So during the editing process, we need to prioritize the above elements. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Beyond that, however, it\u2019s mostly a question of what photo you use as inspiration, then emulating that look in your photography. To explain it better, let\u2019s go through a full editing process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Note! <\/strong>Before moving forward with your editing, ensure your work monitor is calibrated. As screens age, they lose brightness and alter the colors shown. To ensure your work remains professional and your tones are true to life, it\u2019s recommended that you calibrate your monitor at least once per month. For editing digital photos to look like film, color calibration is particularly important since you\u2019ll be making very minor adjustments to your image, and you want to make sure those are correct and true to your intentions. A quick and budget-friendly solution is to try out TruHu, our app-based monitor calibrator<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For this demonstration, I selected the following image:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now that we\u2019ve zeroed in on a photo, the next step is to write down the characteristics of the film that we want to emulate in our digital photography:<\/p>\n\n\n\n To these four, we add the general characteristics of analog photos mentioned in the previous section, and now we have a final idea of what we want: a toned-down, overexposed image with a green tint and very prominent blacks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Moving on to the editing workflow, first, we need to pick an image that\u2019s similar in tonality to the analog photo you\u2019re trying to emulate. For this demonstration, I went with this:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Next, it\u2019s time to boot up Lightroom and get to editing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here are the steps to go through to turn up an image that looks as close to film photography as possible:<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1. Edit basic Light settings. <\/strong>Try to match the inspiration image. As a rule of thumb, film photography is overexposed, so attempt to achieve that look by increasing exposure, highlights, and whites <\/strong>while making small adjustments to the other sliders, particularly the Shadows setting, to achieve the desired look.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Pro Tip:<\/span> <\/strong>Always keep your reference image on your second monitor, if you have one. Just make sure to calibrate both screens to have as close to matching colors as possible. You can simply use TruHu to calibrate both.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Pro Tip 2:<\/span> <\/strong>Increasing exposure might make sky areas lose too much detail, even compared to traditional film photos. To fix that, you can create a new Mask and use the builtin AI tool in Lightroom to select the Sky<\/p>\n\n\n\n 2. Edit the tone curve to drive up blacks as necessary. <\/strong>Using the point curve (pictured), slowly raise the bottom left point to make the whites more muted. Then you can go to the tone curve and increase the blacks in the image by dragging down the same area of the curve.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 3. Edit color settings to match your reference image. <\/strong>For my example, I had to increase the greens significantly. During this step, you might say to yourself \u201cit\u2019s too green, I wouldn\u2019t normally do that,\u201d but when you compare it to the original image you can see that they actually match. Now, you can follow your instincts here and leave it the way you want, or you can go for full authenticity and emulate the film as closely as possible. It\u2019s more of an artistic choice than anything else.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Pro Tip 3: <\/span><\/strong>As you go through your editing steps, you might need to go back and tweak some settings to match your desired look.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 4. Make more edits specific to your reference image. <\/strong>For my example, I used a combination of brush masks and radial masks to make part of the sky blue, add a subtle blue reflection to the water, and highlight some of the colorful foreground options, all of this to emulate the imperfections in the analog photo.<\/p>\n\n\n\nStep 1: Find Your Inspiration<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"Initial](\"http:\/\/35.90.134.179\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/1_Initial-Inspiration-Image-1024x678.jpg\")
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Step 2: Edit In Lightroom <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"Initial](\"http:\/\/35.90.134.179\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/2_Initial-digital-photo-to-edit-like-film-1024x768.jpg\")
![\"Basic](\"http:\/\/35.90.134.179\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/3_Basic-Light-Edits-and-Tone-Curve.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n![\"editing](\"http:\/\/35.90.134.179\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/4_editing-the-color-to-produce-that-green-tint.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n