Adding Dirt in Photoshop

[Frank Petronio]

Is there a good dirt filter for Photoshop? I don't want to clean up all these photos, I might as well just F-em up and call it "art".

[David R Munson]

I've always liked rubbing the negative on the darkroom floor.

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/21/36281728_c883ce92cd_o.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/davidrmunson/36281728/)
Antiquarian (http://www.flickr.com/photos/davidrmunson/36281728/) by David R Munson (http://www.flickr.com/people/davidrmunson/), on Flickr

[Math]

The Alien Skin plug-in for photoshop has a pretty decent scratches / dust simulator, but the best way to do it, for me at least, is to get a transparent neg or positive, handle it roughly, and scan it, then overlay that file on top of the photograph. You can re-use the same sheet if you just clean it and make it dirty again, you can match dust / negative size with the original, too.

[SamReeves]

You could always do a little sepia tone in the toilet bowl!

[Bill Burk]

I've always liked rubbing the negative on the darkroom floor.

I don't actually "like" doing that - it sometimes happens though. Usually with the negative I really am trying to be careful with.

Machine Wash filters by MrRetro, intended for T-Shirt designs, may be useful for your purpose.

[Ari]

Is there a good dirt filter for Photoshop? I don't want to clean up all these photos, I might as well just F-em up and call it "art".

Why? Have you been browsing Art Limited? :)

[Tony Evans]

More fun adding it in the Darkroom :).

[Frank Petronio]

I know it is kind of cheesy but... it could work for some bad negatives that are otherwise a mess....

[Mike Anderson]

I'd take some clear acetate film, cut it into 4x5 pieces, soil them or distress them. Then scan them. Then you have a library of "wear and tear" that you can overlay on whatever images you want. If the distress of each distress overlay image is light, you can stack them in layers to get the amount of distress you want.

...Mike