PhixitGive a photo a faded matte look
Faded photos have gray instead of black in the shadows and gentle, washed contrast, like an old print or film stock. It is the most common look on Instagram for a reason: it flatters almost anything.
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How to make a faded photo effect
- Choose or drop a photo. It opens with Fade applied.
- Adjust Fade until the blacks are as soft as you like.
- Add grain and lower saturation for a fuller vintage look, then save from Export.
Good to know
- The Matte and Faded film looks build on this with matching color and grain.
- For more control, lift the bottom-left point of the curve under Curves.
- Faded photos pair well with a white border, like an old print.
Questions
What makes a photo look matte?
Its darkest tones are lifted to dark gray, so nothing is truly black.
Will fading lose detail?
No. It compresses the range of tones, but every detail stays visible.
How do I make it look older still?
Add Sepia or a warm grade, film grain and a vignette.
Related tools
- Add film grainGive digital photos the texture of film with natural-looking grain.
- Sepia filterTurn photos warm brown like an antique print with an adjustable sepia filter, then add grain and a vignette to age them further.
- CurvesShape the tones of a photo with a curves tool, on all channels together or red, green and blue separately.
- Add a borderAdd a clean white, black or any-color border around a photo in a few clicks, with the thickness set in pixels.