modifying film simulations

Why Film Simulation Recipes are BETTER than default Film Simulations

Posted on November 14, 2023 by Ritchie Roesch

*Autumn in a Mountain Meadow* – Flagstaff, AZ – Fujifilm X100V – Fujicolor Superia 100

I get asked sometimes a very fair question: why use Film Simulation Recipes when Fujifilm’s factory-default film simulations are just so darn good?

Fujifilm has, in my opinion, the best JPEG output of any brand. Their film simulations are significantly influenced by Fujifilm’s vast experience with analog film, and it should not surprise anyone that they look good without any modifications. However, Fujifilm does provide a number of tools to customize and fine-tune the straight-out-of-camera results, which I believe makes them even better.

For those who don’t know, Film Simulation Recipes are settings for Fujifilm cameras that produce certain aesthetics, often modeled after classic film emulsions. I have published over 300 of them, which you can find on this website and the Fuji X Weekly App. Recipes are intended to be shot as JPEGs (or RAW+JPEG, if you prefer), and produce out-of-camera pictures that don’t require any editing, or perhaps minimal post-processing if you like. They appear as though they were edited, or even film-like. This saves a lot of time, hassle, and possibly money. It opens up photography to those who don’t know how to RAW edit, or don’t have the desire to learn, or maybe don’t even have access to editing software. This also makes photography more enjoyable to folks (like me) who have RAW-edited for years but don’t care much for it, and would rather be doing other things (like capturing more pictures!).

*Golden Light in Abandoned House* – North Salt Lake, UT – Fujifilm X100V – Fujicolor Reala 100

Many photographers who own a Fujifilm camera never dive into the menu to adjust the JPEG parameters. They keep it on Provia/STD and at factory defaults, which is 0, Off, or Auto. Or maybe they try the other film simulations, but they still keep everything else set to the default settings. It’s completely understandable. The results are already good, and, besides, the options can seem overwhelming and confusing. Film Simulation Recipes, which takes the guesswork out of the various options, improve upon the standard film sims, but also provide some variety. If you only ever use the default options, you are limited to (for example) a maximum of 10 looks for color photography (11 if you have the latest GFX model with Reala Ace), but there are over 300 Film Simulation Recipes, so (depending on your camera model) you could have hundreds to choose from. You can find the Recipes that produce aesthetics that best match your style and taste.

This is in no way intended to put down factory-default film simulations, or those who use them. My intention is to simply compare a default film sim photograph with a Film Simulation Recipe. Maybe you like the non-Recipe picture better, and that’s ok if you do. There are so many other Recipes to choose from, and I bet at least one would produce a look that you like more than the default film sim—for example, there are 80 Recipes in the Fuji X Weekly App that use Classic Chrome, so if you don’t like the Recipe I chose for this article, there are 79 others that could possibly be a better match for you.

Some Film Simulation Recipes are drastically divergent from the default film simulations, and some are only subtly altered. Many are intended for certain light situations (sunny daylight or artificial light, for example), while Auto White Balance is the factory standard. There’s no one single “right” Recipe or even a perfect film simulation. What matters is finding what works best for you and your photography. That could be a collection of Film Simulation Recipes, it could be a default film sim, or it might be shooting RAW and editing with the software of your choice, or any combination thereof or something different entirely. There’s no right or wrong way. For me, it’s shooting straight-out-of-camera JPEGs using Film Simulation Recipes.

Below are examples of factory-default film simulations compared to Film Simulation Recipes.

Provia

Velvia

*Kodak Ektachrome E100VS v2 Film Simulation Recipe*

Astia

*CineStill 400D v2 Film Simulation Recipe*

Classic Chrome

*Kodak Ektar 100 Film Simulation Recipe*

PRO Neg. Hi

*Jeff Davenport Night Film Simulation Recipe*

PRO Neg. Std

*Nostalgic Print Film Simulation Recipe*

Classic Negative

*Superia Premium 400 Film Simulation Recipe*

Nostalgic Neg.

Eterna

*Kodak Vision3 250D Film Simulation Recipe*

Eterna Bleach Bypass

*Ferrania Solaris FG 400 Film Simulation Recipe*

Find these Film Simulation Recipes and about 300 more on the Fuji X Weekly App! Consider becoming a Patron subscriber to unlock the best App experience and to support Fuji X Weekly.

Creative Collective 039: Modifying Film Simulation Recipes to Suit Your Personal Style

Posted on January 11, 2023 by Ritchie Roesch

Above-Left: Kodak Portra 400 v2 recipe — Above-right: same recipe, but slightly modified.

Film Simulation Recipes are one way to replicate the look and feel of traditional film on your Fujifilm camera. You can do something like this by editing RAW files and applying Alien Akin, VSCO, RNI, etc., presets during post-processing; however, using recipes cuts out this step, saving you a lot of time and hassle. One-step photography (as discussed by Ansel Adams in his book about Polaroid photography, which he was fascinated with) is an easier approach. Some advantages of using recipes on Fujifilm cameras are simplicity (quickly and easily achieve a desired aesthetic with little or no editing), authenticity (film-like quality that doesn’t appear heavily manipulated), consistency (a single recipe over a series of pictures produces a cohesive visual style), and productivity (not editing pictures saves a lot of time). There are over 250 Film Simulation Recipes published on Fuji X Weekly, which are also available on the Fuji X Weekly App.

Even though there are a lot of recipes to choose from, you may not always find one that’s the perfect fit for your personal style, subject matter, or lighting condition. I’ve often said that it is fine to “season to taste” any recipe to make it work for you, because making it work for you is preferable to rigidly adhering to a recipe and being dissatisfied with the results (the notes section in the App underneath a recipe is an excellent place to keep track of your modifications). In this post, we will discuss some reasons why someone might choose to modify a Film Simulation Recipe to suit their personal style.