We’ve fallen in love with dreamy photo filters! It’s common to find colorful filters you can add to your photos in iPhone apps. They can also be added using Photoshop. We thought it would be fun to do it the old-fashioned way, though! Here’s how we made our own filters for our DSLR cameras…
First, cut pieces of transparency about 1 inch (all the way around) larger than your camera lens. Then draw on them with sharpie (or any permanent marker). We experimented a lot and found that large, bold shapes work best. Small doodles and drawings do not show up. Above are a few of our favorite homemade filters.
To use your filter, simply hold it over your lens when shooting. (with auto focus enabled) Move the filter around over your lens as you frame your shot. You’ll be able to choose which part of your photo is in focus and which part is blurry and colorful!
Here are a few examples of photos we snapped using our homemade filters…
The results are a little unpredictable, but that’s what we love about it! What do you think? Do you plan to create your own dreamy filters? It’s a fun and easy way to spice up your next photo shoot. xo. elsie
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125 Comments
How fun! I love the yellow-toned filters, especially that first photo!
I’ll definitely have to try this – reminds me of something we would have done in photo class back in high school or college. 🙂
xo,
Morgan
seemomogo.blogspot.com
How fun! I love how they turned out, especially the blue. Definitely going to try this.
http://catherinedenton.com
Catherine Denton
Love this idea. Might have to give it a try! Love how the first photo with Emma turned out.
Wow, love this idea! I’m going to try it tonight 🙂
This is Genius! You girls always come up with something so Creative!!
Thanks for sharing the goods 🙂
Sisie
Glorious Adornment
Ooh LOVE this idea! Going on a trip to CA and I’ll bring some along!
I love this idea…so much fun! Now where did I put my sharpies? Thanks for the great idea!
Rebecca
Heronscrafts.blogspot.com
Thats such a cool idea, and photos turned out beautiful.
Have to try this!! So awesome 🙂
I love this idea! I love using filters on photoshop but now I really want to try it the “old fashioned way!”
Can’t wait to try!
youreinbrookelynn.blogsopt.com
This is so creative! I love my filters from photojojo, but I will definitely try this!
wow, this is so awesome annnd so easy. I love it when that happens 😀 Thanks! 🙂
This is so cool and my favorite DIY yet! So inspiring and now on my to do list:)
xoxo
Nat
Lovely idea. I might try using old transparent (coloured) sweetie wrappers to see what effects I can get.Rx
http://sandersonsmithstory.blogspot.co.uk/
Fantastic way to use filters. I’m definitely going to try it.
You could try holding the filters over your flash as well. I like using my Diana F+ flash color gels with my DSLR.
So clever!! 🙂
http://islaeverywhere.blogspot.fi/
great and simple idea!
Um, WOW! This is so neat! I can’t wait to try it myself 🙂
http://lifeatruestory4.blogspot.com/
What a great and simple idea! Love it!
http://theoccasionalindulgence.blogspot.com
ooh, I totally need to try that! What a great idea! I love how the mustard and magenta turned out in photo form. Beautiful!
Such a good idea, can’t wait to try!
wow! amazing idea. thanks so much!
grace
http://herumbrella.com
Oh yeah! I’ll definitely try it!! 🙂
http://lealuu.com
This is why I love youuuuu! I’ll be trying this out sometime soon.
I love using self made camera filters, but something I am loving to use are things found in nature. Like shooting through different colored leaves. Have you ever tried that?
http://voiceadream.com
What a great idea!!! I love the pink filter 😀
xo
cool idea! i’ll have to give it a whirl. like the old “sunglasses” trick.
teri
http://www.bockting.blogspot.com
how neat!
This is such a good idea! Definitely going to give this a go some time! thanks for sharing this
http://bravebrunette.blogspot.com
I want to try this now!
thanks for sharing
xoxo
LOL SO CUTE:D
this is so clever! i adore this idea, will definitely have to try it. i think the results are beautiful!
-b
http://www.seacreaturess.blogspot.com
This is something I’m going to have to try soon. Thanks!
Lovely! You ladies are always so creative~
http://slidingdrawersblog.blogspot.com/
I wonder how well that would work with a compact camera. I’ll have to have a go.
A fun idea for sure 🙂
Sarah
http://acatlikecuriosity.blogspot.co.uk/
Thanks for sharing! This is a great idea, I’m always looking for new things in photography that are fun and affordable…this is perfect!
