Recreating Yesteryear Photographically
Many people have considered what makes a photograph look old. Of course, the best way to find out is to look at some old photographs yourself. The question becomes a bit muddier when you have to consider who took the pictures? Was it a professional, was it an average Joe? What kind of equipment did they have? Many old pictures are plagued by being just out of focus because the focus screens were just off. One obvious difference was the use of black and white film. They didn’t have color on one piece of film back then. In the 40s color was done by three frames of film each with a different color filter (red, green, blue). The composite became the color rendition. Color film didn’t make it onto one frame until the 50s. Even then, it was no where near as stable as the black and white film.
The archive of pictures I inherited from my grandpa was all shot on two types of film: Plus-X and Tri-X. The formulations have changed over the years, as has the backing (the original backing is not “safety” film, so it degrades over time). I’ve also noticed the exposure is all over the place. Mostly from using the “Sunny 16” rule. The sky was plain white, or there wasn’t a whole lot of shadow detail. The things that we take for granted now were not in existence then. Meters were either very expensive and only for the elite pros, or they just didn’t exist at all. These technical challenges aside, there is one thing that separates yesteryear pictures and pictures of today—and that is on the creative side of things.
Back in the day, a portrait was a formal thing. You dressed up for the occasion. Even the informal pictures had a certain class about them. I’m not necessarily romanticizing the past, but things have changed in the past 60 years. What is socially acceptable, and what is not. How people dress. The expressions on their faces. 60 years ago the world had finally ended its second war, a war that spanned both hemispheres of the globe. These people have a depth of character and presence in their eyes that you aren’t going to see in today’s average person. There are certain parts of the world today that have been ravaged by war for many years, and you’ll probably be able to see the same character in the eyes of people from those regions. But if you are in America, Western Europe, or even Japan most people have forgotten the horrors of war and what it does to a soul. Even if you had the equipment to make sure everything was in focus, and the exposure was nailed every time, you would still notice a difference between pictures of people 60 years ago and today. If you truly want something that looks retro, you have to put yourself in their shoes. Pay attention to all the details such as clothing, architecture, etc. Maybe you want to add mistakes to make it even more believable. It’s just something to think about.
