Glitch Photography: The Ultimate Tutorial to Databending Photos with Audacity

In this tutorial we’ll go over all the steps to creating glitched photos by databending in Audacity. I’ll talk you through the steps for glitching with both bitmap and tif images, the kinds of manipulations you can do to the files, things to be careful of while you glitch and go over a bunch of other tips to help you start databend photographs.
Unlike creating glitch looking effects in programs like photoshop, this method results in true glitches where the underlying data in a photograph is altered by moving the data around or adding in Audacity’s audio effects. This process of changing the data of an image file is known as databending, which is a great way to try some abstract photography or glitch art. By effectively breaking the photo, new and exciting colours and patterns can be made with endless possibilities for creative exploration.
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[@iamsushi1056]

My favorite trick is to take a .bmp file, duplicate it, rotate one by 90° _(and save it to make sure it stays that way lol)_, input both into Audacity, and then swap out the headers and maybe a line or two’s worth of pixels for buffer. You can use the time stamp trick to make sure the slice is at the same point for both, and just cut the audio to a new track. You should end up with four tracks. You can then mute one image’s header and the other image’s data, and export both. One will be a unreadable file which you can discard, but the other one will have some sort of crazy gradient that has a pixel sorting vibe to it. (This doesn’t work on squares, but everything else it does)

[@kindredcameraschannel]

This sounds awesome, I haven't done it before but will need to have a crack.

[@windhundgurke]

Thank you so much for this! I've been trying to databend for a glitch art project with no prior experience or much technical understanding, and this is the first method that actually worked!

[@larva5606]

Wow. Thank you so much 💪😎

[@pushingfilm]

This is pretty cool! I had no idea you could do stuff like that with audacity. Great video man :-)

[@kindredcameraschannel]

Cheers mate, yeah its one of those beautiful techniques which is easy to do but hard to master. Infinite room for experimentation!

[@smorpd]

this is raddddddd i've been wanting some good in-depth tutorials on databending since it's such a niche hobby, but it's SO cool. great work 👏

[@kindredcameraschannel]

I've just bought a bunch of cheap cameras to try some circuit bending with - if I can get something working I'll create another video, because there isn't much on this topic either!

[@dcat2954]

Thank You the result were very cool!

[@kindredcameraschannel]

Glad you liked it!

[@mrher032]

awesome video, thank you!

[@kindredcameraschannel]

My pleasure.

[@dimydek6686]

Best tutorial out here

[@kindredcameraschannel]

Glad you liked it mate :)

[@itok38]

This is sick!

[@kindredcameraschannel]

Get glitchin!

[@rzdnx]

Amazing

[@jordanschaub8059]

holy shit i have been searching for what this was or how to do it for so long you changed the design game for me

[@kindredcameraschannel]

Haha good to hear mate!

[@Tobi-oi3uf]

Thank you Kindred Cameras. Can you also make one for glitching videos if you haven't already? :)

[@kindredcameraschannel]

I’ll add it to the to-do list :)

[@MangoMakesArt]

This tutorial is really cool! It worked the first few times I did it, but now photoshop won't let me open the new tif file because it 'isn't a TIFF file' even though it is... is there a way to fix this issue?

[@kindredcameraschannel]

Sounds like the file's become corrupted - try microsoft paint (or mac equivalent), I've found it to be more forgiving than photoshop.

[@eyesontheinside5776]

4:42 is where he tells you how to export

[@MatukaEdgi]

Could u expand on the 2channels color for tif images?

[@kindredcameraschannel]

I don’t know the specifics to be honest, just that one works and one doesn’t. When you load the file into Audacity you can see the data is organised differently, and the RRGGBB format appears to have three distinct sections. This is more obvious if you add a white border to your image before importing. However altering these three sections doesn’t just affect their respective colour channels. If I ever work it out, I’ll get back to you.

[@kittycat1506]

The glitches look awesome! My only issue is that when I glitch with tif files, I can preview it in the windows image viewer for 5 seconds before it crashes. It also doesn't open in photoshop or anywhere else, is there a way to fix this? Thanks.

[@AnAnnoyingDrache]

Yeah, I have this issue too. I do wish there was a fix

[@kindredcameraschannel]

Yeah photoshop seems to be the most temperamental software. Try opening it in paint, and then resave it as a JPEG, this will give you a 'clean' file with the same look at the corrupted one.

[@Blue72l]

Hello, i have a problem with opening the exported file, did everything same as you. I tried older versions too.

[@kindredcameraschannel]

It can be a temperamental process, but try: - Export the image without any changes (this will help you work out if the problem is happening on the original photoshop or audacity end) - Use a small file - around 1000 pixels - Things that shorten the audio can corrupt more easily, particularly for BMP's - Do a small invert change in the middle, this is my go to for troubleshooting as it rarely causes issues If you can't get it working, you could also look into hex/text editor glitching, which isn't as versatile but often works a bit easier.

[@jackb2503]

quick question, do you know of any possible way this could work with any type of video file? or just pictures for now

[@kindredcameraschannel]

Never done it myself but yes it is possible. Have a look on google under the term 'glitching video in audacity' and you should find some resources.

[@Lialexen]

when saving mine reverts back to .raw when clicking export even after changing it to .tif? not sure why its refusing to save as a file type i put

[@kindredcameraschannel]

This seems to be a new thing with one of the recent updates. You can change the extension after it's been saved, just make sure you have view file extensions turned on in your finder/explorer.

[@babiendonisk9309]

same probleme

[@metasoul1286]

I sometimes run into issues if I try to apply effects to the very end of the audio file. Is there any reason for that? I notice that the bottom part of the exported image isn't affected at all and if I appy processing to the whole audio file (minus the header) the thing gets corrupted.

