It’s Not About the Boat | Three of My Favorite Film Simulations

At the beginning of 2024, I was commissioned to write an article about three of my favourite Fujifilm film simulations. At that time, the Fujifilm X100VI had just hit the market – the first X Series camera to feature the new REALA ACE film simulation – and the popularity around film simulations and film simulation recipes was hitting an all-time high. Also, the Fujifilm X-T50 would get released a few months later – the first camera that was going to feature THE film simulation dial…

This article was part of a bigger global project, which is why I couldn’t publish the article or anything about the project at the time. I have since received the green light and am excited to finally share this article here. It is a journey back in time to the beginning of my experiences with film simulations and recipes – so it’s a bit of a long read, but I hope you find it interesting!

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It’s Not About the Boat

The fishing boat was chilling on the shore, as if resting after an early morning out to sea. I had never seen a fishing boat on this shore before, and this was intriguing to my photographic eye. The deep blue of the midday sky, decorated by white streaky clouds looked too inviting not to take a picture, despite my photographer voice whispering “the wrong time of the day for great-looking photographs”. But, I had other ideas and because I had just set my camera to shoot with a custom “recipe”, I couldn’t wait to see the results. 

At the time, I had travelled to the Southern coast of Africa for an assignment, just after the first COVID lockdown restrictions had been lifted. I was eager to be outdoors taking photos again especially since, in the run-up to this, I had used my forced “spare time” to study Fujifilm’s long history of colour science. Although I had always loved the slightly desaturated look of CLASSIC CHROME, I had honestly not paid too much attention to the quality and colour rendering that this had on jpegs. Until then, I had relied solely on post-processing to give my images the look and feel that represented my photographic style. So during my research, I learnt about other creators who were applying additional settings to built-in-camera film simulations to achieve specific looks for their jpegs. Intrigued by these “recipes”, I had chosen a few to test and my visit to the beach provided the perfect opportunity to finally try them. First out the gate, “Kodachrome 64” by Fuji X Weekly loaded on my X-Pro 3 held much promise.

I took a shot. The moment I reviewed the image in the viewfinder, I was taken by surprise how “polished” the image felt. Balanced, without the digitally processed look. The slightly desaturated colours and great contrast, with an unmistakable chrome look to it, underlined the mood that I wanted to capture. Timeless and classic.

Was I excited? Oh yeah, you can bet on that. I downloaded the image onto my phone and immediately sent it to my husband back home. Finally, I was able to share real-time results of my latest project with him.

That was 3 years ago – the beginning of my journey into film simulation recipes.

What followed were days filled with discovering beautiful coastal scenes and tons of jpegs that boasted fresh and contrasty looks with lovely blues and cyan skies. Authentic vibes with analogue feels. I got hooked on the look and this emotive way of creating images. It was the perfect fit for my travel photography and style.

(1) “Sunset Boat” | X-Pro 3 + XF23mmF2 in the Kodachrome 64 recipe (2) “Cape Agulhas Lighthouse” and (3) “A Hole View” | X100F in the Kodachrome II recipe – all jpegs straight out of camera

The filmic look added to the mood of the scenes and emphasised the quality of light, shadow and colours. This felt refreshing and hugely satisfying.

After returning home, my enthusiasm for creating images with a variety of film looks grew stronger and stronger. I discovered how versatile CLASSIC CHROME really is and how applying recipes based on this film simulation expands its use cases. To this day, the curiosity of how settings can create such vastly different looks motivates me to pick up my camera over and over again.

Meet Three of My Favourite Classic Film Simulations

I am excited to share my experiences and impressions of shooting with three film simulations, which could be referred to as the holy trinity of colour film simulations for film-like looks as well as recipes based on these film simulations that showcase how much more can be achieved when using them.

CLASSIC CHROME is the Best Place to Start

CLASSIC CHROME is one of the most popular in-camera film simulations since it creates such an iconic look. It resembles the traditional look of Kodachrome – a slide film stock that enjoyed huge popularity at the height of the analogue film days. It is a very versatile film simulation that delivers timeless images with desaturated colours with just enough contrast to give images depth without losing details in the blacks. It pushes blues toward cyan, especially in bright daylight and, despite the overall toned-down colours, pushes reds and yellows. All in all, a great look for travel and documentary photography.

