Film Styles for Capture One Archives

September 15, 2023

film presets and styles, Film Presets for Lightroom, Film Styles for Capture One, free lightroom presets, presets, special effects

Filmic Lightroom Presets and Film Styles Reboot your editing. Start grounding your edits and see.

Ever feel your editing is messy, or you need a reboot?

Grounding changes your editing and improves your style. es, Filmic Lightroom presets and styles help a lot. But your style can still be whatever you want. Stay with me till the end and I will make this easy.

Why do most in-camera profiles look so bad? Why do I come back to an edit I liked and it seems gross? It’s because digital edits lack a reference point.

This is a Level 1 Filmic Lightroom preset from Natural HDR. That is it’s using film tone and color inspiration but not trying to be a specific film. I use these liberally but not as my grounding point.

Here are some free Filmic Lightroom presets.

I’ll also add some videos today showing how I create and use Filmist Lightroom and Capture One presets and some of the things I learned along the way.

To get staretd you can download my free packs…
Download my Free FIlmist Film presets sampler pack from the filmist page. Your grounding.
Download the Free Silver 5 free presets pack here which is Filmic black and white.
Get my Natural HDR free presets. Non-film edits, but grounded by filmic style.

I’ve made many videos over the years as I explored film stocks and created the Gen.2 looks of my film presets like Portra, Ektar, and Classic Negative which have become the go-to styles for many.

OK, let’s get started…

1. Grounding works because we exist in analog!

Ever come back to an edit the next day or week and thought? What was I thinking? I sure have.

You lacked a baseline and went too far. It happens to all of us. Filmic Lightroom presets and styles are not just a hipster fad, and if you’re still not using them you are missing out. So first we’re going the base our edits as close to real analog film as possible. Don’t worry you don’t have to stay there.

Much like Shadow Hacking, which brings you back to in-camera thinking. Filmic Lightroom Presets presets and styles seem simple but are not. I was a skeptic. But today Filmic Lightroom presets are my go-to for every session and for the past 5 years I’ve been developing better film and filmic presets to improve this process.

Here’s a video I did recently to explain how I use film presets overall in my work.

A film preset edit gives you a wide range of colors and tones but with a more subdued look that lets the truth of your photo come through so you can decide. When you add Shadow Hacking as I teach in my live workshop, you get photos that print nearly indistinguishable from film prints.

Level 2 filmic lightroom presets. This film style is the Ektar 100 like and — There is a shadow atmosphere happening here even though the EKtar 100-like. A level 2 film preset in Filmist is not super intense it constantly works and is a grounding development process.

There are two levels of Filmic Lightroom presets.

Both are important but you should know the difference between them because the second is better for rebooting and a lot harder to make. So much so that most presets sold don’t qualify.

The first is basic Filmic presets. Level 1:

These are most Filmic Lightroom Presets and Filmic styles in Capture One LUTS, etc. They have a film-inspired tone and look. What’s that mean when you are making them?

Usually, it means darker more obscured greens, and deeper shadows but not overdriving contrast and color using what we learned from over a hundred years of Darkroom to effect digital edits.

Filmic Lightroom presets and styles that are just inspired by the film are the easiest way to make your own. I use them all the time. But I don’t use them for a grounding base film process reboot my edits and they can quickly grow back into over-driven digital edits.

Street photography with level 1 filmic lightroom presets and styles — Street air is a prestige from Street’ist. This level one filmic preset has a lot of color and nuance like a chemical film, but does not try to be any specific film.

The second is true Film like presets, Level 2:

Film Lightroom presets, capture one style, LUTS etc. represent a much more complex edit. You could spend a week making a look like the Portra 400 presets from Filmist.

A Film preset is not just influenced by analog styles. It’s tested and refined to look like the film. That’s what I did with Filmist which is why it’s taken me 5 years and improves with every version. I watch the reviews and look for more information all the time. Real films reset your editing brain more because they ground you.

When I started trying to create film presets I was thinking more of filmic. Make looks that were inspired by my film. But it was not enough so I started digger deeper and studying the nuance of individual stocks to get a true-to-life representation of those films.

