The Orton effect is where in post processing you make the light look more soft, dreamy and glowing (just a bit). This can really help to give your images a nice moody feel. Like most post processing tricks one has to be careful not to overdo it or the image will look fake. Many photographers just love this effect. Personally I am not a big fan of it. There are though certain situations where it works very well to add a bit of mystery.

          One such situation was found in the ghost diamond town of Kolmanskop in Namibia (please see my workshop offerings if you want to go shoot with me there). The desert won the battle and overtook the town as there is no water. There are many buildings still trying to battle the sand. This place is just wonderful for photography. No matter what the light looks like outside you can still shoot many images inside.

          Just look at this scene:

I am in love with this image. I can just stare at it. There are plenty of lines that draw the viewer into the image. The light of the window on the other end of the passage is also a strong compositional element that draws the viewer's attention there as bright spots always draw attention. Due to the mystic of this place I wanted to add just a hint of mystery. This is where the Orton effect comes in. The light in that far window was just plain outside light shining in. The light was harsh and not very flattering. So in post processing I changed the white balance of just that area somewhat to make the light a bit warmer. Then I added the Orton effect to make the light softer, dreamy, and a bit more glowing.

          There are many ways to add the Orton effect. The one that I prefer and find the easiest to do is by using Luminar. Luminar is a photography editing software that is cheap to buy, easy to use, and yet powerful. With just a few clicks you are done and you can even just paint it in or out so that the effect appears only where you want it to. If you would like to check this program out click on affiliate links on my site.

          What do you think, does this effect add just that little something to this image?