José Villa’s Colors
After three years of trying to emulate film digitally, I finally resigned. I caved in and bought a Contax 645 with a Carl Zeiss 80mm lens and from now on I shoot film exclusively. I ship all my work to Richard Photo Lab and started working with them on my own personal color profile. For now, I am using José Villa’s colors.
Here are my first results from our most recent trip to France. This was shot with the Contax 645, Carl Zeiss 80mm f2.0, Fujifilm 400H Pro (rated @ ISO 200), scanned and processed by RPL:
You bought it for a second – didn’t you?
Of course that’s not true. But wait a minute, two steps back… in case you don’t know José Villa, which I doubt, please go check out his incredible work first. It’s really worth it.
José Villa is one of the best and probably the most copied imitated inspiring wedding photographer in the world. His excellent eye, unique style and beautiful bright pastel color palette define the term Fine Art Wedding Photography. He is also the reason why it seems half the photographers that are featured on Style Me Pretty have sold their digital gear on Ebay and switched to Contax 645 medium format film cameras. He was one of the first wedding photographers who re-discovered film and had a tremendously huge influence on the whole wedding industry and the general revival of film photography.
Photographers around the world are raving about the airy feel in José’s photographs and are trying to replicate his look for their own images and clients. José kindly shares his magic recipe in interviews, in his book and workshops.
So how does José achieve this distinct look?
I don’t want to dive too deep into his technique (if you would like to learn more you have to ask him directly, buy his book or attend one of his workshops), but the essentials are:
1. Good light
The non-plus ultra is good light. José Villa lives and primarily shoots in Southern California and makes extensive use of good light. Back lit subjects and warm directional light help a lot with a good picture.
2. Film on a Contax 645 with a Carl Zeiss 80mm f2.0 lens
Medium format relates to the 35mm format about how 35mm (full frame) relates to APS-C (crop). Film on a medium format camera gives you a wonderful latitude for exposure. The lens equals a 50mm f1.2 on a full frame camera. Shot wide open, this produces a extremely shallow depth of field. The Carl Zeiss 80mm f2.0 also has a wonderful bokeh and a great color rendition.
3. Overexposure
José usually shoots Fujifilm Pro 400H and rates his film at ISO 200. This means he overexposes by one full stop per default. He then exposes for the shadows which results in another one to two stops. In total, he overexposes by at least two full stops. If you try that with a digital camera you will very likely blow out all of your images. With film, it adds contrast and saturation and, depending on the light, colors get a brighter pastel look.
4. Good lab
Richard Photo Lab is one of the best labs available in the US and does scanning and processing for most well-known film photographers. A good lab is essential, not only for processing and scanning but especially for color work.
Do you need these magic ingredients to achieve this look?
No, certainly not.
I love and shoot both, film and digital. And as you might know, I am very interested in replicating the look of film in digital photography (here you can find my experiments with emulating Portra 400 NC).
The above image was shot with a Nikon D700 and the Nikkor 50mm 1.4 G lens. Here is how it looks straight out of camera:
How does José’s look translate into digital photography?
First of all: Good light is essential, no matter if you are shooting film or digital. If you are into a soft dreamy look for your images, you have to shoot a fast prime lens wide open (for example a 50mm f1.2 or f1.4). You need to be very careful with your exposure. Different than film, a digital sensor is not very forgiving. If you overexpose too much, you will blow out your highlights and lose a lot of detail.
You can see in the above example that I didn’t overexpose the original image. To get this bright look with pastel colors you only push your exposure by around 1/3 to 2/3 of a stop and work with curves and levels instead. Try lifting your mid-tones and slightly clip your highlights. You also have to add a little bit of color to the highlights. You can distinctly see in José’s images that his highlights normally look light caramel or pink. Then you add back contrast and saturation for the shadows and lower mid-tones.
To make your digital images look more organic you can also add a little bit of grain. It shouldn’t be too obvious, only enough to get some texture into the picture. You can also crop your pictures to the aspect ration of 6×4,5 (like I did with my first picture above to show off my imaginary Contax) but that would mean you lose information as that’s not the native ratio of most digital cameras.
Here are a couple of more examples:
Of course this look isn’t exactly identical to José’s. But it looks a lot closer to me than what a lot of photographers get out of their Contax 645. And that is what I wanted to demonstrate here: Color work is very important in both mediums.
This technique works especially well if you are shooting a Fuji X-Pro1/X-E1 as these cameras give you a very distinct Fuji color palette already. You can also push this a little further if you are into pastel colors. In the example below, the image on the left is straight out of camera, the one in the middle would be the technically correct one and the one on the very right shows an extremely bright and poppy result:
One of the most common misconceptions about film is that it doesn’t need to be post-processed. The opposite is the case. Film very often requires extensive color work, but different to digital, that is usually done by a lab and not by the photographer. A lot of good film photographers nevertheless invest a significant amount of time in their color work after they get their film back from the lab or work with the lab to get their colors right.
This is the very reason why Richard Photo Lab offers custom made color profiles. They help professional film photographers to find and reproduce their own personal look (even though they’re very often shooting the very same film as many others). A good lab also does exposure and color correction for each single frame.
Whenever you hear that film doesn’t require as much work as digital, keep in mind that that’s only half the story. In fact, someone has to do the work – whether it’s film or digital. If you shoot film, you simply pay someone else to do your post-processing and color work for you (which adds significant costs if you’re shooting professionally).
What’s the conclusion?
I think a couple of things are very important to understand and acknowledge. First of all it’s not necessary to shoot the exact equipment José Villa shoots to get colors that are somewhat comparable. It’s possible to get colors like that in digital photography as well. In my opinion it is worth spending time trying to understand colors and light. Not to copy someone else’s look but to be able to visualize what you see with your own eye when you are taking a picture.
José Villa’s work looks amazing because he is an amazingly talented photographer, not because he shoots a Contax 645 and has his own color profile with Richard Photo Lab. Your work will never in the world look like any other photographer’s work – because it’s not about film, the gear they’re using or their colors, it’s about their eye – and you can’t copy that.
I think it’s good to have people that you look up to and it’s ok to get inspiration from other photographers from time to time. But it’s important to find your own unique style that is an reflection of your personality – not a copy of someone else’s.
Update, 25.03.2013
Thank you all very much for your feedback on this post.
I received a lot of comments and emails from photographers who don’t agree that film does need to be post-processed and that it’s possible to get results like that directly from a lab, without any retouching.
To make my write-up a little more plausible I asked my wife to borrow her Contax 645 (no joke this time) and shot a roll of Fuji 400H with an exposure bracket of five stops. The results below show normal exposure (“0”) to four stops overexposure (“+4”).
These shots are uncorrected scans from a Fuji Frontier. You can see how film gets more contrasty and saturated the more you overexpose where a digital file would just get brighter and finally blow out.
The following image is a good example of what film can handle because of its superior tonal response curve and where you would need additional color work. The picture was shot with my Hasselblad on Portra 160, rated at 100 and exposed for the shadows:
I also promised to share my workflow as a short tutorial.
Here are four simple steps that you can reproduce in any software. I personally use Lightroom 4.
1. The most important thing to get right in this workflow is the in-camera exposure. With digital it’s important to not expose too bright so that you have enough highlight-information in the picture while you brighten it up in post-processing.