A level 2 film preset is about a specific film like the creamy shadows of this Delta 3200-like. You can mod or turn these presets up to enhance the effect. But I start simple and natural to get a good grounding.

2. This editing theory will reset your editing brain.

You might be thinking… Nothing new here. But the more you use this process in your edits. Level 2’s especially. The more you realize that these film stocks lasted decades for a reason. They seem simple at first you soon you realize well they are grounded and complicated.

Apply a film you like to every photo. Do your quick exposure adjustments and get the session looking balanced. When you edit with film-like presets and filmic styles you get perspective.

You might turn a filmic lightroom preset up or down. You might mod for contrast or transition totally different look. But your perceptions are grounded in the analog that is proven to withstand the test of time.

If you look at this session you can see the edit from when I first shot the session was ok. But it felt burned and it was inconsistent across poses and lighting.

Look how I came back and re-edited the session with Portra 160-like film preset and a few mods. Each pose is slightly different, but they all have a constant feel. I like them gentle like this but my old self would want to add more mods, saturation, etc. That’s fine, as long as you have grounding to keep you on point.

Soon you’ll find yourself going back to old edits and now they seem strange and overcooked. You reboot your brain in terms of editing. It does not mean other filters and edits are not important anymore. I still use Natural HDR or Bella 2 which are not specifically filmic.

How the session looks now after a more refined film edit and a good grounding from analog.

In this AI World, real things are gaining value.

And so we relate to and believe in analog things. Especially in this new AI-driven world where sometimes everything feels fake. This level of photography is going to become more important every year and Filmic Lightroom Presets help me stay focused.

Yes, there’s a level 3. Shooting digital side by side with the real film and using that as your grouping for shadow, color, and editing. I do this to practice and further refine Filmist for example but it gives you even more grounding and perspective.

Even the way we adjust exposure changes with analog. Pushing the exposure slider is not the same as pushing film and as I’ve become more advanced in my Film presets, even the mod presets, curves, and exposure settings have improved.

See this video from my channel after I created the Gen.2 the Portra-like pushed film style.

Creating pushed filmic looks in digital and why it matters.

You Ground with real film presets, then find YOUR STYLE!

Yes, editing with filmic styles and Filmic Lightroom Presets makes you edit everything better. Much like shooting film improves your understanding of shadow and creativity by resetting your brain to an analog state that lets you see your digital work from a new perspective.

But it’s important you ground to something solid. That means don’t just edit your first photo of the day and use that as your baseline edit. Start with an edit you know the analog human brain accepts. Film is a great start.

Start with a level 2 film preset. Not just a filmic look. That means using well-researched presets or spending the days of research you need to create one yourself that is accurately representative of a real film. Or download the free or complete filmist and that will get you started.

filmic styles and wet plate platinum in photoshop — It does not always stop at a preset. Sometimes I take go further into Photoshop and use chemical-based edits like this cyan plate platinum mix from Emulsion 4 actions. Analog just keeps giving.

3. Filmic Lightroom Presets and film styles. Then move outward.

The grounding keeps you constant even when you’re not doing the filmic style.

So for example I will go to Filmist and use Potra Ektar-like film lightroom presets. Maybe Fuji 400h. I know these analog looks withstood the test of time and that our minds relate to them.

I don’t have to stop there and I may not even stay with a film look. Grounding your edits sounds boring, but it actually makes you flexible and creative and keeps you out of a rut. So even when I go to HDR, that grounding is affecting my edit.

So I look at the mood and shadows of my shoot. I may decide to veer from film and use other effects, actions, edits, or presets. But now can really feel where I am in the edit better.

It’s about rebooting the brain to see past the temporary creative blindness that the ever-changing sliders and tools can give us so that we use those tools better with each unique photo session.

At least grab the free Filmic Lightroom presets, film styles, and LUTS I linked above and try them for a while. If they seem not intense enough that’s normal. Your editing brain will soon reboot and you will open up a totally new horizon.

