Today I’m launching a great new emulsion in FIlmist 2.3 The Fuji Pro 160NS preset to sit alongside the legendary Fuji Pro 400H. But even if you don’t use Filmist, the lesson from today’s video is big
I didn’t even know this. It took me years of creating this thing like this preset to understand how much we have lost. This really came to light in the latest update of my Fimist presets and Styles.
160NS is a great film. In digital terms, it seems close. Especially on some photos. But consider that Fuji did all the research and development to make this distinct film. There was reason for that.
As you watch look for the details. In a world of sledgehammer sliders, AI, supersaturation and synthesizes guitars. Everything has to be over the top. or does it?
The Fuji 160NS is not that far from the 400H. In today’s world, many might say, I don’t see the difference. But maybe something is deeply wrong with your edited photos.
Side by side you can see how the color tones vary and those can make a huge difference (click for larger).
Fuji spent millions to make a film just slightly different.
Why? We don’t think with that kind of detail anymore.
In digital the work I invest to make 400H and 160NS as presets is a lot for me. But nothing compared to what Fuji spent creating and marketing them. Even with all that work it was considered worth it to make another product that was just a little varied.
That should tell us something about how much more nuance photographers thought about back then. Film was the preset of the day and those little differences mattered.
Digital needs more nuance.
It’s there. The tools are powerful enough. The courses are at our fingertips.
But it’s hard to wow people on Facebook or compare with fake Ai photos with a slight tonal variance. We have changed our mindset from subtly to a sledgehammer. It’s a really good hammer.
Once you start seeing the nuance. It comes back. You value it again and you start feeling the little variables in color and tone. Just like when you Hack Shadows you quickly connect with how magical photos are created.
It’s another reason I love to edit with film, shoot real film, and study what makes it work. because it makes me a better photographer when I shoot digitally, and it will for you also.
Last week I was working on the 1.2 update for our Filmist emulsion presets. We develop these for Lightroom Capture 1 and LUT. I needed some fresh test image so I took my model Sondra out for a quick natural light shoot on these quiet side street in central Mexico.
The soft light seems a bit flat but there’s direction to it and it’s perfect for portraits. The quiet greens made for a sublime contrast to the dress and the sunset light was filtered like a giant softbox. Then we started editing with FIlmist. No need to lose ourselves in over saturation. There’s a reason film color was refined for over 100 years.
I’ll with just some color grades and then do more detailed finish work on my top favorites. This first one is just the new 160V Pushed presets which gives a nice poppy push to the RAW file with this really soft light. We want to bring out the shape of the light. The reason good presets are so powerful is not because you can’t edit sliders manually. It’s because you cab quickly browse looks that are close and get the one that really fits the image you’re working on. You get to see things you would never see if you editing everything manually.
I start with the RAW file color grade. If it’s a 5 star image that I will edit in PS, I will take off the grain until after my final edit and then add it back to keep the image surface clean and free of artifacts. This one is just a preset and is now ready for some quick detail work in PS.
The key with great color in a portrait is to separate the object. To make your subject pop and have that 3D feel. It’s starts with light but the way we mix colors is huge. That’s why it used to be so important to choose the right film, today we can do that with color grading or tools like Filmist which are my go to because they give me the right mix.
After the presets I went into PS for quick skin and sharpness detail using Alchemist retouching actions and last but now least SHARPist actions to give it that final zing. Here’s the finished shots and I’ll mark the film look I used on each one of these.
It’s worth noting that while I speak of the tools I use to save me time, all these things can be done manually. Using color sliders to control the mix and get a filmic look, using frequency separation for gentle smoothing, eyes bags and more,. Using sharping for that final pop. These are all tools we have in nearly every photo editor. It’s just a question of how you apply them.
The anatomy of an edit. We started with a nice soft Raw out of camera, then use the Color Pro 400p preset for a nice filmic color grade. Then I spend 5 minutes in Photos. I used Alchemist for a very subtle frequency separation skin retouch, the eye bag brush to quickly soften the eyes, the Alchemy eyes brush to make them pop and finished with a bit of burn and dodge and the Rocket Sharp action from Sharpist. Boom, bang, boom.
These are just fun shots and I don’t even need Photoshop. This super warm sunset light looks great but I don’t want top over saturate so I’m using a nice soft Concept film like 400 ES that keeps the color soft.
After the presets I did a little work Alchemist using tools like the eye bag brush and then a sharpening using Sharpist. Not too much, just a little final clean up.
The final edit
Full length for the legs for days look. I mixed presets for a soft color blend and then spent a few minutes without Lumist as tone control is key in longer shots.
Used PolaColor S here and the light dark sharp from Sharpist actions to make her pop. That’s all.
These are B type shots that are great for Instagram. Sometimes I’ll just to a color grade and leave it at that. No Photoshop or extra retouching needed.
Filmist beings the look of real film to digital. You be thinking you’re not interested in buying the the complete pack. So we made this Filmist Lite collection so you can get started with the beauty of film in your edits. These 8 presets are just the start of what Filmist can, but they a lot.
If you like what you see check out Filmist Complete with over 50 emulsions. You can also learn how to use Filmist by watching the training videos for Lightroom here and for Capture 1 here. Aldo if you have any questions just email us, effects@seimstudios.com enjoy!
Early this year we released OUR new miniseries, PHOTOGRAPHICS, covering everything from composition, to line, light and history. You can also watch here on YouTube.
There’s a great lack of photographic history out there and knowing where we came from can truly change how we work. Today we’re releasing the entire history segment from PHOTOGRAPHICS for no cost. We hope you’ll check out the entire series, but you certainly don’t want to miss this historical overview of photography. Perhaps someday we’ll be able produce a full history miniseries on the topic.