2. The second step shows basic corrections for Contrast, Highlights, Shadows, Whites and Blacks. I also adjusted Clarity, Vibrance and Saturation.
3. In step three I apply a special RGB-Curve to the picture. It lifts the mid-tones, softens the blacks and gently clips the highlights.
4. The last step is color work to give the final image more accurate film-inspired colors.
I share my exact settings for the series above and it shouldn’t be difficult for anyone to re-create the general look in Lightroom. If you shoot a Fuji X-Pro1, X-E1 or X100s, you won’t need step 4 as the Fuji color palette is great to work with.
168 Comments
Stuart Godfrey
4. December 2012Thanks for introducing me to José Villa’s work, it is beautiful as is yours.
Christine
4. December 2012Would you ever consider giving a photoshop tutorial on this?
Becky
4. December 2012Interesting. I didn’t know about Jose Villa until a couple of years ago but I do love the work of Tanja Lippert, Ryan Muirhead, and others who exclusively shoot film. I’m 30% film, medium format. I don’t use Richard Photo labs because I live in NorCal and there is an excellent lab in San Francisco. I rarely have to retouch my film scans and it reduces my time in front of a computer. I think your process is interesting: thanks for sharing.
Ray Larose
4. December 2012Great article, Johnny. You have achieved some amazing looks in the past, and this one is no exception. Love your tips on using light – I can never emphasize this enough in my blog either. Now, you make me want to take out my Rolleiflex and play!
Johnny
4. December 2012Thank you all very much for your feedback.
Christine, thanks for your interest. This was done in LR4, I will probably post a more detailed tutorial about the process soon.
Scott
4. December 2012I agree. A LR tutorial would be amazing on how to convert your digital raws into film-like edits. Thanks for your articles.
Chad
4. December 2012Funny, I’m one of those photographers that sold his Contax 645 for twice the original cost to one of these Contax crazy wedding photographers.
I can’t imaging buying one for a color profile. I can imagine buying one for the 80mm.
Larissa
12. December 2012Yes, I too would LOVE a tutorial! Thanks so much for all the info!
Christine
24. December 2012Oh! LR4! I’ve been wanting to learn how to use that anyway… seems now is as good a time as any! Looking forward to the update. Thanks, Johnny!
Carolina
29. December 2012Looking forward to the tutorial! :)
Andrey
25. January 2013Johnny, share tutorial with us!
Bubba Johnes
5. February 2013When you create the tutorial, please make it Aperture friendly as well.
Johnny
18. February 2013I don’t find the time at the moment to finish the tutorial. I still receive quite a few emails about this topic and would like to provide a solution for everyone who cannot wait:
I created a Lightroom 4 and ACR 7 preset called “Cuba” for this post that is based on Rebecca Lily’s “California” preset (from her Pro Set I). If you don’t want to wait on the tutorial, please write me an email and I will mail you the “Cuba” preset for free (please provide your order number from your Pro Set I).
The tutorial will be showing how to develop a preset for Lightroom 4, but you should be able to adopt the technique for other applications like ACR, Photoshop or Aperture.
J
7. March 2013Jose Villa is an absolute inspiration. I’ve been doing my own personal film emulation I call Filmtastic™ using Lightroom since 2009, and have not given in yet to the Contax 645 (i do use contax lenses tho)! I would love that CZ 80/2 glass anytime once I run into a good deal.
Here’s my take on your photo :)
Actually, film emulation is an art by itself. Especially if you choose not shoot to film because of its technical limits (i.e. lack of light).
Johnny
7. March 2013Thank you very much for your feedback, J.
It’s really interesting for me to stumble open someone who is genuinely interested in this process as well. I think you have to love film yourself to get it close with a digital camera. Your results look pretty good!
Elizabeth Sarah
7. March 2013Well said! I shoot 100% film, mostly 35mm. Would like a better medium format… I have a Yashica a TLR… any suggestions for one that’s affordable?
Johnny
8. March 2013Elizabeth, I would go for the camera/lens combination that suits your photography best. For me personally it’s the Hasselblad 500 series with a Zeiss 80mm. A used 500 C/M is usually affordable and will hold its value.
Rita Moreno
10. March 2013Really enjoyed reading…
Johnny
25. March 2013The update including my workflow is finally online.
Thanks for your patience!
Stephanie Hunter
26. March 2013So very cool how closely you get your digital files to emulate film! Awesome update w/ the tutorial.
Johnny
26. March 2013Thank you very much, Stephanie.
I like your work a lot and I really appreciate your feedback!
Darren Miller
3. April 2013Thank you for sharing. I love the film look and have been enjoying emulating it and the masterful shooters I often am seeing the work of. I really appreciate your breaking it down and am getting more inspired to continue this path of learning.
Marcelle
9. April 2013Thanks for sharing your Lightroom edit workflow. I tried it and loved the outcome, but was wondering what I could do to preserve the original skin tones a bit more or have them be a bit warmer.
Johnny
10. April 2013Thanks for your feedback, Marcelle.
Bringing out the best skin tones is the main idea behind these colors. If you don’t get good results, I suggest looking into exposure first. With the correct exposure, Caucasian skin tones fall on the upper third of the mid tone range. I work with RGB curves in that tonal range if I have to adjust skin tones.
Curtis Wiklund
20. April 2013Thanks Johnny for this post. Very helpful! The exposure bracket of 400H through me for a loop though. I see the change in color and contrast… but they all look equally exposed! Clearly, the last is 5 full stops overexposed from the first, but it only appears to be more contrasty and more saturated. Was the exposure corrected at RPL?
Johnny
21. April 2013Thanks very much, Curtis.
You just made my very point: Film does not give you these exact colors unless you apply a custom color profile (while you scan or in post production), which is nothing different than applying a custom RGB curve in Lightroom. It very much depends on the light as well.
The images in the exposure bracket are straight up uncorrected scans from a Fuji Frontier. With overexposing digital, your images get brighter and blow out at some point. Film saturates and gets more contrasty the brighter you expose.
Ruben
24. April 2013Love this blog. Really enjoyed reading it. Thanks!
Best regards from the Netherlands.
Josh
3. May 2013Wow, I’ve not read a tutorial/review post in this length for a long time. Thank you Johnny. So very informative. Totally new to this film thing and I’ve learned a ton from this post!
Nasser Gazi
31. May 2013Just found this article. And now I love you.
Nasser Gazi
31. May 2013No but seriously. I was drawn to this fantastic article by the opening line: “After three years of trying to emulate film digitally, I finally resigned. I caved in and bought a Contax 645” because that is EXACTLY what I did. The Contax with Fuji Pro 400H effortlessly produces colours that make my heart melt.
However, I still haven’t given up on digital – Nikon in my case. In a recent tweet you said that you used Nikon for many years but hated the colour palette. Do you still maintain that it is absolutely not possible to produce the same colours with digital as with Fuji Pro 400H?
Notwitstanding the greater tonal reponse of film, is it possible to emulate even this in digital with post-processing?
Johnny
3. June 2013Thanks very much for your feedback, Ruben and Josh.
Nasser, thank you as well.
