ARE you ready to travel through time with your phone camera? Well, you’re in luck – vintage photography is currently on-trend.
Once upon a time, photographers had to use equipment and film from a past era in order to produce authentic vintage-style photographs. But thanks to technological advancements, actually owning a 35mm camera or expensive film is no longer essential if you wish to take photographs in the style of the past.
Vintage photography is now easier than ever to recreate, thanks to apps and specialized filters that can recreate the classic film look on digital photographs.
Everything is possible nowadays if you have the desire to try new things and creativity. As long as you love photography and have some editing skills, you’re all set!
Huji Cam
When it comes to the vintage filter, the Huji Cam is the most famous and faithful recreation of a disposable camera from 1998, right down to the date stamped on your images. The film simulation is fairly convincing, with light leak effects, colour fringing, and an overall contrasted look, reminiscent of a roll of cheap ISO 400.
Huji Cam is an app whose premise is to help you shoot pictures like it’s the 1990s. The interface has the look and vibe of a disposable camera, with buttons on the screen for the flash and the shutter. There is also a makeshift keyhole viewfinder that you’re supposed to peer into in order to magnify it.
Once you shoot, expect distorted colours, light leaks, blurs, grains, and also a digital timestamp that takes you back to the 90s era. You can’t tinker with the effects, but if you feel overwhelmed by the options offered by other retro apps, Huji Cam’s simplicity is reminiscent of the past.
1998 Cam
The 1998 camera app is available on both Android and IOS and, what’s more fun, it’s free! This app has been extremely popular since 2019, and just like the name suggests, the camera provides the exact same 1998 disposable film camera, just like the Huji.
With a higher user rating on Google Play than Huji, this app is surely worth it. When compared to Huji, 1998 Cam’s free edition offers a wide range of editing capabilities, including the ability to alter existing photos.
Rather than relying on the app to generate random effects, users may choose from a wide variety of presets, overlays, glitch effects, grain, light leaks, and scratch effects to customise photos.
Gudak
Gudak is the app for you if you want to re-create the experience of shooting with a disposable film camera. With a rigorous set of regulations, this app severely restricts your freedom of expression in comparison to the other apps on this list.
Developed by the Korean company Screw Bar, Gudak provides a roll of 24 photo films that can be taken through a little viewfinder. When you finish a roll of film, you must wait one hour before loading another and resuming photographing.
Thus, the application restores the long-lost element of surprise. By the time your photographs are developed, you will likely have forgotten exactly what you were photographing. The creators have taken extensive measures to prevent you from cheating by altering your device’s date and time.
VSCO
The majority of people would have known about this VSCO app, as it was wildly popular when it was initially introduced and continued to dominate the storage space of many mobile devices until today.
VSCO is a photo-editing application that consists of over 200 presets, some of which were created by Kodak, Agfa, and Ilford. It is not only a retro-inspired software since it offers other alternatives for people who like a more “editorial” and aesthetic appearance.
Retro photography aficionados will surely go for the options such as M4-6 (Subtle Fade), designed to mimic 1970s hues, and P 1-3 (Instant-Warm), which pays homage to the instant film and its trademark creamy tones.
In addition, the Film X Library from VSCO is also a faithful recreation of the look of vintage Kodak, Fuji, Agfa, and Ilford films. The KCP2 pays tribute to Kodak’s Color Plus 200 film from the 1970s by using tones that are somewhat warmer and have lower contrast and saturation.
Dazz Cam
The Dazz cam, which claims to be “Your pocket photographer,“ has no post-processing; the most authentic film photos and video are shown instantly with a single click.
Dazz Cam is the last vintage camera app on our list. Like the previous entries, it attempts to mimic the 1980s analogue film appearance. Dazz Cam can restore an image’s colour, texture, and noise and includes a variety of light leaking effects to give photographs a more genuine appearance. The Dazz camera will consistently introduce new cameras, so you will always have plenty of fresh settings to play with.
A self-timer feature, a fish-eye lens, a variety of flash options, and exposure control are among the notable features of this app. For those who wish to post their artwork on Instagram, there’s even a square frame.
