photo product...
]]> http://content.photojojo.com/diy/how-to-make-a-photorealistic-pouch/feed/ 0 http://content.photojojo.com/diy/easy-diy-holiday-photo-ornaments/ http://content.photojojo.com/diy/easy-diy-holiday-photo-ornaments/#comments Thu, 02 Dec 2010 11:00:44 +0000 kelly http://content.photojojo.com/?p=14742
Extra photos for bloggers: 1, 2, 3



Free shipping on orders over $50! New in the Photojojo Shop: The Juice Box Camera A camera dressed up as a beverage. Really. The Twin Lens Holga A twin lens, color flash, and 3D image maker in one. The Wide Angle & Macro Lens Adatper A high quality alt. to an expensive macro lens. The Photojojo Camera Strap Tee Always keep Photojojo, and a camera, close to your heart. and more...

In preparation for holiday celebrations sweeping the nations, may we present:

Ornamentation!

With some simple perforations (and no lamentations) your festive decorations will garner adulation!

To feel the elation, click this link for the demonstration.

Origami Photo Ornaments in 5 Minutes! Squee!


p.s. Do you like things that are awesome? Yeah, us neither. But if you did, we’d tell you to check out our most-favorite new site, Svpply. Here’s why:

(1) Svpply is an endless stream of amazingness from the coolest stores ever.

(2) If you sign up and follow Photojojo on Svpply now, and you’ll get EARLY ACCESS to 3 new Photojojo goodies next week. (It takes 10 seconds.)




Holy cow, these are so easy!

These have to be some of the easiest ornaments we’ve ever made. All you have to do is cut photos into simple shapes, glue them together and hang them up!

They’ll look photastically fetching on your Christmas twig (or Hanukkah bush, or Kwanzaa tree, or Ramadan mastodon… um, mastodons are plants, right?)

Whatcha gonna need?



• A mess o’ photos (4×6 are perfect)
• Plain ol’ white glue
• A pair of scissors
• A ruler
• A pencil
• Scrap paper
• Heavy thread or embroidery floss

Numero Uno: Make a Template

Use the pencil and ruler to draw a few simple shapes on some scrap paper.

This season’s trendiest shapes include:

• The Triangle (oooh!)
• The Square (ah!)
• The Star (oh my!)
• The Dodecahedron (you know, for kids!)

Make sure the shapes are small enough to cut out of a 4×6 photo.

Now cut the shapes out with scissors so you can use them as templates to make the ornaments.

Numero Two-O: Cut Photos Into Shape

To give the shape some, er, shape (ahem) fold the corners of the ornament from each point in toward the center.

Experiment to see whether concave or convex shapes suit you best. Or try both! We don’t judge.

Numero 3PO: Gluuuuuue

Once all your shapes are cut out, pick two matching shapes (you know, triangle+triangle or square+square).

Dab a glob of glue at the center of each shape, on the front of one and the back of the other.

Stick them together so both photos are facing up, one on top of the other. You’ll want to make sure they’re at different angles from one another, so that one doesn’t get hidden behind the other (i.e. the point of one sticks out behind the flat edge of another).

Numero 4²: String ‘Em Up

Cut a piece of thread or embroidery floss about 5-10 inches long

Make a loop out of the thread and glue the ends to the back of the ornament.

Let the glue dry completely before you move on to the next step.

Numero Hawaii Five-O: Show Them Off! Whee!

Ooooh, this is the exciting part! Now you get to hang up your awesomepants ornaments!

Make a bunch of ‘em so you can hang them on any unsuspecting holiday plant you happen to see.

It’s like photobombing, for trees!

Would you like some more awesome?



• Mix triangle shapes with squares! Or squares with stars! Where will the madness end?
• Make ‘em big! Make ‘em tiny! Make ‘em visible-from-space HUGE! (Then hang them from Giant Redwoods and Sequoias! Muahahaaa.)
• Glue colored paper on the back of the photos for reversible insanity!
• Hang ‘em on your rearview mirror, your dog or your friendly local librarian!
• String them together to make a wreath entirely made out of photo ornaments.
• Use this project as a jumping point for larger photo sculptures, like this photo clone or a photo weave!

Related posts:

1. Scissor your Shots to Make a Photoweave Extra photos for bloggers: 1, 2 Chalkboard Speech Bubble (As...
2. Folding + Photos = Origami Photo Twister ~Reach 290,000 photo fans You are getting sleeeeeeepy. Enter an...
3. DIY Photo Ornaments in 15 Minutes or Less Eggnog, gingerbread houses, Santa Clause, Sinterklaas (for our Dutch friends),...
]]> http://content.photojojo.com/diy/easy-diy-holiday-photo-ornaments/feed/ 0 http://content.photojojo.com/diy/diy-photo-frames-with-free-materials/ http://content.photojojo.com/diy/diy-photo-frames-with-free-materials/#comments Thu, 04 Nov 2010 10:00:29 +0000 sarah http://content.photojojo.com/?p=12649
Extra photos for bloggers: 1, 2, 3


We LOVE mail.

