Editing Recipes that Look Like Film

TipsArchived presets
Written By Lauren Wessel

Photographers are always looking back on the Golden Age of film photography— after all, many of us started our photography journey in a black and white photo darkroom or playing with disposable film cameras back in the day. Many photographers still use film actively, whether for client work or to play around with for passion projects.

There’s nothing quite like the unpredictability, colors, and… physical-ness of film. Digital photos don’t always have the same diffused details, grain, and tactile texture that film scans and film prints have. That said, between Archipelago Quest and Archipelago Presets, we’ve come pretty close to emulating that feeling of playfulness and classic tonality that characterizes the film stocks we grew up loving.

We’re going to use this article to give you some editing recipes to try that feel like film— even though they’re digital!

Recipe #1: All that Glitters is Kodak Gold

Image by Sherri Poirier Photography
Edited with Marigold Presets

Kodak Gold is a beloved film stock originally introduced in 1988 and a modern version was released in 2007 as Kodak Gold 200. If the colors remind you of your childhood photos from the 90’s, it’s because it was one of the most popular consumer-available and affordable films available in drugstores and supermarkets. Kodak Gold is known for its warm, golden tones, vibrant but natural color palette, and slight grain.

Archipelago Presets’ new Marigold Presets aims to replicate those gorgeous golden tones for digital photos.

Image by Sherri Poirier Photography
Edited with Marigold Presets

Editing Recipe:

Same recipe applied to an indoor image:

Image by Noemi at Thyme Lane Photography
Edited with Marigold Presets

Recipe #1.5: How about a Kodak Gold 120 Medium Format edit?

Editing Recipe:

Recipe #2: Black and White Darkroom

The most popular black and white films for darkroom photography are Kodak Tri-X 400 and Ilford HP5 Plus 400. Black and white film and darkroom printing are characterized by rich tonal range, high contrast potential, a classic, timeless aesthetic, and handcrafted feel (think slight imperfections, dust and scratches from film scanning, and unique chemicals that can be used in the development process). Depending on the film stock and ISO, you can get grain that is very slight and fine up to pronounced and gritty.

Editing recipe:

Image by André Gil
Edited with Light & Legacy and tools from Quest 25 Fable

Alternative Editing recipe:

Recipe #3: Lomography

Lomography is a photography style (and brand) characterized by embracing experimental, playful, and imperfect photos. There are often bold, unpredictable colors, vignetting and soft focus, and light leaks and grain associated with the style. Often, Lomography is done on toy cameras, which introduces even more optical imperfections like edge blur and distortion, extra light leaks, and lower contrast. Some cameras are meant for medium format film, so when you load 35 mm film into them, you expose over the film sprockets as well, giving you a unique look.

Editing recipe:

Recipe #4: Wet Plate Collodion

Image by Ben Wagner
Edited with Quest 34 Collodion and Quest 14 Instant Film BW

Wet plate collodion photography is a 19th-century photographic process known for its distinct, ethereal aesthetic and labor-intensive technique. It is known for its hauntingly beautiful, chemical-based process that creates one-of-a-kind images with deep blacks, glowing highlights, and a historic, handmade feel. Each plate is unique and may show streaks, swirls, or flow lines from the chemistry.

Image by Ben Wagner
Edited with Quest 34 Collodion and Quest 14 Instant Film BW

Editing recipe:

  • Started by applying Instant Film BW 03 from Quest 14 Instant Film BW to get the mask layers for the streaky, grungy border in place

  • Applied Collodion 01 over top, replacing most of the edit with Collodion but keeping the mask intact.

  • Tintype Tone at 49 on the Preset Slider

  • Raised exposure to +1.20 to account for the dark tones

Recipe #5: Light, Airy Fuji 400H

Fujifilm 400H is a beloved color negative film stock (now discontinued) that was especially popular among wedding and portrait photographers. It featured soft, pastel tones (especially in the greens, blues, and skin tones), airy color palette, neutral to cool color balance, and wide dynamic range. Characteristic of other Fuji film stocks, it leaned towards cooler, minty greens.

Editing recipe:

There you have it! 5+ recipes for filmic edits you can do on digital images!

Do you have a favorite film stock? Let us know in the comments!

Lauren Wessel
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