The purpose of this blog post was to show that it’s very possible to recreate this bright Fuji 400H look with a digital camera and how to approach it. None of the above images are shot on film. They’re either shot with the Nikon D700 or the Fuji X-Pro1, except for the shots shown in the update.
So it is possible and it’s also possible to emulate the color palette of a certain film. But it’s a lot of work to get right. If you shoot a Fuji X-Pro1 or X-E1, it’s a bit easier as the basic color palette is already matching.
I personally shoot both, film and digital. I think none is a substitute for the other and both equally have their place.
Steve
5. June 2013This is excellent, thank you.
One question… as with many other internet based articles, and in general on shooting col neg… when you say expose for the shadows, no one ever really builds on that and explains what that means. I take it you mean you are pointing your meter at the darkest part of the image and giving -ev of about 1-2 stops, so a zone 3 or 4 value?
If you are using an incident meter, I’ve been told (and read in Canlas’ FIND book) to meter with the bulb in, and pointing the meter down at about 45 degrees. The bulb being in you are metering shadows? Pointing down you are given more compensation? Is that really correct? I did this and my images were dark, but I also rated the film at box.
I see from above that your +4 stop overexposed image is looking great… but what does that mean? What did you meter? What were your light meter settings? If rating the film @ 200, I thought that would overexpose the image more… but people say rating film has no real impact… because you could rate it at box, and just overexpose in camera by 2 stops and thats it?
Could you please elaborate a bit?
Thanks,
Steve
Johnny
5. June 2013Steve, thanks very much for your feedback.
You are exactly right, there is a lot of information about shooting color negative film out there that is confusing.
Exposing for the shadow means exactly what you wrote. An incident light meter always meters for neutral grey, which is zone “V”. Instead of zone “V” you assign zone “II” to “IV” by literally holding your meter into the shadow (the darkest part of the picture).
The reason isn’t primarily to get a brighter result. With digital, blown out highlights are a problem if you expose too bright. With film, it’s the other way round and you need to make sure that you get enough exposure for the shadow detail. An easy way to make sure your film gets enough exposure is to rate it half the box speed. That leaves a bit of headroom and means that you set your meter to ISO 200 if the film speed on the box reads ISO 400.
All the fuss about how to meter with bulb in and out and pointing the meter up, down or in whatever angle doesn’t work for me at all. I think that’s far too complicated. In theory metering with a retracted bulb reduces the amount of light that falls onto the cell of your meter and with pointing it down a little you take the proportion of the sky back a little bit. In reality you can see with my exposure bracket that it’s not really necessary.
I meter all color negative film the same. I use a very simple analog incident light meter (Sekonic L-398 A), nothing fancy or expensive. I rate my film half the box speed. If I shoot Porta 400, that means I set the meter to ISO 200. Then I meter for the shadows, which means I bring my meter into the shadow parts of the image (the part of the image that has the least light). That’s it. I hold the meter in a standard 90 degree angle to the ground, which means nothing else than parallel to the subject. I do not fuss with the bulb as my meter isn’t fancy enough to do that in the first place.
I metered the above shot from the Hasselblad exactly like that (the exposure bracket was shot at box speed without overexposure). If you meter like that and your shots turn out dark, it’s very likely that your lab doesn’t scan your images right. Very many mini labs have their scanners optimized for printing and therefore produce strange shadows and extremely deep blacks or have problems with density correction. Try checking your negatives against the light and see if they look properly exposed. If they look ok, talk to your lab. If you’re lab isn’t the problem, check if the shutter of your camera and the meter work properly.
To give you a little perspective on metering:
My Hasselblad has a maximum shutter speed of 1/500. When I’m shooting outside in daylight, I very often would have to set my shutter to 1/2000 (+2 stops) or even 1/4000 (+3 stops). I can’t because of the physical limitation of my camera. I still never once had a shot that didn’t turn out because of overexposure.
Don’t be discouraged to experiment a little by the “film photographers know their crap” crowd. A lot of the times they don’t. Color negative film is extremely forgiving and very easy to shoot. It’s a lot more difficult to get a properly exposed image with digital than it is with film.
I hope that helps a bit.
Steve
5. June 2013Thank you Johnny. You are the first ever photographer ever to give me any sort of reply that has made sense and encouraged me to keep going. Thank you.
Lars
9. June 2013So if rating at half speed and metering the shadow side is your standard way of exposing, is that how you measured the 0 or “normal” exposure above? Because that would already be way over in digital/slide land.
Johnny
10. June 2013Thank you for your feedback and pointing that out, Lars.
For the exposure bracket I rated the film at box speed and metered using the in-camera meter without any exposure compensation.
Mario Colli
17. July 2013Great article Johnny. I really enjoyed reading, I was wondering if you could share the “Cuba” presets. Thanks a lot!
Johnny
17. July 2013Thank you too, Mario.
I’m happy to share the presets, please send me an email.
John
18. July 2013Great info Johnny.
I am a film shooter and have read, seen, heard, and been instructed to meter a certain way to attain a particular result. I sold all my digital cameras but now I am starting to see that it is possible to get similar results with digital. So I plan to buy a digital camera again. Thank you for the write up.
Johnny
18. July 2013Thank you, John.
Yes, there are a lot of myths about shooting color negative film. I have addressed a couple in my blog post film is not dead in case you’re interested.
Attaining these results with film is done during scanning and processing, not in camera. The easiest way to do this with a digital camera is by shooting a Fuji.
Rebecca Lily » Pastel Post Processing and Fuji Colors
23. July 2013[…] Johnny Patience demonstrated this recently using Fuji Pro 400H film over a 5-stop range. You can see the pastel tones come out at about +2, and from there it gets more […]
Carlo
24. July 2013Thank you, Johnny.
One major reason I’ve purchased a Fuji X-Pro1 is I want to replicate film tones. Your and Rebecca’s posts about simulating pastel colors and look will be very precious!
Adam Fedrau
28. July 2013Thanks for the post Jonny. Very helpful.
One quick question though. I have a Fuji X-E1 and I’m wondering when you speak of the Fuji color palette as a great starting point are you talking about the RAW files or are you shooting in JPG?
I’m guessing RAW but thought I would ask for clarification as the Fuji JPG files can be awesome.
Thanks, Adam
Johnny
29. July 2013Thanks very much, Adam.
Both have a great color palette but I shoot in RAW. If you don’t shoot in RAW it will be very difficult to make the adjustments discussed above. You will also lose detail and the ability to properly work with exposure, white balance and color.
Robert
6. August 2013Johnny,
Deeply inspiring resource which has revolutionised my current thinking about post process and style.
I had not encountered Jose Villa and the whole movement around film and shallow DOF which has complemented my own experiments with shooting into the sun and reducing contrast with creative flare.
Thank you for sharing your experience with tone curves and colour palettes in such an open way, it has helped me immensely.
My current challenge is to find the right way to bring out the softer colour palette with my Olympus as the superb lens coating and naturally punchy colour is resisting my attempts to create flare and warm colour washes.
Very best wishes,
Robert
Johnny
7. August 2013Thank you very much for your feedback, Robert.
I’m happy that this was helpful for you. The color grading can be achieved with any kind of camera/lens combination. Lenses with good optical quality will help and not hinder you. As the color tones get lighter with pastel post processing, you need a certain level of saturation and contrast in your original picture to achieve a subtle and natural looking result.