[@kindredcameraschannel]

I haven't run into this problem myself, but some effects/images are more temperamental than others. I also find you run into more problems if the audio length changes - e.g. doing a tempo adjustment - and if I'm using a really big image.

[@jessicafogle218]

Any chance you know the specific effects you used to create the cover photo for this video?

[@kindredcameraschannel]

Hey Jessica, it's 'Change Pitch' on a TIF file, have a look at my other video 'Every Possible Glitch from Databending in Audacity' for a quick guide to every effect you can achieve :)

[@jessicafogle218]

@@kindredcameraschannel Thank you kindly!

[@alexrusso401]

So if applying audio effects to the data of a still image alters it, is there any way to hook up a digital video file to a VST plugin and manipulate it in real time?

[@kindredcameraschannel]

Only one way to find out!

[@matternot666]

when i export audio on audacity, i replace. Raw with tif but when i check the file it still says raw. i can view the images in the files but adobe wont load it

[@emiveridico]

Hey I don't have photoshop nor do I know how to use it, do I have another way to convert an image into .tif without it? I tried with some online converters but they didn't work :(

[@kindredcameraschannel]

I've had a look at some photoshop alternatives (photopea and gimp) but unfortunately it doesn't look like you can change the channel order, so it may be a photoshop only thing. However you'll be able to use an online converter to create bmp's without any issues. If you find something that works, let me know!

[@CeCorapi]

Gimp worked well for me

[@GabeWilliams]

So I followed this and was able to make it work, but only in black and white? It also doesn't let me change raw to tif (mac)

[@alfredsteffensen8343]

im having the same problem with exporting a file as tif from audacity

[@kindredcameraschannel]

Haven't had this problem before, though I notice BMP's are less colourful than TIF's. When are you trying to change the extension, at the export stage or once the file is created?

[@kartikeyamishra1193]

file format issue, its getting saved as .raw cant open

[@axiom8073]

when trying to export it through audacity, it changes the .bmp to .raw when i export is this a recent change?

[@kindredcameraschannel]

Yeah seems like you can't change the extension when you save any more, had this problem in class the other day too. You can still do it after the fact, just make sure you have extensions visible in your finder/explorer.

[@Meclesky07]

after ive got my .raw glitched photo, how do i save it as a jpeg in the same giant resolution? File is corrupted if i try to open it anywhere but photo viewer

[@kindredcameraschannel]

You'll need to change the .raw extension back to what you started with - .tif or .bmp - which you can do by just editing the filename if you missed it in the export process. Then you should be able to open it up with an image editor and resave as a jpeg for a stable file.

[@goyolap]

its not letting me either, i tried multiple times to change it to tif. but couldnt. is it another way to save it ? or this something changed on audacity? @@kindredcameraschannel

[@eliyahumedia]

what would happen if you add an audio track in addition to the image track?

[@kindredcameraschannel]

Only one way to find out :)

[@cozmin1424]

I cannot seem to make it work for some reason. Everything is saved but still! I cannot open it with paint, gallery, photoshop or anything really

[@kindredcameraschannel]

Are you using bmp or tif files? The first thing I normally try when things aren’t working is just importing and exporting the file without making any changes. If that works, then the problem is likely that you’ve corrupted the image too much with the effects, or you have altered the header. If it doesn’t open, there is a setting that is incorrect in either the import or the export settings.

[@cozmin1424]

@@kindredcameraschannel tbh I don't even have a clue. Out of nowhere, I tried again and it worked!!! I made so many artworks of my old artworks. I am a traditional artist, a painter, and with your help managed to create some cool stuff. I wrote down 5 pages of every effect to see what they do. Thanks tho!

[@kindredcameraschannel]

@@cozmin1424 Haha as long as it's working. Glad to here you're expanding your mediums :)

[@loganon2216]

Audacity refuses to export as other without converting it to .RAW , how can i get around this?

[@kindredcameraschannel]

You can also change the file extension after exporting by just replacing the .raw with whatever file format you started with.

[@gwennnnnnnnnnnn]

how do i make sure i dont corrupt the header?

[@VibreProd.]

Don't select the start, I've just not been selecting the first second but you can probably get away with selecting more of the audio.

[@kindredcameraschannel]

@FlammableFish-ng3vz is spot on, if you zoom in really far you'll see it at the start.

[@sparkz205]

for some reason i cant open the file in any software after exporting from audacity

[@kindredcameraschannel]

It's a bit of a process to troubleshoot where things are going wrong, but the first thing I would do is import and export a photo to audacity without making any changes. If there are no issues, then the original problem is coming from how you are making the changes - next try doing a small invert adjustment to the middle of the file, which is a pretty dependable glitch. If you still can't open the file without doing any changes, then the issue is coming from the way the file is formatted, or your import/export settings.

[@codeinesnaps]

When I export, I can't open the bmp / tif file... I'm using windows 11

[@kindredcameraschannel]

Could be any number of issues, have a read through the comments to see some troubleshooting I've helped others with.

[@codeinesnaps]

just found out that I shouldn't alter the beginning of the audio.... it worked well@@kindredcameraschannel

[@kaitlynncars5705]

Audacity wont open my BMP or TIF... Do I need another version?

[@kindredcameraschannel]

I've just checked on the current version, works fine. Make sure you are following the correct import process.

[@AtTwelve34]

Okay but you never explained how to get the exact photo in the thumbnail...

[@ZOZOYOYO11]

is this a joke?

[@AtTwelve34]

no? he doesn't, the closest is the pitch change in his other video but nothing he shows is a 1 to 1 of the thumbnail image

[@ZOZOYOYO11]

​@@AtTwelve34 oh i guess you meant the effect and not the literal image. my bad