 (1) “The Shack Take Aways” | X-T2 + XF16-55mmF2.8   (2) “Rustic Breakfast” | X-T2 + XF56mmF1.2   (3) “Did somebody say PENGUINS!” | X100F – all jpegs straight out of camera in the CLASSIC CHROME film simulation

Over the years I have enjoyed the results that I have achieved from a great number of recipes that use CLASSIC CHROME. Results can vary widely, which I find fascinating.

Here are three recipes based on CLASSIC CHROME that stand out for me:

Kodachrome 64 is an iconic look modelled after the legendary Kodachrome film stock, a must have option for everyone who enjoys using film simulation recipes. It is a very versatile recipe ideal for shooting landscapes, street and everyday scenes in daylight. It enhances the colours and contrast delivered by CLASSIC CHROME and the results are fresh, bright and nicely balanced.

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Kodak Ultramax 400 is a great all-rounder and even more versatile than Kodachrome 64. It uses Auto White Balance and that makes it suitable for everyday photography during the day, outdoors and indoors, night-time and portraits. Shooting with this recipe delivers images that are very contrasty and with the clarity setting of +3, enhances definition of the details in the mid-tones.

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Vibrant Arizona is a recipe that is a lot of fun to use. As its name suggests, it creates extremely vibrant images, often with a painterly look as it uses negative clarity. Although it is based on CLASSIC CHROME, this recipe does not create true to life images. I use it when I feel like tapping into my creative side and want to make images that have a somewhat fictional feel to them.

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CLASSIC Neg. for Time-travel with Charm 

CLASSIC Neg. film simulation was the next in line to get my attention. I had been neglecting it, unaware of what I was missing out on. It is the film simulation that was launched with the release of the X-Pro3 which I was shooting on at the time so I had no excuse not to use it. Besides, with my curiosity pushing me on, I had sampled a large number of recipes that made use of this film simulation.

This understated in-camera film simulation is based on Fujifilm’s Fujicolor Superia film stock and it is very different from CLASSIC CHROME. Images shot with it have a deep contrast and warmer tones. They encapsulate the charm of the film days and can render images with a green colour cast and punchy reds and yellows. It is honestly such a great look that even straight up and without any additional settings applied, it produces great results. I love it.

 (1) “Vintage Car with Wings” | X-T5 + XF16mmF1.4   (2) “Beach Patrol” | X-T5 + XF10-24mmF4   (3) “Countryside Living” | X100VI – all jpegs straight out of camera in the CLASSIC Neg. film simulation

Shooting with recipes based on CLASSIC Neg. evokes feelings of dipping into a box of old postcards or paging through a family photo album. The images have a look of days gone by, thanks to the overall Superia film-like quality. I find this particularly fitting for my travel photography, everyday scenes, some personal projects and, depending on the recipe, even environmental portraiture.

The following recipes based on the CLASSIC Neg. simulation expand on this range, but deliver very different results:

Fujicolor 100 Gold is a fantastic fit for bright sunny days and especially when you want your images to look like they were taken thirty years ago. It adds grain and makes reds super punchy. Having the world “Gold” in the name indicates that it renders images a little warmer than CLASSIC Neg. by itself, just like the actual film stock used to do.

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Fujicolor Super HGv2 is a recipe I discovered only recently. But, it has become an instant favourite. Because it uses Auto White Priority White Balance it is incredibly versatile and produces great results for pretty much any scenario and setting during the day and at night-time, outdoors and indoors. It produces cooler-looking images that push blues more than reds and yellows that remind me a lot of CLASSIC CHROME.

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NOSTALGIC Neg. Celebrates Colour, Nostalgia and Remembrance

The addition of the X-T5 to my arsenal of cameras in December of 2022 gave me access to the highly anticipated NOSTALGIC Neg. film simulation and enabled me to create images with yet another different look. NOSTALGIC Neg. celebrates the era of American New Color – a movement of photographers that believed that colour photography had as much of a place in professional photography as black and white photography at that time. Images shot with this film simulation enjoy warmer tones similar to CLASSIC Neg. but are slightly more saturated. They are not as contrasty and this becomes more apparent in the shadow areas which adds to the overall nostalgic look. I have found it to be pretty versatile and that, when I am looking for an all-rounder, I can rely on good results from this film simulation, even without any other settings applied to it. 