So Let’s Recap…

Ground the baseline of your edits with edits as close to real analog film as possible. Use Filmic Lightroom presets and film styles, or even create your own.
Edit photos with favorite films and use that as your grounded starting point. I will often start with Portra 400 or Ektar as my baseline because these films work on anything and I can apply them to an entire session.
You can expand out with mods, other filters, presets, actions etc., and the final look for your project. Use your first edits as a reference to not edit too far. Staying with the film is also fine. I often stay with the film look/

I hope this helps you refine your edit process as much as it did for me. Let me know in the comments and if needed I’ll do more videos on this. Gavin Seim

portra 400 as a filmic style is amazing and changes how you see tone rolloff on digital — With Filmic Lightroom Presets like Portra 400-like, you almost can’t fail. It was not until I discovered these processes for grounding that I realized the nuance of highlight roll-off and how we lost it in digital. Look at the before and after of this edit on the filmist page and you’ll see what I mean.

Expanding into level 2 filmic styles like Velvia 100 like let you stay creative and still know you’re on point.

June 16, 2023

actions, film presets and styles, Film Styles for Capture One, Fine Art, lightroom, presets

Why I never use Photoshops built in Black & White Filter and how I updated BlackRoom 1.2

As of 2023, this is the absolute best way to get dramatic black and white I have discovered. Plus I just did a big update to my Blackroom actions (login here if you own Blackroom)

But today’s video will fill you with black and white-ness, even if you don’t use my actions.

I’ll show you the best way to create black and white in Photoshop and why it;’s better than doing it only in Lightroom as we edit a landscape and a portrait. Go fullscreen and watch this one in 4k.

You can get BlackRoom here and if you’ve bought it, login and download your update.

Improving your Dramatic black and white is about nuance.

New photographers often make the mistake of thinking that dramatic black and white is more about adding contrast. Something the opposite is true. It’s actually about using shadow correctly.

That’s why you see me in the video referencing to the Zones and thinking about where I want the tone to be placed. You control all of that.

Speaking on shadow, If you’ve never been to one of my free Shadow Hackers LIVE workshops don’t miss the next one.

This lovely portrait edited fine in Lightroom. But in Blackroom it refined much more.

Lightroom, C1, or Photoshop for Dramatic black and white?

Both work great as you’ll see in today’s hands-on video. If you have a good editing plan they bother convert beautifully. But I’ll show you in today’s video why you will always get a bit more if you finish in Photoshop, even if you started out in Lightroom or Capture One (which is what I do).

In the end, you can do all of this manually, create your own tools, presets, actions etc if you are really experienced, or use tools like my Silver presets and Blackroom actions.

The main thing is to try the methods I showed you today and your dramatic black and white photos will touch the sky sell more and win competitions. Really.

That is the power of the dramatic black and white. Let me know what you think.

Gavin Seim

Using a gradient map and layers in PS I had more control in this photo from Yosemite National Park

February 3, 2023

capture one, Film Styles for Capture One, Lighting, lightroom, special effects, technique

Speed_Mods in Lightroom and Capture one Improve your Photography style and speed!

It took me years to learn that consistency, style, and editing speed are directly linked. Many new photographers think editing slower means a better edit. In general, the opposite is true!

1. Why Speed_Mods improve your photography style and speed.

I’ve shown you how editing mods create a better editing result and speed in Lightroom and Capture One. Today I will break down how they are made and how to use them better.

Like Speed-Masking in Lightroom, Speed_Mods are included in my preset packs and you can make your own. They let you take any recipe and make it your own but without wasting a second. So, lets not waste any seconds and jump right into todays video.

2. Your style starts with consistency!

I know firsthand that finding a style can take time and that you sometimes can’t seem to decide. Part of the issue is that we have SO MANY EDITING OPTIONS that we lose focus.

It’s not wrong to have various flavors in your photos. But your style can be defined not only by how you shoot, but also by the nuance of your edit. Most overthink this, so they are always searching. But your recipes combined with Speed_Mods will help you stay the course, and your style will shine through every time.

When you create or use presets in Lightroom, the goal is not to create the same photo as everyone else. Just like when you shot Portra 160, it did not mean your photos were meant to look like the rest of the world.

Things like this Xpan 65×24 crop can help you define your style. And film edits and mods do the same.

3. Recipes are like your Film, Mods are like your chemicals.

If you use Filmist and add Porta or Ekrar or Classic Negative, those looks are a base recipe that has been proven to work millions of times.

