I need editing help please (vintage, discolouration etc).?

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Question:

Okay so, i'm self taught with photoshop, and tutorials confuse me!.
also, right now i only have elements five cos i had to wipe my laptop, and now i cant find my cs2 disk!.
Anyway, i was wondering if anyone can help me with editing, getting that sort of vintage look!.!.!.i mean i can already do it, with fiddling about with things but not to the great extent that i want in pictures such as these :

http://flickr!.com/photos/cmcmahon/269242!.!.!.
http://flickr!.com/photos/cmcmahon/245177!.!.!.
http://flickr!.com/photos/cmcmahon/245259!.!.!. (the one on the right)
http://flickr!.com/photos/cmcmahon/231025!.!.!.
http://flickr!.com/photos/cmcmahon/212509!.!.!. ( how do i get that sort of colour!?)

You may not call it vintage, but that is the kind of look that i'm looking for!.!.!.like, so that it looks old, and discoloured etc :]

Thank you very much :]
Any help is really appreciated!.
ps, colleen is an amazing photographer :]

Linzi
xoxoWww@QuestionHome@Com

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker:

There's no one adjustment to get a "vintage" look!. Typically, old photos fade, but the colors fade unevenly!. To get that sort of look, play with levels, contrast, color saturation, color balance, etc!. For example, reduce the output level for white, skew the color balance toward, cyan, and green or maybe yellow, reduce color saturation, and increase the contrast a little!. You just have to experiment with the controls to get something you like!. The colors and qualities of the original image have an effect too, of course!.

That last Prague Castle picture looks like an overlay image may have been used to add the appearance of creases and schmutz!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

Use "Colour Balance" And "Levels" to get desired colours and intensity in the pictures!.

You can get these option by pressing CTRL+B and CTRL+L respectively!.
Or go to IMAGE > Adjustments menu!. Www@QuestionHome@Com