Sending and receiving packages, mailing out photo postcards, and even that newfangled electronic “e-mail” stuff.

We love sending you emails packed with the coolest photo stuff, but we extra-specially love when you write us back!

Recently we’ve gotten a few emails asking for tips on what to do with all those extra photos you have around your house.

The thought of our photo friends being tucked away in a dark closet or between book pages for such a long time makes us sad!

In an effort to fix this photo nightmare ASAP, we’re going to let you in on two of our easiest, cost-free, and most creative ways to display your snapshots in DIY style.

How to Make Photo Displays Out of Free Materials!

p.s. Check out our pal, Thrillist, a free email that delivers the one cool new thing you need to know about each day. If you sign up now, you’ll be entered to win a $1000 Apple gift card!



So what do I need?

Although we wish it were, we know not everything in life is free.

Fortunately, most of the ingredients you need for these sweet project are things you can get for free, or things you should probably already have around your house!

The stuff you probably already have:
• Photo prints you want to show off.
• Tape (we prefer white artists tape, but any tape will do).
• A pair of scissors
The secret ingredients:
• Disposable wooden chopsticks (and ribbon if you have it)

OR

• Paint color sample cards (Usually found at the hardware store)

If you don’t have all of these items, we have solutions!

Read on to see how you can still participate in this project even if you don’t have the free items at hand!

Part 1: The Chopstick Method.

For this method, you should start saving up the extra chopsticks you might get from any late-night takeout orders.

You’ll use 1 chopstick for each photo, and about 6″ of ribbon.

If you don’t have any chopsticks or ribbon, you can follow all the same directions, just use a colored pencil instead of a chopstick and cut thin strips of paper to use instead of ribbon!

The Chopstick Ribbon Loop

We’ll be hanging photos from tiny loops of ribbon that are attached to the top and bottom of each chopstick.

First, we cut the 6″ ribbon into 4 even pieces.

Next, we fold each ribbon piece in half, and use tape to seal the open end. (You’ll end up attaching these folded ribbons to the back of your photo print before hanging.)

Try to make each loop even in size and as uniform as possible. This will help later when you string all your photos together on the chopstick.

You should now have 4 ribbon loops. Now, you’re going to tape 2 of the ribbon loops to the back of the photos that you want to hang…


(It should look something like this. Plus, click this photo for more detail & instructions!)

Place your photo face down on your table, align the taped end of the ribbon loop with the edge of the photo, and stick a piece of tape over it to attach it to your photo!

Ribbon, meet Photo. Photo, meet Chopstick.

Now that you’re done preparing, you can start to hang your chopstick photo hanger!

Take the 2 ribbon loops that you haven’t attached to anything yet, and use thumbtacks to attach them to your wall about 4 inches apart.

Grab your photo with ribbon loops and hold it up next to the loops that are attached to the wall.

Horizontally align the ribbons on the photo with the ribbons on the wall.



Now, as if it were a giant sewing needle, take your chopstick and thread it through all the ribbon holes one by one.

Each ribbon should fit on the chopstick, and the chopstick (and photos attached to it) should hang evenly.

If they don’t, you can simply adjust the length of your ribbon loops by detaching them from the back of the photo and taping them back in a different position.

(First) Mission Accomplished!

Yay! Now that you’ve finished one row of the chopstick photo ladder, you can continue to add as many as you want!

Simply cut more ribbon strips, attach half to the chopstick above it (as you did with the ribbon loops on the thumb tack), and half to your new photo(s).

Now that you’re used to the process you can experiment: Try painting your chopsticks, changing the length of the ribbons, or having a bunch of tiny prints hold up a great big one!

Now you’re wise to the basics of the chopstick method. But don’t run out to get Thai food yet! We’ve got another great way to show off your photos that you can use at the same time!

Part 2: The Paint Sample Frame

If you’ve ever painted a room before, you know there are about a gazillion different colors to choose from.

We usually come home with a handful of colorful paint sample strips, eager to pick out a new color for our walls.

But what do you do once you’ve picked out your paint color? Use the paint samples as photo frames, of course!

For this method, it’s best to use small photos that will easily fit on 1-2 paint chips. Instax Mini prints work great for this, and cutting the prints we get back from our half frame camera in half was a dream come true!

Paint Sample Frames: Getting Started

Time to put the cards out on the table!

The first step of making a paint sample frame is arranging all the paint samples you have available next to the photos you want to frame.

