This from one of my favorite fotographers.
Sednaqui (c) www.managmentartist.com




How do I get this look and how much is photoshop?

filter in photoshop. depends on what photoshop you want from alittle to about 500-600

Wide angle lens. Shoot low. Don't worry about focus. Slow shutter. Large aperture. Muck it up some more in Photoshop.

EDIT:SAYCHEEZ is right about smearing vaseline on a UV filter as well....

My guess is that a photo editing program was not used (at least not to the extent that you think it was).

The photo appears to have been taken by using a softening / diffusing filter with a hole cut into it, just a bit off center.

While the filter could have been a commercially available product, similar results can be acheived using white nylon fabric stretched over the lens, or a smearing agent (Vaseline or fingerprints) wiped around on a glass filter.

It seems as though a shutter speed of about 1/15 or 1/30 of a second was used, because the people in the background are a little blurry while the main subject and the person standing directly behind her are not moving and more in focus.

oh yeah, well that too

This could be a pinhole camera image.

Otherwise - it's tough to say. Lots of ways to distress an image like this.

Steven is right.

Get a Holga 120 SF and your images could look like this without any photoshop..

have a look

http://www.pbase.com/ken0624700/holga&page=all

Holga is a good suggestion.

Personally, I think it would be more difficult to take a technically perfect photo in that setting than a mucked up one, but there is art to consider....

thanks for the input.  sounds like i got some options here.

Its a photoshop paste job (possibly done with a cult camera, or at least one with a cheap lens).

1) If you look at the ceiling you will notice that "ceiling lines" don't line up across the entire ceiling.  At one point they distinctly are melted together.

2) The same thing happens with the lines in the floor.  They don't line up for the entire picture.  And there is a distinct "melting point" from a photoshop paste job. 

3)  There is a fairly obvious diagonal line (towards left) that reveals differences in contrast and shadow intensity (because one image was pasted on the other)  This line correlates with point 1 & 2. 

4) There are size discrepencies in the background.  for example, a trashcan in the shot is too big compared to the woman in the black suit.

5)  There are obvious image overlaps (for example you can see ceiling lines overlap in the girls hair)  Yes, a long exposure or multiple exposure might do the same, but it really wouldn't look quite like this. 

I agree that you don't NEED photoshop to get this look, but it sure helps.  And if you like this look you should visit www.lomography.com but beware of the extreme marketing hype on that site.  But they have lomos, holgas, and various other cult cameras and sample pics.

I agree with the cheep camera idea. A holga or similar lomo camera with a double exposure. (most likely by accident) It's amazing what these toy can do. If you were to attempt to reproduce it in a similar fashion with your existing camera I would go with the Vaseline idea then blend another "texture" image over the top of it. It's the effect you are after not an exact copy.

Good Luck!