IN FOCUS is a series of articles where we ask some of the UK X-Photographers to give us advice, provide insight into their photography and share some of their favourite images of all time. In this blog, we asked our photographers what Film Simulation modes they use and why.
Provia – Mark Gilligan
“I am a bit of a traditionalist and the phrase ‘is what you are looking at with your own eyes, the same as the camera is capturing?’ will be uttered by me during workshops. For that reason, I like to use the standard Provia Film Simulation because I want to be faithful to colour.
This image is as faithful as the real scene. It was taken looking across one of my favourite places in the Lakes called Birker Fell. I pass this view almost daily (not bad for an office view) and the sunsets are spectacular. Rich gold and orange hues that would look wrong if the colours were ‘riched’ up too much. Retaining the originality of a scene is very important and I find that Provia works for me.”
Velvia – Ben Cherry
“My standard film simulation is Velvia. It lends itself very well to nature imagery and I really enjoy the strong, bold colours, combined with a slight push on the highlights and shadows for punchy jpegs straight out of camera.”
Astia – Elli Cassidy
“I love the Film Simulation modes and use the Astia filter for all my newborn work. It gives a beautiful neutral and soft skin tone, reducing any harsh contrast. This is particularly effective with babies as their skin is often different shades from head to toe and they can be quite blotchy, too.”
Classic Chrome – Derek Clark
“I love the subtle film-like tones from Classic Chrome, especially with a setting of +2 for colour. The tones are still the same, but that extra bit of saturation really enhances the Classic Chrome look for my taste.”
Classic Chrome – Chio Fernandez
“My favourite is the one and only Classic Chrome. I love the soft and subtle tones and the detailed elegance of this Film Simulation. It’s a calming and soothing look, minimally intrusive. It almost doesn’t feel like I’m applying any film simulation to my photos, but enhancing them naturally.
It’s a versatile film simulation filter, it works great with landscapes, portraits or lifestyle shots and it’s the perfect fit for documentary.”
Classic Chrome or Velvia – Kevin Mullins
“I use film simulations a lot. A great deal of my work is shot in monochrome and I instantly fell in love with the Acros film simulation when it was first introduced. When shooting colour, I tend to use the Classic Chrome or Velvia film simulations.
For me, having a camera that can create gorgeous JPEG’s out of the can means I can allow the camera to do a lot of my post processing for me. Of course, there is no right or wrong as to whether RAW or JPEG should be used – it’s a photographers’ choice – but I do think, as we have an EVF in front of our eyes, we have less reason to get exposures wrong and it makes sense (to me at least) to shoot JPEG when I want the camera to process for me.”
Pro Neg. Hi – Saraya Cortaville
“I tend to use the Film Simulation modes in editing. I shoot RAW files and then process them in Camera Raw and assign a profile here. Depending on the style of the shot, I generally use either, Pro Neg. Hi or Classic Chrome, as these tend to compliment my style of portraiture, giving good skin tones and wonderful depth to the images.
This image was shot in RAW, and then processed afterwards as a Pro Neg. Hi profile. The contrast was then pushed slightly.”
Pro Neg. Std and Acros + Green Filter – Damien Lovegrove
“The Film Simulation modes suit my way of working. I keep my photography very simple. I have always used Pro Neg. Std as my colour simulation on all the Fujifilm cameras that I’ve owned. I am also currently using Acros + G for my monochrome work. I love the skin contrast that Acros G gives my subjects. It makes everyone look healthy.”
Acros + Red Filter – Paul Sanders
“My favourite film mode is Acros + Red Filter, simply because it gives me the mood and contrast I love.”
More from the X-Photographers
X-Photographers are the official Fujifilm ambassadors. To find out more about the global X-Photographers, visit fujifilm-x.com/photographers.
Shoot in RAW?
If you shoot in RAW but want to enhance your images with Fujifilm Film Simulations, our new X RAW STUDIO conversion software enables you to post-process your images either singly or in a batch. Find out more and download this complimentary software.
Note: X RAW STUDIO is compatible with GFX 50S, X-T2, X-Pro2* & X100F* with Mac OS X 10.10.5, 10.11.6, macOS 10.12.6 & macOS High Sierra. Windows 7 SP1, 8.1 & 10 compatibility will be available February 2018.
* Compatible firmware for FUJIFILM X-Pro2 and X100F will be available in December 2017
