The Analog Look of Film

If you were able to read my previous blog, you saw that I wrote about grunge and covered the basics of that particular photography style. And as for this third blog post, I have decided to continue along those lines and attempt to create film-resembling photographs. There is just something about the look of film that catches my interest. These types of images tend to give off the glowy impressions that they were taken out of an old photo album (Marcolina 72). I’m not exactly sure why this aged, vintage look appeals to me. Perhaps it is the soft, dark edges, the raw grain, or the enchanting light leaks. Whatever it is, let’s move on and get into film looks.

On a recent trip back from Leavenworth with my family, we made a little pit stop and unintentionally came across a waterfall. The pictures I took on my phone were mediocre. The photo quality was not great and although I’m sure I did not touch the zoom settings, the pictures turned out a little grainy. I figured I might as well embrace the graininess and edit it accordingly. I cursorily flipped through iPhone Obsessed and found the perfect editing style for the situation—film. “By adding a film look you can give an image instant credibility along with a touch of nostalgia and an overall warm feeling” (72). The way I see film is that it resembles a thin sheet of finely grained wood. If you were to merge a digital picture with a film-like veneer, you would result with some unique and interesting images.

 

Although film looks are usually applied to shots with a single subject (both close-up and medium shots), I decided to try this technique on a few nature shots. The book did not provide a definite set of steps to follow in order to achieve the film look, so I just edited the pictures to how I found fit. First, I tuned the images to add color and saturation. I lightened and opened up shadows. Then, I added sharpness and strengthened the warm, yellow tone. Finally, I applied vintage and a grainy film.

Do you have any critiques on the pictures, and what is your opinion on film looks?

Marcolina, Dan. iPhone Obsessed: Photo Editing Experiments with Apps. Berkeley: Peachpit Press, 2011. Print.