Buy using a recipe (like choosing a film) you create a aesthetic, but just like in the darkroom we could then shift shadows, tones and details by how we developed, not you can adjust that recipe to your liking.

Of course going straight to granular sliders is fine. But say I apply Silver 5 wet plate look like I did in the video and I want a more HDR feel. I can go and play with sliders of I can simply apply the HDR mod from mod-kit presets. The speed-Mod gives me a refined process based on testing and I am done in a moment.

Professional software is about being able to find your creative edge and your style. Just like for 20 years we’ve used Actions in Photoshop, the RAW editing apps made for pros will always have tools like presets and styles to let us create more and faster.

In the viddeo we see how this photo started as a bit of a dud. But we found the style in it that fit with my theme by having the right mods recipes.

4. Photographers who know their own style!

I can’t tell you the amount of times I’ve seen people say. Don’t use presets, don’t buy presets, make your own style. It’s like saying, find a harder way and use that instead. Pros want all the tools at their command.

There’s nothing wrong with making your own presets and styles like I show you in this video how to plan your own Speed_mod presets. Just don’t put up walls to your creality.

I’ve spent hundreds of hours refining packs like Silver, Natural HDR and Filmist. (all of these have free packs) Why? Because once a work is built, it can be used again and again and I don’t have to waste those hours to maintain the creative style I use with those presets and a few mods.

Recipes and mods combined like this will elevate your editing speed and style, and I hope you’ll give it a try and tell me in the comments what you think.

Gavin Seim

Mods like Speed Masks that I use in Elegance 4 let me use advanced tools fast and try them, that means I try more things to get the look I was going for. Speed, recipes and good mods means a more focused edit, not a generic edit.

Many mods can work. By finding a recipe I like this bold warm Gold-Chrome look, I can then mod to make the style fit my visualization . Staying consistent and strong in my shadows and presentation.

January 13, 2023

film presets and styles, Film Presets for Lightroom, Film Styles for Capture One, Fuji Classic Negative Preset, presets, special effects

This Ektar 100 film preset for Lightroom and Capture One is a game changer.

Ektar 100 is a classic among films. So I made a film preset.

It’s considered great for landscapes and street work and it’s one of the few films still available in 2023. But those who know it well, also love it for portraits. Lots of prestes have been called Ektar inspired. Today I’ll show you the essentials of this recipe of my authentic and detailed Ektar 100 preset.

Get this film preset in my Filmist pack. Or make your own based on what I show in the video. You can get Classic Negative and Portra 160 presets in my FREE Filmist Sampler Here.

Why Ektar over Portra or Fuji Film preset recipes?

The first version of the Ektar 100 presets I made for the Filmist film presets pack was good. But it was now perfect and may not have been your go-to like the Portra Gen.2 presets. When I want something a bit more robust than Porta, Finer than Natura 1600, and more complex than film presets like Classic Chrome, I’ll be going to Ektar.

Rather than being designed for people like Portra, Ektar is more of an all-use film. But despite its rich reds, it makes great portraits, streets, and landscapes all in one film.

Here’s How I made the Ektar 100 like Gen2

Kodaks Ektar has come in various versions, but the most famous and still made is Ektar 100. It’s not an easy look to replicate digitally, but it has complex color magic that is great. Most of the Ektar variants are no longer available, but you still can buy the 2000’s era Ektar 100 version.

So in Filmist v1.8 I went back to the basics. As I show in the recipe overview in the video, it’s mostly about ultra-detailed curves and HSL. I’ve shot Ektar myself in my 4×5 work so I am familiar with its deep colors and often slightly red tint. But the secret to really getting a digital film look right is to refine it tirelessly until it works on all image types.

I researched deeper and watched reviews on the film, and how different people use and process it. How each process works differently to get slight variants. Then you combine all that to make the look really good.

The warm skin tones in Ektar 100 look great if processed well and that reflects in the presets simulation of the film.

What goes a Gen.2 Film Simulation Preset Mean?

Most companies make presets, you buy them and that’s what you get. But I keep refining and updating them and in Filmist I’ve spent hundreds of hours creating free updates since it launched.

