Film-look presets: how to simulate the analogue look digitally

Analogue film colours never really went away. Fujifilm Velvia, Kodak Portra, Ilford Delta: each film stock had its own colour temperature, contrast distribution, and grain. Photographers who grew up with film know that look. Photographers who have only ever shot digital yearn for it without quite knowing what they are looking for.

Film-look presets try to reconstruct that. It is not about a simple filter. The right setting involves: rolled-off highlights (film clips quickly), lifted shadows (film never produces pure black), slight colour leaks in the shadows, and grain that matches the grain structure of the specific film type.

The Cinema Gold pack is based on warm film colours from the 1970s: Kodak Ektachrome and similar slide films. Highlights are golden, shadows carry a warm brown undertone, and the grain is relatively coarse but pleasing.

Want to fine-tune it yourself? Start with the preset, open the Curve tool and push the bottom-left corner slightly upward (lifted blacks). Then lower the Hue of the blue tones slightly towards cyan. That gives you the filmic undertone you are looking for.