Freedom & Fujifilm Recipes
In an interesting conversation I had recently, someone mentioned that Fujifilm Recipes are great because they provide freedom—freedom from the computer and Lightroom (or other RAW editing software), freedom from indecisive aesthetic choices, freedom from unfinished work (such as RAW files just sitting around waiting to be edited)—but it can be too much freedom sometimes. For example, I’ve published over 400 Film Simulation Recipes for Fujifilm cameras; while having so many options allows you to find a great match for your subject, situation, and style, narrowing it down can feel overwhelming. Perhaps there are too many choices. “Limitations are necessary constraints for creativity,” he told me, “and freedom is most productive when it’s narrowed on purpose.” In other words, intentional constraints. Sometimes, less is more. Finding the “right” Recipe out of hundreds might seem daunting, but even choosing from among the seven programmed into your camera’s C1-C7 Custom Settings presets might be too much.
Something to try, he suggested, is to program fewer Recipes into your camera—perhaps three, or even just one. Instead of scrolling through your C1-C7 options before every shot, try pre-selecting one, two, or three Recipes before you head out, and commit to just those. Use just those for the duration of your walk, day, or trip. When the look is already decided, your attention naturally shifts to light and framing. Instead of asking, “Which Recipe should I use?” Ask, “How can I make this scene work with what I’ve chosen?” When selecting your Recipes (if it’s more than one), consider having one specifically for color daylight, one specifically for color nighttime, and one for black-and-white. If the Recipes are too similar in aesthetic or serve a similar purpose, it makes it less obvious which one to shoot with.
Analog photographers understood all of this instinctively. Loading a roll of film was a commitment for 12, 24, or 36 frames. You accepted the look, learned its strengths and weaknesses, and worked within them. That constraint didn’t stifle expression, it shaped it. On X and GFX cameras, you can benefit from that same discipline by using one Recipe long enough to understand where it shines and where it fails. You adapt rather than escape. Using a single Recipe for an extended period—days, weeks, or a full project—can be especially revealing and rewarding.
Fujifilm Recipes work best when they’re treated like film stocks: chosen with purpose, used with commitment, and understood through experience. When you narrow your options on purpose, the freedom they offer becomes more focused, more useful, and ultimately more gratifying. Freedom in photography isn’t about having endless options at every moment, but about choosing a direction and going far enough down that path to discover something meaningful. When freedom is narrowed on purpose, it stops being a distraction and starts being productive.
This is all theoretical, of course, and I don’t want to leave you hanging with that. Let me give a practical example of how this could be implemented. As you might have guessed from the photos in this article, you could choose the Kodachrome 64 Recipe for daylight photography, Fluorescent Night for nighttime, and Kodak Tri-X 400 for B&W. Alternatively, you could choose Pacific Blues for daytime, CineStill 800T for night, and Classic B&W for monochrome. There are a ton of possible three-Recipe combinations, but the larger point is to pick three (or fewer), and use those for an outing, a day, a month, or a project to better familiarize yourself with the strengths and limitations of those specific Recipes. If you do this enough times, you’ll be intimately aware of which Recipe to use for each subject and circumstance you encounter, and you’ll be more in tuned with your personal style.
I have often told people that when I started creating and using Fujifilm Recipes, I experienced a ton of freedom. Photography became more enjoyable to me when I detached editing software from it. Because I was spending much less time at a computer, I had more time to photograph (increasing productivity) and also more time to spend with my family. But as more and more Recipes are created (which is a good thing), it can be difficult to know which to use and when to use them. Narrowing it down through experience—simply by picking one, two, or three and using those for a period—is a great way to help with this. Another option is to use the Categories feature in the Fuji X Weekly App (available for Android and Apple), which can help to really zero in on specific genres, styles, and situations. For example, if you want a retro Americana aesthetic that’s good for midday light, you can find that. By selecting multiple Categories, you can significantly narrow down the selection to assist in finding the perfect Recipe for your needs.