Group together any photos and color samples you feel look great together, and put them aside for the next step.

Paint Sample Surgery:

Once you’ve decided on a good fit for your photo, you’ll probably have to do a little trimming to make it look nice and snazzy.

Try to arrange your photo on top of the paint chip so that it covers any words or markings that are showing.

If one paint chip isn’t enough to cover the entire back of your photo, tape more together until it fits!

Now, tape or glue the photo directly onto the paint chip in the place you have decided on. Wait for it to dry and you’re done!

We have to warn you though, the results look so good, we found it hard to stop playing!

Spice Up Your Sample Frame:

You might want to try adding a little something extra to your new colorful frame by drawing on it, writing a caption for the photo, or layering more than one paint chip for a multicolored effect!

We recommend using a permanent ink marker for drawing directly on the surface of paint chips- their glossy surface can make for a lot of ink smears if you write on them with other inks!

Want to do even more with this cool stuff?



• These two free framing methods are so friendly, they work even better together! Add even more color to your paint sample frames by hanging them on brightly colored ribbon and hand painted chopsticks!
• Use the front of your paint chip frame as the front of a home-made birthday card for a friend! Simply tape an extra piece of white card paper to the back of the paint chip, and use scissors to cut off the excess paper!
• Try making a giant scene out of many smaller photos with the chopstick method.
• Use the paint chips to mount all your photos, and you’ll have a most excellent collection you can display on a wall as a big rainbow of photos!
• Think of an even cooler way to improve this method yourself? Just want to share your results? Interested in showing off the paint chip collection you’ve been building for the past 14 years? Well, what are you waiting for! Join us in our forums and show us what you’ve got!
• Have we also mentioned that any photos submitted to our flickr group are automatically seen by the fine folks at ILoveThatPhoto.net? We love their website, and the photos they’ve picked so far have been fantastic! We can’t wait to see what gets submitted and chosen for next weeks picks!

Related posts:

1. The Best Free Photos on the Web (Where to Find Them and What to Do With Them) ~Have a cool photo product or site? Reach 270,000 photo...
2. The Mailable Photo Frame: The Best Way Ever to Share and Show Off Your Photos The minute we saw these Mailable Photo Frames, we knew...
3. Find Detail in Your Photos That You Thought Was Lost… in Five minutes or Less! If you’ve ever wrestled to get a decent shot of...
]]> http://content.photojojo.com/diy/diy-photo-frames-with-free-materials/feed/ 0 http://content.photojojo.com/diy/make-a-color-photo-using-black-and-white-photos/ http://content.photojojo.com/diy/make-a-color-photo-using-black-and-white-photos/#comments Thu, 14 Oct 2010 10:00:45 +0000 sarah http://content.photojojo.com/?p=13270
Extra photos for bloggers: 1, 2, 3


We love the ease of digital photography, but sometimes we get an itch for some experimentation.

We want to feel like old school photography masters: mixing chemicals in darkrooms and watching images as they slowly develop.

So, what did we do when we learned that some of the first color photographs were made almost 150 years ago, and they weren’t made with color film?

We learned how to use our digital cameras to party like it was 1909, of course!

Now we’re going to share everything we learned and show you how to bring out your inner mad-photo-scientist to make full color photographs using only black and white ones!

How to Use 3 Black and White Photographs to Make A Full Color Image!

p.s. You’re invited to join THRILLIST: the free email that delivers the one cool new thing you need to know about each day. Plus, sign up now to be entered to win a $1,000 Apple gift card!



Why’s it cool?

The first color photograph was made in 1861 by James Clark Maxwell (the handsome dude you see to the right).

Maxwell studied the human eye (our favorite lens!) to find that our eyes were sensitive only to red, green, and blue light.

Before long, Maxwell had developed a method (now called the Harris Shutter effect) to mimic our eyesight and make color photographs by making three black & white pictures: One with a red filter over his lens, one with a green filter, and one with a blue filter.

When he combined them together, photo magic happened and the color photograph was born!

It sounded like too good of an experiment for us to let pass by our photo-curiosities, so we gave it a try using our digital cameras on black and white mode, and guess what?! It worked!

What do I need?:



• Any digital camera with black and white JPG mode
• 3 color lens filters: red, green, and blue (We used our color lens and flash filters)
• A tripod or flat surface
• Photoshop or image editing software of your choice

If you don’t have color filters, or your camera doesn’t have black & white mode, you can still experiment with this awesome method!

We’ll be featuring a how-to guide on even more ways this method rocks soon!(Check out the take it further section for a sneak peek!)

Step 1: Setting up your camera

Set your digital camera settings to:

• JPG only (not RAW)
• Black & white mode
• White balance on correct setting for your lighting conditions (just make sure it isn’t on auto!)

