Quick Hack: How To Age a Digital Photograph in Seconds

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Aging a photograph used to be quite a skill. In fact, only the best retouchers could pull it off convincingly. Computers made the process easier; and programs like Adobe Photoshop have "actions" that can make it happen ever quicker and easier. But now, all you need is your digital photo and one Japanese website that can do the conversion in seconds.

As a professional in the ad industry, I'm often required to create visuals for presentations. This weekend, I needed to make a modern photo look at least 70 years old. I searched online for video tutorials that I could use in conjunction with Photoshop, and it looked like it would take about 30 minutes of my time. Then, just before I set about performing the task, I stumbled upon a link that did the job for me in seconds. And when I say that, I don't mean 300 seconds. It's more like 3 seconds.

The site is Japanese, but fortunately it comes with an English translation (look in the top right corner).

You simply open the photo you wish to transform, hit the "convert" button and almost instantly your aged photo will appear on screen. Then you can save it and do whatever you need to do. The site costs nothing, the service costs nothing and the results are very impressive. For something that is as quick as it is, and completely free, I have to say it's one of the best links I have ever found for such a handy tool.

Here are a few before and after photos. I did all three. Judge for yourself it you think it's a good tool. Personally, this one now has a permanent place in my bookmarks folder.

Piggy Bank - New And Aged

Shuttle - New And Aged

My Girls And I - New And Aged

As yet, I don't believe the site has the ability to handle hi-res files, but this is a great start for bloggers, scrapbookers, card makers and journalists. Enjoy.