Wow, that’s a great idea! I never really thought about doing that before.. This is brilliant.
These photos are great! I never would have thought of making your own filters. Great idea!!
http://thelittletexan.blogspot.com/
SUCH A GREAT IDEA! You guys are amazing! Definitely trying this soon!
great idea!!!!
kisses
This looks like it would be fun to try my hand at. I’ve only really begun to get into photography this year but have always appreciated the beauty and art behind it:)
http://www.popsparkleandshineclub.com
Great idea!
http://www.creativityandchocolate.blogspot.com
This is such a nice idea! I’m totally going to to this soon :), thanks! And I LOVE YOUR BLOG!
oh, my beautiful things. this is such an exquisitely simple & darling idea… i’m in love!
xo
http://hersuitcaseheart.tumblr.com
This is such a cute and wonderful idea! I’m just getting hooked on photoshop myself after finally taking a class in it and am loving the worlds of possibilities that have opened up. But I do love the idea of doing some of these things in camera. Great post!
http://nomadic-d.blogspot.com/
I love transparency paper, there is no end to the fun you can have with it! I’m surprised that the lines didn’t come out at all when you took your photos; how clever! Can’t wait to try it, thanks for the inspiration as always…
I love these! Of course you an add all kinds of filters in Photoshop afterwards, but I love that it’s unpredictable and with a slightly different result each time. I will definitely give it a try!
I love this idea. Thank you for sharing. I would love to try it
Great idea! The purple one if my favorite. You and your friends are gorgeous.
M.
These are fantastic! Whatbavwonderfullynsimple idea! Thanks for sharing!
Oh yes, I will definitely be trying this one. how cute would it be to leave a big heart of clear in the middle?
Excellent! Thanks for such a useful DIY project!
http://www.xeanafashion.com
Such a great idea!
I love little diy projects like this.
Thanks for sharing 🙂
xo Sari
This is great! I’m going to try this for sure!
Where I’m from, it’s almost impossible to find filters now. I’ve been using different coloured sheer silk scarves. Which also works amazing by the way!
Oh, this is genius! I will definitely work like this in the future. Thank you for sharing!
wow these are SO cool! genius! i never would have known it was that simple to create such effects, thanks!
katie x
This looks like a fun idea! – Leah
leahwise.wordpress.com
ummm best idea ever. Who isn’t obsessed with filters these days?!? pinning.
Aw this is fantastic! I love the filter/random blurry look – I tried the free-lensing thing after you guys posted on it and it turned out wonderfully. Thanks for sharing! Hope to see more fun tips! 😀
Love this idea. I have done something similar when processing in the darkroom, but never thought to do it on the camera… Must try!
http://iliska-dreams.blogspot.com.au/
Wow! Such a neat idea!
🙂
Xx
http://kendra-genevieve-rose.blogspot.ca
Love this idea! Can’t wait to try it out!
I can’t wait to try this out… It looks like so much fun! Thanks for sharing! 😀
Incredible! I can’t believe how simple his was done. Im certainly going to give it a shot! I love the way they came out, especially the pink.
I love this! How fun!!
mintclothingcompany.blogspot.com
Xx
Love this idea – definitely trying it !
What a neat idea! I love the idea of doing it the old-fashioned way, instead of using Photoshop 🙂
i did an ir on filters in photography. i read a book about making your own but i still haven’t go around to it. i tried out a bunch of different filters when i did it. i really love my defractor and my fog filters. i definitely recommend them.
that’s so cool!
I was wondering how you did the black and white one? Did you just color over with gray??
These photos look beautiful! Especially with those handmade filters! So creative and absolutely beautifying!
Taylor,
I changed it to black and white in photoshop. You can see that the filter still creates a blur, even when you can’t see the color. 🙂
That is such a great idea! I need to do that soon!
xoxo,
Laura
http://lauraisthriftingthroughlife.blogspot.com/
Such a creative and fun thought! I’ll have to see if there’s a tactile difference between doing that or just adjusting the RGB through photoshop.
Such a great idea! Last Christmas I tried to add bokeh to my pictures, but that didn’t work as well. This looks like a lot of fun too though. Worth the try for sure!
xo Leonie
http://www.thesignaturebow.com/
WAAAAAAAAAAAAY COOL, my friends!!!
