photo by: Chris Wiltz

Lomography is a special brand of photography that was first introduced in the 1980s with the introduction of the Lomo LC-A camera. This cheaply constructed camera gathered a loyal following among photo enthusiasts and hobbyists because of the unique quality of the photos it took. Lomo pictures are often recognized by their vibrant, but saturated colors, exposure quality, and darkening around the edges of the photos. Actual Lomo cameras have become collector’s items and hence potentially very expensive, but you can mimic the effect of the Lomo camera using Adobe Photoshop image editing software.
 Difficulty: Moderate
Instructions
 

Things You'll Need
 Computer (PC or Mac)
 Adobe Photoshop (version 8.0 or higher)
 

1
Image before Lomo effect has been applied

Open the image you want to edit in Adobe Photoshop. Select “Layer” then “New Adjustment Layer” and “Brightness / Contrast.”Name the layer whatever you want - "Color” should be set to None, “Mode” should be Normal, and "Opacity" should be set at 100%. Add about 20-30 points to the brightness.

Image before Lomo effect has been applied

 2

Create another Adjustment Layer for Hue/Saturation by selecting “Layer” then “New Adjustment Layer” and “Hue/Saturation.” Again, name the layer - Color” should be set to None, “Mode” should be Normal, and "Opacity" should be set at 100%. Increase the image’s saturation by roughly 20-30 points.

 3

Choose the Rectangular Marquee Tool (shortcut, press M). Set the Feather amount to about 1/12 of the width of the image. For example if the image is 800 pixels wide set the Feather amount to 67 (800/12). You can check the size of an image by clicking “Image” then “Image Size” or by pressing Alt+Ctrl+I.

 4

Select the entire image by clicking and dragging the mouse cursor to place the marquee around the entire image.

 5

Click “Select” and then “Inverse.”

 6

Add a new layer by selecting "Layer", then "New", then "Layer" or pressing Ctrl+Shift+N. Name the Layer whatever you want - "Color” should be set to None, “Mode” should be Overlay, and "Opacity" should be set at 100% - then click OK.

 7

Set the foreground color to black. You can do this quickly by pressing “D” on your keyboard.

 8

Choose the Paint Bucket Tool (shortcut press G), and then fill the layer with black.

 9

De-select the layer by selecting “Select” then “Deselect” or by pressing Ctrl+D.

 10

Duplicate the layer by selecting “Layer” then “Duplicate Layer.”

 11

Choose the Gradient Tool (shortcut press G or click and hold the mouse over the Paint Bucket Tool) and select Radial Gradient.

 12

Choose “Foreground to Transparent” in the Gradient Picker. Then switch the foreground color to white.

 13

Start with the cursor in the center of the image, and then click and drag the gradient tool out to a far edge of the image.

 14
Final result after effect is applied

Decrease the opacity to roughly 50% to 60%.