If you’ve taken an edgy portrait, and want to style it up with a neat effect that’s a little bit different, cross-processing is always worth a try, writes Jon Adams. It’s actually an old-school film technique that was achieved by processing slide film in chemicals designed for colour negative film (or vice versa) and the results gave a boost in contrast and rather unpredictable colour shifts. Always a bit hit & miss, it was nevertheless popular – especially with those looking to give their portraits some punk styling!
In this video, I will show you how to create custom ‘X-Pro’ effects quickly and easily using a Curves Adjustment Layer in Photoshop, though since Curves can be found in Lightroom and Camera Raw as well, you can do the technique straight from a raw file if desired.
Shaun Pugh
Thanks John. I’ve loads of edgy looking portraits from gigs. I’ll have a play with that.