Fujifilm introduced Fujicolor Pro 400H in 2004 and it’s been a popular film ever since. Photographers often overexpose this film by as many as four stops. When overexposed, the film turns from a somewhat ordinary high-ISO (that’s what the “H” stands for in the name) portrait film into something almost magical. Colors become vibrant and pastel. The exact look of overexposed Pro 400H varies, depending on how much overexposed, how developed, and how printed or scanned. The effect can range from subtle to pronounced. I have been trying for some time now to create a film simulation recipe that mimics the aesthetic of overexposed Pro 400H, and, despite creating a Fujicolor Pro 400H film simulation recipe already, achieving an overexposed look has eluded me.

I had read that one of the films that was the inspiration for the PRO Neg. Hi film simulation was Pro 400H. I tried and tried using that film simulation, and even PRO Neg. Std and Astia, to get the look that I was after, but I just couldn’t get it right. Yesterday, following some inspiration, as I was playing around with the Provia film simulation, I created a look that I thought might work. It was close! A few adjustments here and there, and this Fujicolor Pro 400H Overexposed film simulation recipe was born, and I spent the afternoon shooting a bunch of exposures with it. I just couldn’t believe that I finally did it!

Something that I went back and forth on with this recipe is the shadows. I feel like +4 is too much sometimes, and +3 is too little sometimes. I ended up choosing +4, but I think +3 would be just as acceptable. You might try some shots with +4 and some with +3 and decide which you like better. Perhaps use +4 in low-contrast scenes and +3 in high-contrast scenes. I also debated on Color, settling on +1, which might be too high. You might consider setting Color to 0 if you think it’s too saturated. Even though I created this on my Fujifilm X-T30, it’s fully compatible with all X-Trans III and IV cameras.

Provia
Dynamic Range: DR400
Highlight: -2
Shadow: +4
Color: +1
Color Chrome Effect: Off
Grain: Weak
Noise Reduction: -4
Sharpening: 1
White Balance: Auto, +2 Red & +2 Blue
ISO: Auto up to ISO 6400
Exposure Compensation: +1 2/3 to +2 1/3 (typically)

Example photographs, all straight-out-of-camera JPEGs captured using my Fujifilm X-T30 Fujicolor Pro 400H Overexposed film simulation recipe:

See also: Film Simulation Recipes