Photography: An Example Of The Lomo Effect

I have just discovered a new Photoshop trick to produce a lomo effect. Lomo cameras were a type of film camera made in Russia a long time ago. These cameras were pretty much el cheapo, to the extent that they distorted colours and let light seep onto the film. Ordinarily, these are not good things. However, impecunious students realized that these side effects produced crude but wackily artistic pictures.

I have found that this effect works well on tonally flat shots, because it tweaks colour in disturbingly arresting ways. I think it’s not quite as good on busy, crowded shots. Here’s an example. The original picture contains interesting lines (especially the little quirk in the ceiling lights before they disappear), but there are big patches of blah grey, with very little variation in tone and texture.

Now, the pseudo-lomo effect adds unexpected colours according to shadows, midtones and highlights. Add contrast and a heavy vignette, and you get:

Suddenly it’s a moody, slightly bizarre picture, like something you might see in a drunken half-dream.