Getting the film look on digital Cameras
There is something to analog photos that no digital camera can really replace. Film cameras may seem a bit outdated but there is coming up a new wave of photographers rediscovering film right now. Despite producing a truly unique look they have one major disadvantage: You always have to make the step of developing and scanning your film, if you want to share your photos, for example. Digital photos don't need these extra steps but you often have to edit your photos to have a nice look to them, a step that isn't necessary for film photos.
What if you could combine the advantages of analog and digital photography?
I want to show a way, which works for me. For Fujifilm cameras there is a community of people, who create "recipes" which recreate the characteristics of certain analog films. You can dial these settings directly into your camera and you get the desired look directly out of camera, no extra editing needed.
I not only enjoy to spend more time shooting and less (mostly none) editing but also think it made me more creative as well. You have to concentrate more on getting the photo right while shooting and can't rely on "saving" you photo with editing. I personally can think about composition and just capturing the moment more.
I mostly use Recipes from fujixweekly.com, which is an amazing blog by photographer Ritchie Roesch. I've taken all sample images below using his Kodak Portra 400 and 160 Recipe. The photos are directly out of camera (I only added a bit of grain in Lightroom).
But you don't necessarily have to have a Fujifilm camera to get an analog vibe to your photos. You always have the option to add a film look in post processing (using a Lightroom preset for example). I think this Youtube video makes it really clear how you can achieve a film look independently from the camera you use.
What do you think about recreating the characteristics of film in your digital photos? Do you enjoy the look of analog film or do you prefer a more "modern" appearance of your pictures? I'm curious to your about your thoughts.
Kodak Portra 400:
Kodak Portra 160:
More photos on my Instagram page!