The Orton effect is named after photographer Michael Orton. It is a unique expressive photo technique that creates a dreamy artistic feel in the photos with the combination of sharp and blur elements. The original effect was created using two slide transparencies stacked together. The same effect can be easily created using digital photography techniques and tools readily available today. If you are not familiar with this technique already, there are many excellent resources on the Internet.
- Orton Imagery – A “How to” guide for Photographers by Darwin Wiggett of Nature Photographers
- The Orton Effect, a Adobe Photoshop tutorial by PCIN. Lifthacker coverage is here.
- Orton Effect, a GIMP tutorial by Gimparoo!
- Flickr Orton Group (with large collection of photos, discussions, and links to some tutorials)
Today, I am going to show you how to create the Orton Effect using Nikon Capture NX. It is probably easier than any other photo editing software.
Follow these easy steps
- Open the photo in Capture NX.
- Add a Levels & Curves adjustment (got to Adjust->Light->Levels & Curves…, or use the shortcut Ctrl-L) . In the Levels & Curves settings dialog box, enter “3″ into the mid-point value box as shown below. This is not the same as +2EV exposure compensation but it is better because it preserves the highlights better.
- Add Gaussian blur (go to Adjust->Focus->Gaussian Blur…). Experiment with the radius slider to obtain an appropriate level of blur. It is difficult to judge as this point. So you can just set an arbitrary number around 25px and do the final adjustment later. Open the Opacity settings dialog box, change the blending mode to Multiply.
- Finally, add another Levels & Curves adjustment. Similar to the step #2 above, but enter “2″ into the mid-point value box, then change the Opacity blending mode to Multiply.
That’s it! You may wish to adjust the blur radius to get the effect you’d like. Just a reminder: if you change any settings of a previous editing step, Capture NX will un-check the ApplyBox in the editing steps performed after that step. So just re-check these. Here is how the final Edit List looks like.
Before and after
Here is the comparison of the photo before and after.
Before:
After (Same as the title photo):
Download the Capture NX settings file
If you want to run batch processing on many files, a Capture NX settings file is what you need. Here is mine for your convenience. If you just want to test it on a single photo, simply unzip it to a folder and load into Capture NX with a photo open (Batch->Load Settings->Browse..).
Download link: Capture NX settings file for the Orton Effect
Final words
I hope you enjoy reading this Capture NX tutorial on how to create the Orton Effect using Capture NX. If you have followed along other Capture NX tips and tutorials on DPTnT, you probably have found Capture NX quite capable. If you have any comments or suggestions, please feel free to use the comment box below.
Keywords: Capture NX, Creative Techniques, Nikon, Orton Effect, Orton Imagery, Tutorials
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Thank you very much; it’s a very well-written explanation.
Thanks, too, for the settings file; I downloaded the file and tried it just now; it works very well.
On a related matter, do you commonly store your batch settings within a certain folder?; on OS X, Capture NX appears to store settings within one or more folders in a dedicated folder here:
/*/Library/Preferences/Capture NX/Settings/_
[where * is the name of the user and _ is a folder or folders within which Capture NX stores batch settings]
Richard
Richard,
Thank you for your comment. I use Capture NX on Windows computers. The program stores the settings file in a folder like this on Vista:
C:\Users\Max\Documents\Capture NX\Settings Files
If you store the settings file in the default locations, you don’t have to browse to find them. Other than that, it should be ok to store it anywhere you’d like.
Max
Excellent work!!!
Keep Writing for capture NX, this will help us a lot….
Many thanks for your informative and easy to follow explanation of this approach! And more thanks for the download link since I was feeling a tad lazy this morning. It worked like a charm when I applied it to two recently shot informal portraits, and the only additional steps needed were to apply Adjust/Focus/Unsharp Mask to the eyes, eyebrows, and mouth. The difference between the original images and the final product were, as Mark Twain said, like the difference between the lightning bug and the lightning! I’m in your debt!
Vr,
Bruce
Like the effect , well written and easy to follow, Cheers Pete
This is just fantastic – simply one of the best Nikon Capture NX tutorials I’ve ever been privileged to read!
[...] Create The Orton Effect Using Nikon Capture NX | Digital Photography Tips and Techniques [...]
Thank you
thank you its very helpful… its simple and easy to understand