6 EASY Tricks To Edit Your Photos To Look Like Film

Recognizing The Various Film Stocks

To plot your specific edit, you’ll need to discover which film stock(s) you’d like to emulate. I’ve combined a list of some of the more popular film stocks, below.

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Additionally, if you’re hungry for more, I wrote an example article on the 7 best Kodak 35mm and 120 film stocks that feature more information about each roll, as well as additional visual examples from other photographers. There’s also a guide for FujiFilm, and CineStill in case you’d like to take a gander. I highly recommend reading these pieces if you’re looking for an in-depth analysis of the various stylizations per stock.

Which colors best suit your subject? What stock might look best for your photo’s lighting condition? Do you want a funky hue or a desire for more natural skin tones?

Clarity, Sharpness, and Grain

When editing an image to mimic film, your aim will be to emulate the characteristics of vintage cameras. Many of the cameras had lenses that were less sharp and had fewer problems with fringing and flares. It'd be worth starting your edit by positioning the clarity down very slightly to copy that effect.

Some artists like to add grain to their images by adjusting the sliders in Lightroom, a super popular effect that's more characteristic of film than digital.

Play With Tonal Curves

Although there are a plethora of characteristics that make the old film unique, a well-known feature is the faded shadows and highlights. Fortunately, this is easy to recreate in Lightroom. 

Use the tone curves to pull the dark shadows to seem more faded, while simultaneously giving a more faded highlight but sliding the whites down.

Warm It Up

Have you ever noticed that vintage cameras tend to leave a warm, golden tone on the images? Recreating this vintage tonal hue can be easily done using Lightroom’s HSL panel (Hue, Saturation, Luminance) and is a major part of crafting your film-like image.

Simply start by adjusting the hue to warm up your image, slide the luminance down in bright areas, and ensure there’s plenty of saturation within certain colors, like yellow or orange.

Three Primary Colors

Although it may sound intimidating, this is perhaps one of the easiest, yet most impactful ways to shift the vintage vibe in your image. It’s similar to the HSL panel, but instead of a range of colors, you’re only working with the (3) primaries: Red, Green, and Blue. Tweak the blue to a few degrees left for a more aqua shine, which always gives your image a pop of unique color.

Create your roadmap, right? Once you find the particular film stock you desire to emulate most, do a study of the colors within the stock’s shadows and highlights. Place a more purple-by-contrast in the shadows to mimic Kodak Gold 200.

Focusing on these 3 primary colors will impact your image best.

Grain

Many film photographers lust after its natural grain, be it soft or gritty with strong texture. I, ironically, dislike fake grain in a digital image because replicating that feature seems a bit gimmick to me. However, adding texture to your image will definitely create a more film-like visua and can easily fool those who don’t know the difference.

Add it tastefully, of course, especially under darker, moodier conditions.

Try Presets!

While it’s fun and experimental to create presets of your own, why not make it easier on yourself and purchase some film-like presets to start with?

We offer super batches that are more natural and timeless, to a more 70’s nostalgic vibe. Compatible with both Lightroom and Photoshop, these Professional-made presets are perfect for having a go-to consistent look to your photos.