About the so-called “piss filter”
Over the last maybe two years, I’ve read here-and-there people say that yellow-tinted Fujifilm Recipes have a “piss filter” as if the photographer shot through a glass of urine from someone who is not particularly hydrated. The term has spread across the internet over the last eight months or so, it seems, with people now using it more frequently. Today, Selishots posted a YouTube video called 5 Recipes So Your Photos Don’t Look Like Piss. I’ve met Ben of Selishots a couple of times, and he’s a great guy—this article is not about him whatsoever (so don’t think for a moment that it is); however, I brought him up simply because his video motivated me to finally address the whole “piss filter” nonsense.
First, the term is clearly meant as a putdown. It began with and is still largely used by those who don’t shoot straight-out-of-camera and who don’t like the whole Recipe thing. Most of them would tell you that real photographers shoot RAW, not JPEG. It’s a derogatory term intended to make you feel “less than” about your photography. In my opinion, it’s shameful. I put it in the same category as other derogatory slang, and I don’t think the photography community should be accepting of such uninclusive language. Do we need to invent new terms to call out this toxic behavior? Formatism? RAW supremacists? I’d rather not go there, but I think it makes the point. Don’t let anyone tell you that you are any less of a photographer or that your photographs aren’t good enough just because you didn’t go about it the same way (the so-called “right way”) as they did. There’s no right or wrong way to do photography, and anyone who says otherwise is flat-out wrong and couldn’t be more wrong.
The statement also stems from ignorance. The people who use the term “piss filter” have obviously never shot film, and they’d be surprised to learn that many Kodak film stocks tend to lean warm (some historical emulsions didn’t just “lean” warm, but were obviously warm). Expired or mishandled film could sometimes have a strong yellow cast. Aside from that, it was very common 25+ years ago to use warming filters, like 81B or even W12—those are probably the closest to so-called “piss filters” in analog. Not to mention that classic lenses with thorium dioxide will turn yellow over time, basically making the lens itself a so-called “piss filter” of sorts. Lastly, color film photos can fade, and sometimes that can make them turn yellow-ish. In other words, if you know even a little about film photography, you know that yellow-leaning pictures are quite common, and not an oddity. When someone says “piss filter” they are admitting that they know very little about analog images or the history of photography.
Third, the reason people are drawn to warm-leaning looks is because they like them. We’re all different, and have different tastes—I don’t know why this is a difficult concept for some people. If a photographer likes their pictures with a certain color cast, why does that bother you so much? It’s their art, not yours. When someone says “piss filter”, that has to come from some kind of insecurity or jealousy; while it’s often stated with arrogance, there’s clearly something painful going on deep inside of the person uttering it. Interestingly, these warm-leaning looks only seem to bother people when they are from Recipes and not when they come via Lightroom presets. Psychologically, color actually matters a lot, as different colors affect the viewer in different ways. For example, yellow can make a person feel happy and positive; orange can make a person feel optimistic and enthusiastic. In general, these colors can often feel nostalgic, like a joyful memory from your childhood. It’s about the emotion and mood that the photographer wants to convey. Someone might not “get” why warm-tinted photographs are popular, but it’s not difficult to understand when you think about it for just a moment.
Additionally, it shows a lack of knowledge about Fujifilm Recipes in general. There are tons—probably hundreds—that don’t have a warm cast. In fact, I published an article last year highlighting 15 Recipes with a cool cast. To assume that they all have a yellow cast just shows how little the person actually knows about this topic. Instead of conducting even a minimal amount of research, they put it down. Sad. With so many possible looks from Recipes, there’s bound to be at least one that is close to most people’s personal style. If one isn’t for you personally, find the ones that are. I’ve published more than 400, so you have a lot to choose from.
The term “piss filter” needs to die. It’s dumb. It’s narrow minded. It’s insulting. We should not tolerate it as a community, because we should not tolerate putting people down just because they’re different than us in some way. We’re all humans, trying to create pictures that are meaningful to us. Let’s be a bit more respectful, and a little less rude. Do photography however you want to do it, and create photographs in whatever manner you desire. There’s no right or wrong way, and there’s no right or wrong way for how pictures should look.