I’m not sure what exact camera/lens combination you shoot, but it’s possible to get flare with any prime lens if you shoot into the light at a certain angle without a lens hood.
Robert
7. August 2013A pleasure!
I think a little more experimentation on my part is required. I will try to play with the angle a little and see how that affects the end result.
Currently also experimenting with using the new RGB tone curve facility in Lightroom to soften and colour the highlights as described in your earlier posts. Quite enjoying the results.
Roman
22. September 2013I also made comparisons between digital and Fuji 400H. I myself use a Contax 645 when I shoot weddings and family, and I find yes there is a difference but very minute. Plus I’ve also compared the Kodak Portra 400 against Fuji 400H and the difference is really for me the more organic colors of Kodak film.
Although all of these is mute if the light is sub par. With beautiful bright even light, digital, even on my Nikon 800E, is very close to film.
Great site by the way. I like your color palette very bright and fresh.
Roman Francisco
Greg
27. September 2013Awesome!
I have been looking for the solution for months on how to create these lovely tones. Great article and tutorial, I will be reading your blog more often.
Thank you.
Istvan
20. October 2013Superb and very informative article Johnny, thank you for this.
May I have a question please:
When you say you overexpose the film by shooting the 400 ISO roll at 200 ISO, do you then hand it over to your lab as shot at 400 or 200? And if you increase exposure even more by metering for the shadows, then again how does that change how the lab is dealing with the processing before scanning the negative? What is the speed they are processing the film for?
Thank you,
Istvan
Johnny
21. October 2013Thanks very much for your feedback, Istvan.
The idea behind rating the film a stop slower is only to give it a full stop more of exposure with every shot (have a look here for more information). The lab always processes the film as usual, without any adjustments (in this case ISO 400).
Istvan
21. October 2013Thanks Johnny.
Now, I am in no way an expert so I may say silly things, but if the lab develops for 400 ISO (and the film shot at 200), will that not cause loosing details in the highlights? As, the way I learned, if you shoot for shadow to let the shadow details register on the film then you develop for the highlights (shorten develop time) so that the highlights don’t overdevelop resulting in loosing details?
Or is that 1-2 stops within the film’s limits and it will be just fine? Or is it what we want to get creamy highlights? (as per the Jose Villa’s look). Or is it the edit during scanning that puts the final touch on it? Sorry for asking many questions…
Can you please help me to understand, how would you instruct your lab (after shooting at half speed and meter for shadows), if you wanted to achieve something similar to Villa’s creamy highlights and (slightly) saturated warm skin tones?
Many thanks,
Istvan
Johnny
21. October 2013Thank you, Istvan. Your concerns don’t sound silly at all, especially if you have been shooting mostly digital.
Color negative film, especially medium format, has a lot of latitude. It’s no problem to rate the film at half the box speed, meter for the shadows and let the highlights fall where they may. I have mentioned in my above comment that I regularly shoot my Hasselblad +3 stops over (sometimes even more). Please read the blog post that I linked for you in my previous reply for more detail.
The “expose for the shadows and develop for the highlights” rule was introduced with Ansel Adam’s zone system. The idea behind it was to cover as much dynamic range as possible. It’s a bit different with BW film and you would certainly not do this with slide film, but for color negative film it’s usually not a problem.
José’s airy and creamy look is a mix between overexposing Fuji 400H (basic color palette), scanning with a Fuji Frontier SP-3000 (glow), density correction (pastels) and professional color grading (processing by the lab). You won’t be able to achieve this look with a drug store scan, no matter how you expose your film. That’s why I recommend working with a pro lab.
Istvan
21. October 2013Thank you Johnny.
I will experiment using your suggested technique. I have a medium format film camera, although have been mainly shooting digital in the last few years, so overexposing by a couple stops sounds terrifying as we all know how digital behaves. But I will overexpose more confidently now. Not to copy someone’s style, but to learn more about film and how to gain control to get the results I am after.
Finding a lab is another challenge, I have been using two local pro labs in the past, not completely happy with the results but it may be the case of needing to spend more time to build closer work relationship with them.
Thank you for your advice,
Istvan
Johnny
22. October 2013You’re welcome, I’m happy you found this helpful.
Not all pro labs offer the same consistency, competence and experience. I suggest finding a film photographer who’s results you like and then trying their lab. Chances are good that they will do good work for you too.
I invested a lot in trying to build a relationship with a local lab. That was a waste of time and money and it compromised my results in the meantime. I only know of three pro labs that deliver good work (I’m sure there are more). But I think there is a reason why 90% of all film photographers seem to work with either one of these three.
Fred
23. October 2013Hey Johnny,
This is a great article and I really enjoy that you are sharing your knowledge with us.
Since working with a good lab is of the utmost importance, what do you have to tell them and how do you work with them in order to have the results you really want? And what about doing your own scans? Do you think you’d be able to achieve the same look based on your knowledge and experience?
Again, thanks so much for sharing.
Johnny
24. October 2013Fred, thank you very much for your feedback.
You can just tell the lab your preferences, they should understand without you having to write novels. I don’t explain much, I just ask to please color- and density correct my scans if necessary and let the lab process my pictures to their liking.
I have a lot of experience with digital color work, but not enough with scanning film. But I’m very happy with the results from my lab right now, therefore I see no point in trying it myself.
Kurtz
23. November 2013I was trying to emulate this look for awhile did few trial and errors. I had my ways, white balance, saturation exposure and highlights and also manipulating the greens and blues. Thanks for shedding some light on this, I will try your method!
Johnny
25. November 2013I’m happy you found this post helpful, Kurtz.
Thank you for your feedback!
Melissa
30. November 2013Thank you so much!
I’m fairly new to all of this, but I am super excited to give your tutorial ago.
Youri
2. December 2013Great article!
Is there a way you can send me your ‘Cuba’ preset?
Johnny
3. December 2013Thank you, Youri.
I’m happy to share the presets, please send me an email.
Emma
21. December 2013Hi Johnny, great article thank you very much. I’d love to try out your preset, but I use CS5 – do you by any chance have it as a Photoshop action?
Happy Christmas!
Johnny
22. December 2013Emma, thank you for your feedback.
If you work with Photoshop you can use the ACR version of the preset. I do not recommend using Photoshop actions in general as they usually don’t provide non-destructive editing. You will always experience quality loss if you don’t work with your RAW files.
Hariz
27. December 2013How do you process overexposed film? Say Fuji 400H rated at ISO 100 (2 stops overexposed), do you tell the photo lab that you overexposed the film, so that they will do any changes in developing time? Or process it the normal way? Thanks.
Johnny
28. December 2013Thanks very much for your feedback, Hariz.
The idea behind rating the film slower is only to give it consistently more exposure with every shot (please have a look here and here). The lab always processes the film as usual, without any adjustments (in this case ISO 400).
Ashley
24. January 2014Amazing insight. Love Jose Villa! Thanks for this post!! Good luck to you! :)
Johnny
24. January 2014Thank you, Ashley.
I’m happy you enjoyed the blog post!
Ally
30. January 2014Hey Johnny,
Do you use an incident meter for every shot?
Do you shot in AV mode or manual mode on the Contax 645?