Another tip; use your sunglasses as a filter! I find it gives a nice yellowish/vintage feel 🙂
What an amazing idea!
great idea! the result is so good!
Oooh…what an awesome idea!! They look lovely, too – such a great subtle tint of color… 🙂
A wonderful idea. I might try that once 🙂 Lovely photos as well.
omg. so this is how it’s done. this is briliant!!!
Wow, what a cool idea! I’ll definitely try this! Love your ideas. (:
Wow! Very effective – I think I know what my weekend project will be now….! Thanks 🙂
What an excellent idea! I am definitely going to try this! Thanks for sharing.
this is such a great idea 🙂 have to try it …
nice greetings birdyblue
Awesome! thks for the great idea!
I really love this idea! I have to try it!
http://abeautifulmess.com/2012/09/homemade-photo-filter-diy.html
That’s cool 😉
that’s cool
http://www.psimoduloquadro.blogspot.com
Those are amazing, what an incredible idea! 🙂 I will try it today, now!
You just need to have an auto-focus camera for that…
Love your photography! You guys have a signature look to your pictures and this is a great tutorial for getting one’s own signature look!
Such a cool idea!!!!
This is such a fun way! You can always use nylon stocking as well. Depending on which shade you use you can get a very dreamy result. Just hold it in front of your lens or attach it with a rubber band.
Love your blog, always so inspiring!
So nice…
Yes! Also- if you use a basic UV filter over your lens, you can cut the transparency a tiiiny bit smaller than it and use UV filter to hold it in place (place your DIY filter on the lens and then screw the UV filter over it). During the bokeh season (Christmas!!), I like to use a cookie press disc behind my UV filter to get some cool shapes.
this is great! what color did you use for the bottom photo, or did you edit to b&w in post?
Wow, this is awesome!
That is unbelievably cool! Thank you for sharing this. I’m going to have fun playing around with this.
http://shannonhearts.blogspot.com/
That is such an awesome idea! Thanks for sharing!
These are so fun. Love the purple!
-Lindsey
http://ettu-tutu.blogspot.com
That’s beautiful. I’m definitely gonna try it.
What a great idea I should most definitely try it out!
XoXo
Plami
http://www.fashionthrill.com/
That’s so cool!! I’m going to have to try that… now to find transparencies! 🙂
cute!! Elsie, would you mind sharing how you did your hair? its adorable!
love it!
Thanks for another great idea, ladies. I ended up making a filter with a plastic snack lid since I didn’t have any transparencies lying about. It didn’t turn out as nice as yours but I had a lot of fun anyway. Thanks again!
http://pinkstripeysocks.blogspot.com/2012/09/crapty-fridays-diy-photo-filters.html
Great idea! Adds an instant backdrop!
Ariana
http://shopaholicundercover.com
A simple idea for a wonderful effect, maybe I’ll try !
Thanks for sharing !
Your posts ?❤ creative,genius and all that!!
That’s really cool! Who woulnda thought!
Very fun! I’m always trying new things with my DSLR. Definitely have to try this!
Such a fun idea! 🙂
http://seelovemake.blogspot.com
How fun – and EASY. My kind of DIY, and I LOVE the results!
XOXO
-Daisy Nguyen from PS BANANAS fashion blog:
http://psbananas.com
This is fantastic; I can’t wait to try it out! Thank you for sharing!
catleone.blogspot.com.au
Ooh, looks so pretty! I love your blog!
I experimented a while ago with this. I used wrappers from sweets, the ones used to wrap quality street chocolates. It’s pretty ghetto but it worked! Plus I got different effects if I covered the flash instead of the lens.
what is transparency?
looks like fun!
Those are really pretty pictures! 🙂 I’m gonna try those 🙂
I have to try this!<3 I do not own such camera but I will try it out with my Blackberry, who knows probably works. Such a creative idea, thanks for sharing!:)
Samantha xx
PS: Obsessed is kind of a harsh word to tell you how I feel about your blog, I'd rather say... I'm in love with your blog 🙂
Whoa~! That’s just an awesome idea. I would have never guessed it worked so well. Thanks for sharing 😀
Love the yellow filter on the middle photo. What a great idea! I am a graphic designer and know how to use photoshop but I am going to try this when I get my new camera! For the middle photo did you have filter only part way over the lens?
http://www.aliandang.com
LOVE this idea
Love the yellow filter on the middle photo. I’m gonna try those