In the next 20 minutes you’ll get the basics and we encourage you to take it further by joining organizations like the International Photography Hall of Fame and taking deeper studies of painting and history to discover makes our craft so beautiful. You can also check out the full trailer for PHOTOGRAPHICS and get the rest of the 3 hour series here. — Seim
We are on the road for a month of Fall color. Not as long as the great 3 month winter tour, but no less epic for that. This time it’s yours truly Gavin Seim, my wife Sondra, our 3 kids, my brother and co-producer Nathan and his wife Allie. Yea, that means two cars and a lot of gas to pay for. So this trip has to be really good.
We’re filming the new PHOTOGRAPHICS Miniseries, making new pictorials and Super Camping around the west. (FYI you can check out our camping resource guide here). We’ve got 4×5 film, a cinema camera and the open road. We’ll bring you the play by play right here. You can also check out our travel map. Bring it on! Gav
Day 17-25 – Epic Hiking, Climbing Rock, and Death Camp
We’ve been on the move. Some very nice days in Utah. We were up as high as Ten Thousand feet near Cedar Breaks and down to Zion and one of the most amazing campsites ever. I finally got an image that did our secret view justice. Stay tuned for that. Nathan and I even hiked the Subway. 8 miles of grueling labor but the stunning scenery was more than an ample reward. The goods and footage are coming soon from that effort.
Nest we headed down through Vegas. We stayed most of the next day, but we didn’t touch the slots. We ran errands and did some rock climbing with a guy we met while looking around REI. It was really cool and we geared up a bit so we can climb on our own.
Next up was Death Valley. We camped on the ruins of an old trailer park on some BLM land just outside the park. Since it was so close we affectionately called it death camp. Desolation abounds, but so do interesting things. We spent a couple days there and now we’re moving on to Yosemite as we come into the final week on the road. Photographics is coming out beautifully and I have a selection of grand images that will make this trip well worth the effort.
Sondra and the kids with me at sunset in Death valley. It’s a desolate place, but there is much beauty here.
We went climbing with an off duty Policeman we met at REI. That prompted us to go out and buy some gear of our own. Good times.
Nathan rolling some stunning footage during a long hike. What a beautiful area.
The shoe tree along US 50 in Utah. Apparently it’s a thing.
The great new sign on the tailgate. Just so people know who we are. 😉
Camped at 10,500 ft near Cedar Breaks. Neat area, but it was a bit cooler.
Day 8-16 The Wild Wandering Color: It’s been a good week. We’ve moved from Idaho, to Utah, to Nevada and Back to Utah. The color has been soothing to the busy mind and the filming we’ve been able to do in these locations is nothing short of stunning. We’ve pulled hours of footage in some of the most beautiful places on earth.
We’re catching up on email and supplies and then we’ll head into Cedar Breaks for some new views. After that, off to Zion, then down through Vegas to swing up to Death Valley and Yosemite NP. We’re about halfway through and the results are looking good.
Here’s a fun outtake from the filming we were doing up in the hills. Sometimes you can’t help yourself. You can pre-order the film here.
The secret is for the parent not to enter a situation whereby the children can see the playground from the car window. Once this happens the parent has few options for escape.
Nathan working hard as we film up on the Nebo loop.
We found wild Ephedra Viridis which makes a great tea. The kids were having a blast.
A free camp up in Great Basin National park. A little hidden gem in Nevada that’s quite stunning.
Day 6 – 8. Braking Bad: We we made it down into Utah and camped at a favorite spot up by Ogden. You can see it on the maps.
Then we headed down to Salt lake area. Now along the way I realized that something as seriously wrong with the brakes on the camper. It was barely grabbing and that’s not a good feeling on those steep Utah hills. We parked at the Cabelas lot in Lehi and tore into them.
It’s taken us a few days of running for parts, but being in a big city helped. It was shot, drums scoured, magnets worn to wire. We totally replaced the entire brake system on all 4 tires and should be ready to roll in the morning with beautiful grippy brakes.
While in town I picked up some other parts for the Super Camper and ran some errands, including a trip to Picture Line in Salt Lake where I dropped them a copy of the EXposed workshop to consider carrying in the store.
We also just released a brand new image from Idaho. Check it out. Tomorrow we move on and see what the open road brings.
Side 1 torn down. It’s not as hard as it look. Replaced the entire system for about $400. We’re talking backing plates, drums and all.
Day 2-5 – It’s been a great ride already. We covered a good deal of miles and made it into far Idaho (from where I live, that’s SE Idaho). We’ll head down into Utah soon. We have two vehicles in our little caravan and we have been roaming all over. We left the interstate and found some Fall color in the Idaho highlands. We went up to Craters of The Moon monument and the stunning desolation that was there. Gavin even nearly got arrested in an encounter where he filmed a traffic stop and would not back down. It actually got a lot of news coverage. Some agree, some do not. But we can all agree that there’s nothing like a great American road trip.
We have camped out in WalMart lots for the first few nights, but now we’re finding the color. This stunning free camp spot up by Big Wood River in South Idaho gave us some great views and we pulled some neat footage for PHOTOGRAPHICS.
Stunning textural lava flows at Craters of The Moon.
We drove up to Craters of the Moon National Monument. It was truly a grand piece of barren desolation. But due to our lovely government shutting down it was closed. We managed to go back down the road and walk in from a pullout. Got some good visuals.
Day 1
Loaded and ready on 10/7/11. We did not hit the road until about 6PM, but we drove none the less, making it to a Walmart parking lot in Pendleton, Oregon the first night. The scenery will get better 😉
Filmist beings the look of real film to digital. You be thinking you’re not interested in buying the the complete pack. So we made this Filmist Lite collection so you can get started with the beauty of film in your edits. These 8 presets are just the start of what Filmist can, but they a lot.