I got a Contax 645 recently and I read your article and the above comments but I’m still confused about the “exposing for the shadows”. Can I expose for the shadows in AV mode?
Thanks! :)
Ally
Johnny
30. January 2014Ally, thank you for your feedback.
I shoot in manual. Shooting in AV can be a problem with film because it’s very important to understand and be in control of your exposure. AV also heavily relies on a working internal meter which is very often a problem with the Contax 645. The internal meter is often not very accurate.
I use an incident meter but I don’t meter for every shot. It’s usually enough to meter a scene once and then stick to your settings unless the light changes drastically.
You can expose for the shadows with AV, you would rate your film at half box speed and spot meter the shadows and then lock the exposure before you re-compose. I would like to encourage you to use an incident meter and shoot in manual. It takes a bit to get used to but in the long run it’s much easier than shooting in AV.
Ally
1. February 2014Thank you so much, Johnny!
Your answer helps me a lot. I really appreciate it. :)
Johnny
2. February 2014That’s no problem, Ally. I’m glad I could help!
Gonzalo
13. February 2014Thanks so much for all these thoughts you share! They’re very helpful.
I’m kind of new to film photography and it’s a shame there are no good labs in my city (I live in Lima, Peru!). I recently sent a few rolls to a film lab in Spain. They’re getting good feedback from photographers, so I hope I can get nice results.
By the way, I’ve got many Ektar 100 and Portra 160 for my 35mm camera and I want to get the best from them. When you suggest to overexpose 2 stops, you don’t mean to shoot at lower ISO, do you? Sometimes this push/overexpose thing confuses me.
Oh and is it possible to get the Cuba preset? I’d appreciate it a lot.
Thanks again and I love your work, cheers!
Johnny
14. February 2014Gonzalo, thank you for your feedback.
Finding a good lab is crucial with film photography. It’s not easy but I’m sure you will find a lab that you enjoy working with.
It doesn’t matter how you overexpose your film. You can either do that by selecting a lower ISO (for example half box speed) or you leave the ISO alone and shoot with a slower shutter. Both does exactly the same, it gives your film more exposure.
Pushing film is something different. While the lab would develop overexposed film as usual, development times need to be adjusted when you push film. If you shoot Tri-X 400 at ISO 1600 for example, you underexpose your film two stops and then need to compensate for that by over-developing it.
I’m happy to share the Cuba preset, please send me an email about that.
Misael Nevarez
7. March 2014Hey, I was wondering if could please share your Cuba preset with me? Thanks and have a nice day!
Johnny
8. March 2014Misael, I’m happy to share the presets with you. Please send me an email.
Scott Villalobos
22. March 2014I’ve been working on similar presets in LR, but your’s is by far the closest I’ve found. Thanks for sharing!
Johnny
23. March 2014You’re more than welcome, Scott.
I’m happy to hear you found this helpful!
Chris
23. March 2014Johnny, thank you for taking the time to write this article and to post the samples! Would it be possible to share your Cuba preset so I can try it?
Thank you!
Johnny
24. March 2014Chris, thank you for your kind feedback.
Please send me an email, I would be happy to share the presets with you.
Fiona
25. March 2014Hi Johnny, I’m Fiona Sng and I’m from Singapore. I came across your site and instantly fell in love with this post that you wrote about Jose Villa’s colours. I’ve been a fan for the longest time, but I’ve always shot on digital as I’m inexperienced with film. Would you be kind enough to share your preset with me so I could try it out?
Thank you so much for sharing this article!
Johnny
25. March 2014Thank you very much for your feedback, Fiona.
I’m glad you found this write-up helpful. You’re right, this look isn’t easy to replicate with digital. Please just send me an email so that I can share the preset with you.
Karine
17. April 2014Thank you for sharing Johnny!
Could send me your Cuba preset? I’m curious to try it. ;)
Thanks, Karine – a french photographer
Johnny
18. April 2014That’s no problem, Karine. Please send me an email!
Johnny Corcoran
24. April 2014When you mention four stops overexposure (“+4″) – what did you do? Using the dial, set the ISO down to ISO 50 on the camera?
Johnny
24. April 2014Thank you, Johnny.
It doesn’t matter how you do it (ISO, aperture or shutter speed) – but I usually rate the film at half box speed and expose for the shadows. For an ISO 400 film like Portra 400 or Fuji Pro 400H I set the meter to ISO 200 instead of ISO 400.
Johnny Corcoran
24. April 2014Sorry… I read all the others comments! :-)
I have a Mamiya 645AF, it has a dial with -3,-2,-1,0,+1,+2,+3. Can I set it to +2 and leave it there for good?
Johnny
25. April 2014No problem, Johnny. :)
You could do that but I wouldn’t recommend it. It’s better to shoot in manual and not let the camera decide for you. You will get a feel for your exposures quickly and have a much sounder technical base.
You can always rate your film half box speed but I recommend using an external light meter to get a proper meter reading. Not every film needs the same amount of exposure to look good. Some film stocks are very forgiving (Portra 400 or Tri-X 400 for example), others need to be exposed more carefully.
David Bell
27. April 2014Great article. For someone like me thinking of trying a MF camera with some Fuji 400H, it is great.
Johnny
27. April 2014Thank you, David! I’m glad you enjoyed the post and found it helpful.
Heather Prescott Liebensohn
17. May 2014Thank you, thank you, thank you!
I have been trying for years to get this look, and you showing your formula was so incredibly illuminating for me. I’ve been using Lightroom for a looong time, but I still didn’t have a firm grasp on some parts and what they did. I am so grateful for having stumbled across this page!
All the best to you,
Heather
Johnny
17. May 2014I’m glad you found this post helpful, Heather.
Thank you very much for your kind feedback!
Pavan
18. May 2014Hi Johnny,
I found the tutorial really helpful and the pictures are beautiful. I have been trying to achieve these kind of subtle colors in my post and its always exciting to replicate film look via digital. These pastel colors are very pleasing and life-like. Thanks for being so kind and generous in sharing this post and yeah, most importantly, attending everyones request so patiently. Thats most rare but lovable thing in any artist.
I’d like to know if you can share the pastel presets and any other related resources.
Johnny
19. May 2014Pavan, thank you very much for your kind feedback.
That’s no problem. I got your email and will write you back shortly!
Sarah
29. May 2014Great tutorial! Can you tell me, when you rate a 400 film at 200, when you’re doing the metering, do you still put the info in as it were 400 ISO and then meter the shadows? Really puzzling me!
Johnny
30. May 2014Thanks for your feedback, Sarah.
You set the meter to ISO 200 (instead of ISO 400) and then you meter for the shadows. Hope this helps!
Suzanne Li
5. July 2014Dear Johnny,
I LOVE your post on creating colours in a way that looks similar to Jose Villa’s. I am extremely interested in creating this style however through digital, its taken me way too long to figure it out before but I have understood it a lot more when reading your blog, so thank you very much.
There is just one question I’d like an answer to, if I may.