 (1) “A View with a View” | X-T5 + XF1o-24mmF4   (2) “Purple Karoo” | X100VI   (3) “Sun-kissed House” | X100VI – all jpegs straight out of camera in the NOSTALGIC Neg. film simulation

Since its release in 2021, a number of recipes have been created and these are amongst my favourites:

Timeless Negative is what I consider a very gentle recipe. It produces pretty, well-balanced colours and, thanks to using Auto White Balance, can be used in the day and at night without creating unwanted colour shifts. It underlines the classic aesthetic of the film simulation and adds a slight amount of grain to keep images clean-looking.

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Agfa Ultra 100v2 on the other hand punches a lot more. Its white balance of 5800 Kelvin and colour setting of +3 is very noticeable and makes it an excellent choice when you need a bit of a pic-me-up in your images.

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Summer of 1960 goes even further and makes me feel like I am re-creating photographs of my parents’ summer holidays. It’s super contrasty and adds quite a bit of a warm tinge to the images: oh-so 1960s.

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Doing More with Film Simulation Recipes

Once shooting with film simulations and recipes had become second nature to me, its influence affected all my photography. It made me more mindful, taught me how to slow down and ensured my focus on getting it right in camera. Unexpectedly and importantly, using film simulations and recipes exceeded its initial limit beyond my travel and everyday photography. It extended into my professional and commissioned work.

all images are jpegs straight out of camera from my X-T2 in the Corporate Classic recipe

At every work opportunity I shot recipes too and found that I could do so increasingly and successfully. It became the efficiency of shooting this style of SOOC that really turned on the afterburners. By using in-camera settings, I am able to significantly reduce the amount of time needed for post processing while achieving a consistent look in images taken for clients – an attribute that is particularly important for corporate event photography, especially when clients require images real-time for press releases and social media use. Over time I have mastered the skill of carefully choosing a recipe based on the event location, where and how images will be used and the type of company or industry I am shooting for. Upmost in my choices are preserving true-to-life looks that enhance colours, are gentle on skin tones and produce clean images even at high ISOs.

Long story short: Corporate Classic is my own-made custom recipe, my go-to baseline for corporate events:

Corporate Classic, a film simulation recipe by Nathalie Boucry
CLASSIC CHROME	Highlight -2
DR400	Shadows +2
Grain Effect: Off	Color +1
Color Chrome Effect: Weak	Sharpness 0
WB Auto	High ISO Noise Reduction -3

And now that REALA ACE has found its way into the 5^th generation X-Series cameras as well, it will offer me another very attractive alternative. Why? Because, like CLASSIC CHROME, REALA ACE delivers a very true-to-life look and good skin colours that serve well for corporate, event and portraiture scenarios.

Why Film Simulations and Recipes Matter to Me

When I look back on my discovery of and journey on the value of film simulations, I am quite astonished to say the least. I realise how much of a difference using film simulations and recipes has made to my photography. Being able to add custom looks to my images, even before taking them, is a real winner with benefits like seriously cutting down on post-production editing time. Moreover, recipes are a great way to discover the world of analogue film and are a gateway to creating images that have a vintage aesthetic. What I find most invaluable is the fact that I have also been able to adopt a real-time sharing approach to my professional event photography. This is mind-blowing and a real game-changer for my ability to service clients’ needs. And for the cherry on top, I continuously feel more enthusiastic about picking up my camera for my personal, everyday photography and that keeps me practicing my creativity, fuels my passion and benefits my professional work too.

And there is even more. The era of film simulations has given rise to a community of hundreds of thousands of like-minded photographers from all over the world that connect to share similar interests, exchange photographs and creative ideas. All of this is making a serious impact on the world of photography. On a personal note, using film simulations has led to a collaboration with Fuji X Weekly that includes a live broadcast that is now in its fourth year. The monthly show focuses on educating, sharing with and encouraging Fujifilm users to use film simulation recipes to get better SOOC results from their cameras. 

Using film simulations in-camera has also unleashed newfound freedom to create, connect with others and share across the globe. It is an absolute honour and pleasure to be part of a community that I could never have imagined would come from taking a photograph of a deserted fishing boat on a beach at noontime.

I am excited for everyone who is starting out on this journey and just as amped to be racing along with all those who’ve been at this for a while. Here’s to a world of beautiful images, colours and creativity using in-camera settings and powered by Fujifilm’s colour science and film simulations.

Credits: All recipes referenced in this article are by Fuji X Weekly, except for “Corporate Classic” which is my own

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