December 4, 2024

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film presets and styles, special effects

Is Film is the amazing learning tool the claim?

Film and darkroom processes do make you think more about your photographer. But are they the right tools for improving especially for beginners? Probably not! But there’s a viable alternative.

I shoot film. But is it worth it for you?

You can also get the free Filmist presets here to see real film tones in your edits. Also actions like Emulsion were created based on darkroom processes.

Yes, the film is worth it sometimes.

Film has made a big comeback in the past few years as people tire of fakery and Ai and want more organic real experiences. But it’s also very expensive.

Whether it’s the magic of Instax or POloroids or whether it’s the subtle shadow and color theories you understand better using film. It does pay off. I just don’t think it’s the secret sauce for newer photography for the reasons I mention in the video.

Look at how film affects your digital edits.

Someone recently told me they liked my LIghtroom presets because they were not gaudy and pointless. A lot of that is that I’ve been making pro-grade presets longer than anyone on the market. But what I immediately thought of is film.

My film and shadow hacking studies have shaped the way I create tools and it’s a big reason why they are different from the others on the market. The way film helps you understand subtlety and tone and color versus just pushing a slider increases the more you use it. If you spend any time on analog I think you’ll understand what I mean.

My conclusion.

If I plied film is not worth it that’s not what I mean. What I mean is that film is a tough tool to start on. It’s more something to work with once you are at that intermediate or advanced level where it’s nuance will mean more to you.

So yes, everyone. Get some vintage lenses. Shoot some film on the cameras that often come with them. But don’t think you need film to improve your photography. Slow down and let the shadow lead you.

Gavin Seim

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March 30, 2024

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

Secrets of film color and the best way to scan 35mm Film in 2024

Scanning film for natural film color is not as easy as it seems and most of the labs are sending you scans that won’t look like your film. So what the best and cheapest scanning method (at least for 35mm) and how does film affect our non-film photography every day?

Good scans will change your digital photos also!

I’ve scanned pretty much every way and it can be hard. In today’s video, I’ll show you my new favorite way to scan 35mm film and how you can use it to make better colors from your digital camera. This is exactly what I used these better scans for in the Filmist 2.2 film presets update.

See the before-after results of how these tests improve Filmist presets on the Filmist2 page. Also, download some free film presets from the sampler pack of FIlmist.

How negative scans help you edit digital files better.

Today I reviewed the TTArtsian 40mm 2.8 Macro with this Film Scan Adapter. But we’re also reviewing film color itself see you can scan film better and edit digital in a more natural way.

It’s that grounding I’m always talking about and why I always start edits with FIlmist presets. If you use Filmist you will see that grounding as you edit your photos.

You’ll also see how the scans we worked on today are improving the quality of those p[resets so they work more like film instead of working great on one file and horrible on another file.

The film has real shadows and atmosphere. Let it

Film is not a slider. So when you scan it don’t be like most lab techs trying to make it HDR and getting nasty shadows. I see this a lot with lab scans. We’re so conditioned by digital. But reversing that lets our edits be grounded in an organic process that is real.

Studying film does not make me stop editing black and white with Silver, Using Natural HDR for bold color, or going to Photoshop to add Alchemist to a portrait.

But that starting point gives constant edits that are fast and always stay on point. Whether you use film presets or shoot and scan your own film you will see this result.

There is no correct color. Not really!

At least not in a practical sense. You can see this in my recent video about why you do not need a white balance card.

Everyone wants to define what great skin tones are, or the perfect greem They criticize us on social media of we don’t comply with the “norms”. But in truth, like every eye sees different, every film sees different but they all work in almost any situation and feel RIGHT!

That’s harder to do on digital. Pushing sliders may not be bad, but it often results in edits that are really extreme and unnatural. Unless you are creating those edits with intent, they will usually come back to bite you and often what looks good on one photo looks bad on another.

So in studying film color and using that same chemical-inspired process on Film Lightroom presets and styles, we see that a balanced process on digital can also work on nearly everything. And where it’s off a bit, I can quickly correct it with Chem-Kit to turn things up or down.

You can do the same in your workshop and get sessions that are edited with the consistency of a true pro.

Gavin Seim

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December 3, 2012

5

Gavin Seim, Nature, PPS Photography Tips, ProPhotoShow

Mobile Cameras vs Real Cameras & Why it's Not Even Close – w/Examples

 

Winter’s End – Taken a few minutes apart. The mobile image  lacks any fine detail up close and fine detail is totally lost in that pasty look that is common of low end cameras and lenses. The film scan however holds up well. See complete image details here on Gavin’s journal. More examples below.

by Gavin Seim: When I was starting out you we’re not even regarded as a respectable portrait photographer unless you used at least medium format. How things have changed. But this mobile photography for the sake of it is a passing fad.

The camera in your iPhone costs about ten dollars to make – Now I was browsing Facebook the other day I found the above reference photo I posted while on our Spring 2012 tour. I remembered that morning, the light on the trees and how my 4 year old son rode with me to greet the sunrise. It was a good memory. But next I compared it as a photographer to the final print version of Winter’s End. That promoted me to compare others, from both film and digital, comparing them to their mobile counterparts.

A great image is more than the sum of it’s tech specs – But when those details are far below the sum of it’s artistic merit, it brings down the entire work.

What was really illustrated was the vast difference between a point and shoot image and a quality photograph. Even I had not realized how poor the quality was. The phone photo is a good reference and helped me plan and log I wanted to produce. It was also fun travel memory and some might say it was “good enough”. But I’ve learned that “good enough” is not how we produce great images to stand out in today’s market.

I see more and more people acting as if phones are serious cameras. Sometimes even touting it as something special. This bothers me because a low grade camera is not a feature of your art (and make no mistake, your phone camera is low grade). It’s true that gear does not make a photographer. But low image quality can make even the most accomplished photographer look like an amateur. Comparing a phone snap to a professional level camera is a bit like comparing a Prius to a dragster.

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