My friend sold me her medium format camera last year and I thought now I would put it to use. :)
I am looking at developing photos from a Lab in the UK, however I am extremely confused at the Push Stops 1, 2 and 3. To get the desired colours e.g like Jose’s dreamy over exposed look, do I set my exposure on the camera itself and when developing do I choose zero for push exposure? Or do I match it with what I’ve set it to on my camera (example if I choose +2 on camera I should send the form away to also +2 for push exposure or would that completely blow out my image)? I’m not sure if I am making any sense at all!
I hope you can get back to me, I would really appreciate your reply. :)
Have a lovely day,
Suzanne Li
Johnny
5. July 2014Suzanne, thanks very much for your feedback.
I suggest using an external light meter when shooting film, I wouldn’t use the exposure compensation in camera. If you overexpose 2-3 stops you would still develop the film as normal, so no pushing or pulling.
But your lab also needs to scan the film properly. If you are interested, have a look here and here when you have time. It’s very helpful to understand the basics before you send your first rolls of film off.
Suzanne Li
5. July 2014Hi Johnny!
I had just read them after I posted my first comment and it was such a great read! Thanks so much again for your quick response and time to reply.
Suzanne
Johnny
5. July 2014No problem, Suzanne! I’m happy you found these posts helpful.
Elaine Eppler
17. July 2014Hello, Johnny.
Thank you for this site: the beautiful, inspirational photographs that tell stories; the honest, informative and inspirational writing; the thoughtful, helpful replies to comments. I have learned so much from you and Rebecca. I first started following your work a few years ago when you were both active on Flickr. I’ve been a regular (but quiet until now) blog reader.
I’ve used a D700 and 50mm lens for the past 4 years. I recently acquired a Fujifilm X100s, which I’m growing to love more and more.
My question is about how to set camera calibration to obtain “accurate, film-inspired colours” with both cameras. I’ve saved your HSV settings (step 4 above) as a preset and apply it to all my Nikon RAW images. What is the best camera calibration (e.g. D2X, Portrait) to use as a starting point? And for the X100s, is it best to use ASTIA/SOFT or Adobe Standard (these are the settings I’ve been experimenting with)?
Thank you for your time!
P.S. A clarification: I shoot in RAW. I’m asking about the camera calibration to use in Lightroom 5.
Johnny
18. July 2014Elain, thank you very much for your kind feedback. I really appreciate it.
I wonder sometimes who follows my blog quietly, because only a fraction of people interact or leave a comment.
I didn’t consistently use the same settings while I was shooting Nikon. For most parts I used the standard setting in Adobe Lightroom and then later switched to the D2X profiles Nikon offers. Nikon mainly has problems with green and yellow. The color palette with the D2X profile and the “portrait” setting just looks slightly more natural to my eye. I shot the Fuji X-Pro1 with the “Adobe Standard” setting and never had problems with the color palette.
Film inspired colors aren’t easy to get right, you can see that when you look at all the popular film emulation presets that don’t look like film at all. It really helps to shoot film along with digital to get a feel for how the results would have turned out on film.
It’s also really important to get the base exposure and white balance right. Most photographers tend to underexpose with digital (shooting for the highlights), the majority of files that I see from other people are about 0,5 – 1,5 stops under. This isn’t easy to correct. 1/3 over or 1/3 under makes virtually no difference, but anything beyond that affects the results negatively and will introduce color shifts.
Elaine
20. July 2014Thank you for your helpful reply, Johnny, with these additional details and tips about base exposure and white balance. I hope to someday begin experimenting with a film camera, too.
Johnny
20. July 2014No problem, Elaine! I’m happy to help. :)
Fabiana
11. August 2014Hi Johnny,
Thank you so much for sharing all this information with us, it’s so helpful. :)
Do you have an action for Photoshop? Or a tutorial for Photoshop?
Thank you again.
Johnny
12. August 2014Thanks for your feedback and your question, Fabiana.
As mentioned above, I do not recommend using Photoshop actions. They usually don’t provide non-destructive editing and you will always experience quality loss if you don’t process your RAW files.
If you work with Photoshop you can just follow the above tutorial in Adobe Camera Raw (or use the ACR version of the preset), the settings in ACR are exactly the same.
Vadim Uvazhny
19. September 2014Thank you, Johnny! This helps a lot! Thank you so much!
Johnny
20. September 2014Vadim, thank you for your feedback. I’m glad to hear that. :)
Lena
19. October 2014Hi Johnny, very nice article! I’m french, so sorry for my English.
I love Jose Villa and pastels colors. I have the Fuji X-Pro1 since a few weeks and I absolutely don’t know what type of color to choose (for the film simulation mode). I have to choose between “Pro Neg Hi”, “Pro Neg Std”, “Astia” and Provia – I’m totally lost.
What do you use, and what do I have to choose to be closer to the colors I am trying to imitate?
Thanks a lot.
Lena
Johnny
19. October 2014Thank you very much for your your question, Lena.
The film simulation modes in the Fuji X-Pro1 only apply if you intend to use the in-camera JPG files. If you shoot in RAW (which I would recommend for the latitude of your files) the standard Lightroom setting is a great base to start with.
Yury
4. December 2014Turned out very beautiful. Could you please send me the preset?
Johnny
5. December 2014Thanks, Yuri! That’s no problem, please send me an email.
Elena
13. December 2014Thank you Johnny! Great article! Great job! Please, can you send me this preset too?
Johnny
15. December 2014Elena, thanks for your feedback. Please just send me an email.
Marc
28. December 2014Hello Johnny,
First I would like to thank you for all the info you are sharing. I really love the pastel colors using Fuji film.
I am completely new in the medium format film, just bought a Rollei 6006 Mod 2 with an 80mm and 150mm lens.
I always wanted one. Some love it others don’t. It should arrive Jan 2nd, so it’s my New Year’s present.
I’m gonna use your / Jose’s technique and have my films developed at Richard Photo Lab. Hopefully it all works out fine. Otherwise you might expect a few mails. ;-)
Happy Holidays my friend.
Johnny
28. December 2014Thanks very much, Marc. Glad you enjoyed the read.
It’s so great to hear that you’re getting into shooting medium format film. I’m sure you’ll enjoy your Rolleiflex a lot. Feel free to ask if you need help!
Haneef
28. December 2014Hello Johnny!
Superb writeup! I’m so glad I stumbled upon your blog. After watching a large number of videos on YouTube from the channel “framed show”, I fell in love with the film colours of the pictures. I’ve been searching for an article that writes about obtaining this film look digitally. I just got my first camera, the Fuji X-E1. I wanted to ask which in-camera film simulation would work best as a base to work with in Lightroom.
Thanks!
An enthusiast from Malaysia
Johnny
29. December 2014Haneef, thank your for your kind feedback.
As mentioned above in the conversation with Lena, the film simulation modes only apply if you shoot JPG. I recommend shooting RAW to maximize the latitude of your files. In this case the standard Lightroom setting is a great starting point.
Lisa
31. December 2014Hi Johnny,
Thank you so much for this article! I am a huge fan of Jose Villa’s style and was a bit discouraged because I thought there was no way to achieve the same kind of colours since he shoots film (and I’m still learning photography so film seems a bit too advanced for me). I’m really excited to try this with my next set of photos!
Happy holidays!
Johnny
31. December 2014You’re more than welcome, Lisa.
I’m very happy you found this post helpful!