Every Gen.2 film preset I make takes more hours of tinkering and study to make that film look perfect on digitally. In Filmist 1.8 I finished the Gen.2 versions of Classic Chrome and Classic Negative presets as well as vastly improved the color nuances of these popular fuji profiles. More on that in this post.

But Ektar 100 is about making the presets for Lightroom and Capture One represent the actual chemical film in every use case. And it’s fantastic. This new version is so much more subtle, and you’ll find that whether you’re shooting the streets of glamorous portraits, it has that natural fine-grain film feel with deep reds and nuanced color gradients. It’s a true Gen.2 film preset and will quickly become a go-to.

The ways reds and blues are rendered is distinct in the Ektar film look presets but it looks amazing in most scenes.

Why should you be using Film simulations as your editing baseline?

I make a lot of good presets, like Silver black and white and PowerFlow presets and more. Then there are actions. You may have those or you’ve made your own.

The film is something special. Using film presets as a baseline for color and black-and-white edits make you see color and shadow. It will make your editing more subtle and you’ll see the nuance that gentle changes make.

Try the Ektar film preset or make your own from the recipe essentials that I show in the video. There are different ways to interpret this film look as a preset, but I this this Ektar 100 like Gen.2 really conveys it well. If you still shoot film, go shoot a roll and tell me how you think this rates.

Thanks for coming and keep shooting – Gavin Seim

Complex shadow definition, fine grain and color nuance make this film a favorite and I worked overtime to re-create that aesthetic.

This film preset give a magical undertone that makes ordinary scenes come alive. Film is good at that.

Subline reds are a distinct thing about the Ektar 100 feel, but they way they mix with blues in Lightroom and Capture one is great.

Like Fujis Classic film looks, Portra and Natura, Ektar Like Gen.2 will be a go-to film preset that you will come back to all the timer.

January 6, 2023

capture one, Film Presets for Lightroom, Film Styles for Capture One, free capture one styles, free lightroom presets, lightroom, special effects

Gen.2 of Classic Negative and Classic Chrome Like Capture One and Lightroom Film Presets.

Classic Neg and Classic Chrome are popular color profiles on Fuji cameras. It seems Fuji is the only camera maker who has managed to make its in-camera profiles iconic. That’s because it takes its camera profiles from Film. Can we do the same with C1 styles or Lightroom Film Presets?

Film presets are as useful as they are hard to make.

Classic Negative like capture one and lightroom film presets revised 2023 edition — The Gen.2 Classic Negative Like presets has been refined a lot since my first version a few years ago giving you the JPEG-like colors with the RAW advantages in post.

I’ve been making master preset packs since Lightroom launched. But the hardest to create are my Capture One and Lightroom film presets, Filmist. Presets like PowerFlow and Natural HDR and great. But film does something magical for digital.

I just finished Filmist V1.8 with new Gen. 2 versions of my Classic negative-like and Classic Chrom-like presets, as well as Ektar Gen2 (I made a post about that here) With nearly 5 years of development, Filmist has become a king of great film presets, and I’m super proud of it.

Download Filmist Film presets/styles Sampler here

I’ve included the improved Gen.2 version of Classic Negative-like for you Fuji lovers, PLUS a few other film presets to get you started.

The new Gen.2 Classic Chrome-Like preset can be found in Filmist Complete, but if you want to create your own version for free, you can watch the video I made on the recipe here.

Classic Chrome like capture one and lightroom film preset improved in all the details. — The JPEG Classic Chrom from my Fuji V100V next to the RAW file processed with the presets only. This looks was especially hard to re-create on RAW, but now that I have it I can use it on files from any camera.

I love Film presets. Here’s why you should.

Overdriving sliders in an edit is a very common problem. More is not more in a great photo. That, I believe, is why people like these Fuji camera profiles—they are subtle.

It’s silly, but it hurts a little when my customers reject my recommendation to try Filmist as their next pack. I know they are missing out. I love film presets because when you shoot real film or edit with good film presets, it changes the way you create photos.

Things that were once boring become atmospheric and feel more real. It helps you gain perspective on every other process because film will always have an organic look.