Step 2: Setting up your shot

Set your camera and tripod up in front of whatever it is you want to photograph. (Be sure that your camera can stay completely still for 3 separate pictures!)

Next, focus your camera. (And keep your camera on manual focus mode.)

Take a sample photo to make sure your photos look correctly exposed. (If not, adjust exposure settings until they look good).

Step 3: Red, Green, and Blue.

Photograph your scene once with the red filter in front of the lens, once with the green filter in front of the lens, and one last time with the blue filter in front of the lens.

It’s best to always photograph in the same order: Red-Green-Blue. (This will help you figure out which photo came from which filter when you import your photos in the next step.)

Step 4: Download/Develop, Import/Open

Download images to your computer.

Open all three images in your image editing software, and make sure to keep them in the same order that they were shot (red, green, blue).

Each filter changes the way that your camera records the image, so the three photos will look a little different from each other. (For example, one might have a very dark background while the next looks very bright.)

Step 5: A fresh canvas.

What every artist needs to make their masterpiece: a blank canvas of course!

In your image editing software, make a new document that is the same resolution, width, and height as your black and white images. We’re going to be copying & pasting the black and white images into this document, so it’s important that they’re the same size. (Our photos were 5184×3456 pixels at 72dpi.)

Make sure to keep the other 3 images open! You should now have 4 documents open in your window.

Step 6: Channel Surfing!

To continue, you’ll have to know how to separate the different color channels in your image.
(In Photoshop, select “Window”, then “Channels”.)

You will then see a set of “Channels”. RGB – All channels combined, R – only the red information of an image, G – only green information, and B only blue information.

(You can familiarize yourself with channels by checking out our tutorial on black and white image conversion using channels, which is the opposite of this tutorial!)

Use the ‘copy’ command to copy your first black and white image – the one taken with the red filter.

Go to your blank canvas document.

Select only the “red” channel in your channel viewer, and paste your first black and white image into that channel.

Now repeat the process, only deselect “red” and select “green”, then paste in your 2nd black & white image – taken with green filter.

…You see where were going with this! Now select only the “blue” channel and paste in your 3rd black and white image.

Step 7: Finishing up

Now that you have all your black and white images pasted into the different channels of your new document, you’re almost done!

Under the channels window, select “RGB” to view all three channels at once.

If you already see a full color image, hurrah! It worked perfectly!

Sometimes the images don’t line up perfectly (as shown here), and you’ll see weird colored borders around your subject. To fix this, you can use the “move” tool to slightly nudge the images in each color channel around until they line up perfectly.

Step 8: Final adjustments & the finished product!

Now that all of your color channels are lined up, you should have a full color image that looks great!

If you’re not crazy about the way the color turned out, (our example came out a looking a little yellow) you can try adjusting the levels and curves of your image to correct any color imbalances.

Now that you’re a color photo pro, check out our take it further tips to make photos that will blow your friends away!

Take It Further:



• If your camera doesn’t have black and white mode, or you don’t have any color filters, stay tuned! In January, we’re going to teach you how you can use this technique filter-free and get crazy results like the multicolored one you see above!
• You may have noticed that certain things in your photo still have strange color borders around them. (in our finished product photo you can see some strange 3D-like color around the leaves) That’s because anything that moves during the three exposures will show up differently in each color channel. This can lead to some awesome effects, so once you’ve mastered the art of making a color photo, try again with a moving subject!
• If you really want to get in touch with your photo history roots, try shooting this project on black & white film. (Just get your film scanned after processing, then follow steps 4-8!) Your friends will be amazed when you show them the black and white negatives you used to make your true-to-life color photos!
• Browse the Prokudin-Gorskii Collection at the Library of Congress website to view thousands of full color images made with this method from 1905-1915 by photographer Prokudin-Gorskii.
• Check out these great flickr groups for even more info & awesome examples of the three color process: “The Harris Shutter Effect” and “Trichromie-Trichromy, the three-color process”
• As always, share your experiments with us in our flickr group! (We love being able to share cool experiments our readers have tried out on our blog, and we often search out our flickr pool for great examples!)

Related posts:

1. Black and White Conversion: The Best Ways to Turn Color Digital Photos Into Beautiful B&W ~Have a cool photo product or site? Reach 270,000 photo...
2. Make an Epic Color Mashup with 3 Photos You Already Have Extra photos for bloggers: 1, 2, 3 Recently, we showed...
3. What Might You Look Like if You Were Black? or White? or Old? The Face Transformer Shows All Ever wonder what life might be like if you were...
]]> http://content.photojojo.com/diy/make-a-color-photo-using-black-and-white-photos/feed/ 0