Johnny
11. January 2015Hey Johnny,
Nice article you wrote here. Just a quick question, just bought my first Hasselblad 500 mainly to shoot B/W but wanted to try a roll or two of Fuji 400H.
I am just confused as to this part as I am a greenhorn with film: “José usually shoots Fujifilm Pro 400H and rates his film at ISO 200. This means he overexposes by one full stop per default.”
The film is rated to ISO 400 out of the box correct? So if I set the camera to ISO 200, aren’t I underexposing the film?
Sorry in advance, I know I am going to feel like an idiot when you come back with the answer.
Happy New Year!
Johnny
12. January 2015A Happy New Year to you too, Johnny. :)
An ISO 200 film would be less sensitive to light than an ISO 400 film. If your box speed is ISO 400 and you set your meter to give you values for ISO 200, you will overexpose it by a full stop.
There is no reason to feel like an idiot. If you are used to shooting digital, the first reaction is often to set the ISO speed to 800, which makes your sensor more sensitive to light. Have a look here.
Edwin Mendoza
22. January 2015Johnny,
I must admit that in many years of research on the internet, your blog is one of the most useful ones. You are a great teacher and explain things so that anyone can understand them.
I had shot film all my life until 2005 when I purchased a Nikon D70 and sold my Nikon F100. This year I have returned to film using a Contax G2 and a Leica M7, which have given me amazing images. I also purchased a Contax 645 with an 80mm f/2.8 lens and have shoot three rolls of Fuji 400H, one roll of Portra 400 and one roll of T-Max 400.
I have not gotten images from the Contax 645 as I did with the Leica and the G2, but your blog has made many things clear. Do you have any tips on getting sharper images with the Contax 645?
Johnny
23. January 2015Thanks very much for your kind feedback, Edwin.
I prefer shooting the Contax 645 with manual focus. The Carl Zeiss 80mm 2.0 lens is very sharp when you focus correctly, but the depth of field is very shallow wide open. That takes a bit of practice. Alternatively you could just stop down a little bit until you get used to the camera.
You could also try using a MFS-1 matte focusing screen if you continue to have problems. It comes with an horizontal split-image/microprism which makes focusing a lot easier.
Monika
27. January 2015Hi Johnny,
Thank you so much for this post. Quick question, if you rate your film at ISO 200 instead of actual ISO 400, do you have to develop it as ISO 400 or ISO 200?
Thank you.
Johnny
28. January 2015Monika, thanks for your question.
You rate the film at ISO 200 and develop normally without compensation. Otherwise you would reverse the desired effect of overexposing by a stop.
Simon
18. February 2015I love your work and after seeing some of your images (especially your Farmhouse) I bought an X-Pro1 and a 35mm lens which I love and which has definitely helped me get better at photography.
I love Jose Villa too, however I’m not a pro so don’t have Lightroom (not sure I have the skill set either). Would this work as a close in-camera approximation?
Shoot in Pro Neg Hi simulation (I think this is the Fuji Pro 400H simulation), overexpose by 1/3 or 2/3 like you did, soften the blacks and clip the highlights by setting shadows and highlights to -1 or -2 (or have I got these the wrong way round?).
Thanks!
Johnny
19. February 2015Thank you for your kind feedback and your question, Simon.
I’m happy to hear that you are enjoying your Fuji X-Pro1. I really loved shooting mine and I liked the results I got from it a lot.
I doubt that you will be able to achieve a very “authentic” look with this approach. To make digital images look more similar to film you need to work on the specific differences between the two mediums, which is mainly done with curves (not only exposure). I always got the best results by shooting in RAW (for the latitude of the files alone) and processing my images in Lightroom.
Dan
5. March 2015Hey, thanks for a great article.
I see you mentioned a few Fuji models. Do you have an opinion on the X-A1/X-A2 as an option for achieving this pastel look?
I’m trying to decide between a Sigma DP3 Merrill, a Fuji or saving up for an RX-1 and hoping I never have to buy another camera (unrealistic). Any thoughts?
I’m not a photographer but a furniture designer/maker and would love to capture our process in the Jose Villa romantic style and some interior product shots.
Thanks for your help.
Johnny
6. March 2015Dan, thank you very much for your feedback.
I would personally gravitate towards the Fuji because of the color palette, but you will be able to achieve a similar feel with pretty much every modern digital camera. The pastel look is a mix between RAW processing, light and the base color palette of the scene.
Karen
6. March 2015Thank you so much!
I’ve been searching for the longest time for someone to explain this look and give any sort of tutorial. I totally understand going for your own look but I really wanted to learn this and film is out of my reach, at least for now. Thanks again!
Johnny
7. March 2015Thank you too, Karen. It’s great to hear that you found this post helpful! :)
Nick
23. March 2015Hi Johnny,
I have been looking on the internet for ages for a comprehensive guide to getting that light airy “film look” on digital files. Your article is very informative and helpful. Very well written and good explanation, making it easy to understand. Thank you.
Was wondering if you are still sharing your Cuba presets?
Cheers, Nick.
Johnny
24. March 2015Nick, thank you very much for your kind words.
I’m more than happy to share the presets with you, please send me an email.
Kurtz
3. July 2015Hi Johnny,
I haven’t used RPL before, but does José Villa use the Noritsu scanner as well? If I ask for the José Villa PAC on the Noritsu, would that Color PAC exist? Or do I have to pick the Frontier for scanning my film?
Johnny
4. July 2015Thanks for your question, Kurtz.
José usually has his work scanned on the Frontier, but RPL can scan with his Color PAC on both scanners. Have a look at this blog post if you’re interested.
Denise
15. July 2015I love this article, your perspective, and your work. I shot film for a lot longer than digital and prefer the look of film. I prefer the convenience of digital however. Your article is terrific and has helped shed some light on the film versus digital debate. I would love your presets if still available and any other resources you may have or recommend regarding this.
Thank you in advance! :)
Johnny
17. July 2015Denise, thanks for your kind words. That’s great to hear! :)
Please send me an email, I would be happy to share my Cuba preset with you.
Please note that this is a pretty old workflow (2012) and that you will get significantly better colors and overall more authentic results with the current workflow that my wife Rebecca uses in her Pro Set II and III. If you’re interested to read more, have a look at her blog.
Pia
1. August 2015Thanks for the useful tips! However, I’m a bit confused. When you said you ‘rated’ your film as ISO 200, does it mean that’s what the film speed you set on your film camera? Just clarifying. :)
Johnny
3. August 2015Pia, thanks for your question.
That’s correct. Please have a look here if you would like to read more about that.
Betty Manousos
6. November 2015Hi Johnny,
I have been trying for years to get this look, your tutorial was so incredibly illuminating for me. Thank you so much for sharing all your great info… just wanted you to know that it is highly appreciated! Needless to say, I adore your photography!!
I was wondering if you could share the “Cuba” presets. Thanks a lot!
I’ve been using Lightroom 6.
Thanks, again, I thoroughly enjoyed your post.
Johnny
7. November 2015That’s wonderful to hear, Betty! Thank you very much. :)
Please send me an email, I’d be more than happy to share the preset with you.
Trin
29. November 2015Thanks for this post, Johnny.
I’ve been giving it some thought lately and it got me to wondering – do you think it is possible to get that look using an optical printing process? Like we used to do in the old days? I wonder if this look is in part as much a digital artifact from the scanning process as it is a filmic artifact.