I also use and love Fuji cameras, but I nearly always apply the looks with a preset and not a baked-in look because it gives more control and better results. Plus you can use it on any camera or video thanks to LUTS.

Filmist 1.8 brings better C1 and Lightroom Film Presets!

Lightroom Film presets and Capture One Film styles v1.8, Filmist has new Gen.2 film improvements.

In today’s post, I’ll share a variety of photos processed with these Capture One and Lightroom Film presets. Everything comes from my newly updated V1.8 and nearly world-famous “like” versions of these recipes as presets for any camera.

1.8 also has the new Gen 2 of the Ektar 100 which is a really great film. I’ll write more about that in another post. All these looks come thanks to many test images from the long hours, so they are more accurate than ever. The updated version includes the Lightroom Presets, the Capture One Styles, and the video LUTS.

You can also download the Filmist sampler again for the 1.8 version. If you own FIlmist Complete, this is a free update, and you can get your account for the latest install.

Classic Chrome Like Lightroom FIlm Presets — Classic Chrome Like, RAW File with preset

CClassic Negative Like Lightroom FIlm Presets — Classic Negative Like, RAW file with preset

A Classic Negative vs Classic Chrome Profile Review

Classic Negative – is a bit deeper and more intense. It has subdued colors but is more contrasty. It’s well-loved for streets for that reason, though usually, it’s not my favorite for portraits. Turn up the exposure a little on portraits to make it smoother.

Loosely based on Superia 200 and Classic Chrome is very loosely based on Kodachrome. I talked about that in this video.

Classic Chrome – is soft and gentle and sometimes you may need a bit more if your light is not contrasty. But it’s versatile.

While Classic Negative has an almost soft color look, classic Chrome is a bit brighter and more slide film-like, even though it’s not actually that close to the Kodachrome film it was inspired by.

Both produce great results and both can feel very natural. But if you look at these examples you can see how each has its own character. All these examples were done with the presets, which means camera type is not a barrier.

Film presets should be made with extensive testing to work well.

I do extensive homework for every film I make. In fact, making Gen.2 of these was hard because they were already good. I had to spend hours refining fine details in Lightroom and Capture One, and that’s the most tedious part.

When I shoot with Fuji cameras, I use both of these profiles. But in the post, I always take the RAW file and use the presets. Yes even before the built-in fuji-specific RAW profiles for better dynamic range and more accuracy.

It’s important that we can apply these looks to any file, any camera, old or new. Not just the latest model. Because when editing a project, you need consistency, not looks that are all over the map. If I shot part of a project on Fuji and another part on Sony or Canon, I want to be able to edit them with the same feel.

Presets make it easy and turn a recipe that requires dozens of hours to create into a single click. All while leaving you in control. By using presets on Raw instead of baked-in JPEGS, I get smoother highlight roll-off, I can increase or decrease the effect, and I can change my mind later.

Classic Chrome Like Capture One Film Style — The Classic Chrome-like presets on a SONY Raw File

Classic negative Like Capture one Film Style — Classic Neg-like presets on a SONY Raw File

Film presets solve a problem.

I made Filmist so we could better bring the darkroom to digital. Before, we had a limited number of films but a nearly infinite number of ways to develop them back in the day. Most are gone now. Today we have many ways to develop with a simple slider and while under-editing creates boring photos that lack atmosphere, over-driving a slider can take a great photo and make it bad instantly.

Film has an organic shadow-rich look. So Wwen you start editing with film presets you get more than just tinkering with sliders. Yes, you save time, but you try things and see things. Colors, shadows, various kinds of reds, and nuances can take a rather plain photo and make it seem like something from the pages of National Geographic. Color, Silver mix, and shadows matter.

You can see in just the Classic Negative and Classic Chrome looks that while the processes are not that intense, they are distinct and when you learn to make the destination or the nuances you become a better photographer and editor. Film makes that process a whole lot easier because it’s backed by hundreds of years of chemical processes and research into what makes our eyes respond to shadow and light.

Make sure you check out the Filmist film presets and at least download the free sampler pack to get some creative ideas.

Below are a few more examples of these modern film-inspired look

Gavin Seim