The Orton Effect

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Creating Impressionistic Photographs with Photoshop Elements

First introduced by Michael Orton in an article from Popular Photography, the Orton Effect allows you to create images that are impressionistic and ethereal.

Before digital photography, "slide sandwiches" were used to create this effect. I learned this technique from Canadian photographer Andre Gallant at a workshop in New Brunswick, Canada.

He would create two overexposed slides of the same subject, one with sharp focus and the other blurred, and then sandwich the two slides together, and print from the newly created slide. Andre has a beautiful book of his slide sandwiches, called Dreamscapes.

The purpose of this page is to introduce you to this effect and point to in-depth tutorials and articles that explain how it can be accomplished digitally using various editing programs.

I will show you some of my Orton images and explain how I apply this effect using Photoshop Elements. My tutorial is not meant to be in-depth, but to give you an overview as to how it is done and point you to other resources.

Here's an Example

Here's How I Created the Effect

using Photoshop Elements

This is the original image.

Step 1

Open the orignial photo in Photoshop Elements

Open your photo in Photoshop Elements (or other editing software) and create a duplicate layer.

(LAYER --> DUPLICATE LAYER)

Step 2

Blur the duplicate layer.

On the duplicate layer, go into levels and move the middle slider to the left from 1.0 to 2.0. This creates an overexposed copy of your original photo.

ENHANCE --> ADJUST LIGHTING --> LEVELS

Then, on the same layer, click on FILTER --> BLUR --> GAUSSIAN BLUR, and set the radius to approximately 25 pixels. You can experiment with this number.

Step 3

Over expose the original photo.

Click on the original layer now, and go into levels, this time moving the middle slider to the left from 1.0 to 1.5. This creates a slightly overexposed version of this layer.

ENHANCE --> ADJUST LIGHTING --> LEVELS

Step 4

Blend the two layers together.

Now, by clicking on "Multiply" in the Layers menu on the right hand side, the layers are blended. With this photo, I then flattened the image and slightly lightened it using the middle slider on Levels.

LAYER --> FLATTEN IMAGE

What Do You Think?

Obviously, this is highly subjective. Some might prefer the straight photo.

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If You Prefer Video Instruction

Here is a tutorial by Yanik Photo School

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Video by Some Other Bob

on a 3-layer Orton Effect

A couple of extra steps allow you to keep some sharpness in your photo.
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Orton Links

Orton Imagery - A "How to" guide for Photographers
Nature Photography Online Magazine
Tutorial by Chris Empey
Open Source Photography - tutorials, tips, and how tos.
Orton Techniques using Paint Shop Pro X
Fotonomy Blog
Making A Great Sandwich
The old fashioned way, using slides - by Tony deGroot
Orton Group on Flickr
Any Flickr user can post their Orton photos here.
Andre Gallant's Website
Great montages by a master!
Orton Effect using GIMP
Ichimusai's Place - a blog.
Craig Ferguson Photos
Demonstration of the Orton technique using Photoshop.

Creative Photography

with Michael Orton

Photographing Creative Landscapes: Simple Tools for Artistic Images and Enhanced Creativity

Amazon Price: $18.76 (as of 06/03/2012)Buy Now
List Price: $29.95

From the creator of the Orton Effect

More Books on Photo Impressionism

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More Examples of Orton Photos

Thanks for Visiting My Page on the Orton Effect.

Did you learn anything here?

  • The_Micro_Farm_Project May 20, 2012 @ 8:30 pm | delete
    Very interesting. Wish I had Photoshop on my computer. Thanks!
  • Pastiche May 19, 2012 @ 7:57 am | delete
    Very cool! I'm going to try this Orton effect soon'
  • Aldo_Alligator May 16, 2012 @ 11:24 pm | delete
    Thanks for the tutorial. I can think of a few photos that might benefit from this effect. Time to experiment!
  • SilmarwenLinwelin Feb 13, 2012 @ 3:32 am | delete
    I've never heard of the Orton Effect before, but it really helps creating dreamy photos, thanks for sharing !!
  • OzGirl Jan 17, 2012 @ 7:47 pm | delete
    I will most certainly give this a try the next time I'm playing around with my photos in Elements. I esp like your "green on green" photo - stunning!
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About the Author

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by

kimmanleyort

Mother, wife and photographer who never stops learning. The Orton effect is one way I like to enhance photos to give them an impressionistic look.
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Featured Page Using the Orton Effect 

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Recommended Book 

Dreamscapes by Andre Gallant

Dreamscapes: Exploring Photo Montages

Amazon Price: $30.00 (as of 06/03/2012)Buy Now

Latest Posts from my blog, Be Inspired 

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