Johnny
30. November 2015Thank you for your feedback, Trin. I think that’s a very interesting question.
I have to speculate here since my only experience with printing in the darkroom is with B&W film, but I think it would be much harder to do with an optical print than with scanning the film and printing it digitally. Part of the color rendition certainly comes from the scanner and how the scanner interprets the negative.
Colin
29. December 2015This article has been a great eye opener for me to the difference between film and digital exposure. I’m probably being dense, but can you clarify the method for metering for the shadows?
Johnny
30. December 2015Colin, thanks very much for your kind feedback and your question.
Please have a look here, you will also find an in-depth discussion in the comments.
Ari
26. January 2016Hi Johnny, thanks so much for such a wonderful tutorial. I am new mom and adore this soft dreamy look for kid’s pictures. I have been searching for a tutorial on how to achieve this as I am a newbie to SLR photography and I’d love to capture my daughter in this type of image. I was wondering if by chance you are still willing to send over your presets?
Johnny
28. January 2016Thank you for your kind words, Ari. Glad you enjoyed the post. :)
That’s no problem, please send me an email.
Jasmine Lord
10. February 2016Great post!
Johnny
12. February 2016Thank you, Jasmine.
Stephanie
14. March 2016Hi, I have a question. When exposing for film you expose for the shadows, is that the same technique for digital?
I did a test this weekend shooting RAW on my Canon 5D Mark II and during a backlit shot, I metered for the shadows around my face and later I tried around my chest but both times the image was severely overexposed. Once I got into Lightroom, I could see the the airy pastel effect on the foreground which was pretty but the sky was just blown out completely. It was super tricky… what did I do wrong?
Also when metering for film and digital, should I always shade the meter bulb with my hand? I found that when I started doing this even in the shaded areas this gave a more accurate read for digital?
Thanks so much,
Stephanie :)
Johnny
16. March 2016Thanks very much for your question, Stephanie.
It’s a different approach with digital. Exposing for the shadows is the right technique for shooting film. With a digital camera you should try to aim for a normal exposure. Under- and overexposure beyond a full stop affect your results negatively and will introduce color shifts and other problems that are not easy to correct.
I know that this is counter intuitive at first, but you will achieve the best and most cohesive results if you overexpose film (2-3 stops) and expose for zero with digital. If you’re using a handheld meter, you would meter for the shadows with film and for skin tones with digital.
Favian
27. March 2016Johnny,
Up to this point I’ve had an analog/digital work flow. All my black and white on film and all color with a digital camera. Next week I’ll be embarking on a trip to South America (Machu Picchu) and decided to only take my analog camera and using B&W and color negative film.
After reading several of your blog post and going through all the comments, I have the confidence to use color negative film for my color photos. I’ll take the leap of faith and definitely overexpose my film 2-3 stops. I’ll use a graduated ND filter for some of my landscapes and will compensate accordingly. In the event it’s an overcast day, does overexposure still apply and work the same?
Thank you.
Johnny
27. March 2016Favian, that’s wonderful to hear! Thanks so much for sharing this with me.
Yes, my approach to metering works exactly the same in all lighting conditions. I hope you’ll have a fantastic trip! Please share some of your pictures when you’re back. :)
Wayne
6. July 2016Thank you so much for this brilliant article. I have learned a lot from it and the comments. Just wondering what’s the main difference your presets have from VSCO presets? Thanks again.
Johnny
6. July 2016Thanks very much for your question, Wayne. Glad you found my post helpful.
I don’t make presets, I just shared a color grading tutorial. There were no products beforehand that you could use to achieve this look with a digital camera.
Gusmank
11. July 2016Hi Johnny,
Thank you for the share. It’s really helpful.
I use Fujifilm cameras since 2 years ago, and now I’m shooting the X-Pro2. The sensor in this camera is really unique. It really responds like film, when you shoot RAW & overexpose. It’s not losing lot of information like other digital sensors.
But, to achieve the pastel film look, I agree that you have to change the way you shoot completely. I keep looking for backlight or flat light all the time, and it works good with any preset out there. But Rebecca Lily’s presets are the closest ones to Fuji 400H film I’ve found so far.
Johnny
11. July 2016Gusmank, thanks for your kind feedback.
I’m happy to hear that and I feel the same way. I had a lot of fun shooting the Fuji X-Pro too and I agree, Rebecca’s presets have a wonderful and natural feel to them. I’m glad you’re enjoying both!
William
16. November 2016Hi Johnny,
I’m afraid I am 4 years too late to this post, but I am glad I found it because I’ve been trying to emulate this look for a while now. I have shot all film with my old Leica M2, but have recently moved to digital (Fuji X100T) because the costs of processing and scanning is a bit much for a weekend hobby.
Would you by any chance still offer a Lightroom 5 preset of the workflow demonstrated in this article?
Johnny
16. November 2016Thanks for your comment, William.
I’m sorry, I don’t share the Cuba preset anymore because this workflow is now seriously outdated. You will get significantly better colors and overall more authentic results with the current workflow that Rebecca uses in her products, especially with an updated sensor and the latest version of Adobe Lightroom.
Wayne
11. January 2017Hi Johnny,
I am shooting Fuji 400H on a Contax 645 with the 80mm f2. But find it very difficult to have accurate focus when on manual and f2. Any suggestions or should I shoot it on f4 instead of f2? Thank you so so much again for your help and generosity.
Johnny
11. January 2017Wayne, thanks for your question.
Someone had asked about that here. I would definitely try using the MFS-1 matte screen, it comes with an horizontal split-image/microprism and makes focusing the Contax 645 a lot easier. But it takes a bit of practice to get used to the shallow depth of field of the 80mm at f2.
Matt
11. December 2017“Then you add back contrast and saturation for the shadows and lower mid-tones.”
Sorry, I might probably be too late to ask about this but can you elaborate to me what did you mean by ‘add back contrast’ and how? For the shadows and midtones?
Thanks. I’m a big fan. :)
Johnny
11. December 2017Thank you for your question, Matt.
Please compare this with step 2 of my tutorial, I included a screenshot. I used the tone curve and the contrast and blacks in Lightroom to correct brightness in the shadow and mid-tone range.
Neilluos
25. January 2018Hi Johnny,
thanks for your work. I got here yesterday, it seems I found a treasure. I will come here everyday to see your blog, thanks again. You take so much time to answer questions. I found new knowledge this way and so enjoyed the learning process.
Johnny
27. January 2018Neilluos, thank you very much for your kind words. It makes me happy that you find my blog helpful. :)
Samir
22. August 2018Just want to say thank you for this post.
Your page is great and I will keep a eye on it.
I’m new to 35mm film. I enjoy it and try to get better, and this was a big help.
What do you think the future is for analog photography?
Thank you!
Johnny
24. August 2018Thank you for your kind feedback, Samir. Glad to hear you enjoyed the post.
That’s a loaded question and I don’t think I can fit my answer into a comment. :)
To condense it down, I am very positive about the future of analog photography. I think we’re seeing a pretty stable upward trend for a few years already and I don’t think it’ll will ever go away. But my guess is that film will continue to be a niche process because of the technicalities and the costs involved.