Many argue that there is no substitute for the organic beauty of traditional film photography, so this practice can allow aspiring contemporary photographers to achieve visual results similar to their favorite classic films without having to source obsolete equipment or spend hundreds of dollars on costly motion picture film stocks. As digital cameras continue to advance and become more capable with time, film emulation will likely remain an important part of post-processing photographs for many years to come.

Film Emulation Portrait

As photographers develop their own personal style, it often becomes desirable to create a truly unique, personalized look that goes far beyond a single click or two.

When it comes to film emulation, the Camera Raw Presets CC features a versatile array of presets that can be compounded or stacked on top of each other, in order to create a truly one-of-a-kind result that is not easy to imitate.

If you are a Premium member, you can access our newly updated ACR presets here. If you are looking to purchase the Camera Raw Presets CC, click here!

Before Image

Canon 5Dmk4, Canon 50mm f/1.2 L
1/1000 sec @ f/1.2 & ISO 100

To create a truly unique look, start by using multiple adjustments from the FSDB framework to fine-tune the tones and definition. TIP: generally for film emulation, a bright exposure works well. Also, keep the contrast and clarity sliders either low, or even a negative value, because they are a sure-fire way to make an image look digital instead of filmic.

Next, use the additional stylizations from the ACS framework to tweak the subtle color responses. (This will happen independently of the adjustments to tone and detail done with the FSDB presets.)

The ACS framework presets allow you to separately control vibrance & saturation, RGB Curves, HSL adjustments, plus split toning, and finally the actual camera calibration itself. You can mix both warm and cool effects to create just the right “look” in your image’s highlights and shadows, etc.

Finally, save the settings as a new preset for one-click access to use on future images.

(See the next workshop for instructions on saving a new preset!)

After Image

Editing Steps

• PRESET: SIGNATURE COLOR – HDR Natural Color
• PRESET: FSDB FRAMEWORK – STANDARD COLOR – Pastel
• PRESET: DEFINITION – Soften +++
• PRESET: SATURATION – Desaturate
• PRESET: CURVES – WARM COLORS – Neutral Punch + Warm Cross
• PRESET: COLOR SCHEMES – ANALOGOUS – Blue-Teal

Save a new Custom Adobe Camera raw Preset

To save this advanced edit as a new one-click preset for future use, see the next workshop.