A trend I've seen in the last 6 months is a levels-crushed, posterized, aesthetic, mixed with strong colors that really pop.
The original is here (I've just isolated from the background)
What I know
- There's obviously a papery texture underlying the whole image
- There's a white fleck texture over the top of the image
What I'm fairly sure about
- The colors (e.g. the yellow on the sleeves, or blur on the shoulders) are drawn back in, and blended down. The edges are too straight to not be. I'd be interested in more thoughts on this!
What I don't know
- What's the treatment on the original photographs? Are they just grey-scaled, then massively over exposed, then posterised? Maybe they're messing with curves to reduce the shadows?
I've tried recreations but it's tough to get the original photography so flat with just posterizing adjustment layers in photoshop.