The Softy is ASTIA | Colour Your Story Ep 03

In this episode I focus on the ASTIA film simulation and I am delighted that you are here to join me. This is the third episode in my “Colour Your Story” series and if you haven’t read the previous articles yet, I recommend that you read those first, starting with the introduction “Discover Fujifilm Film Simulations | Colour Your Story” to catch up on what the series is all about, what it aims to achieve and what it will include. Follow that with Episode 01: “Start Your Journey with the All-Rounder, PROVIA”, its closer look: “Let’s take PROVIA to Another Level” and then Episode 02: “The Bold One is Velvia | Colour Your Story Ep 02” and finally, its deeper dive Let’s take Velvia further.

Not everything in moderation

In all honesty, preparing this episode has been a challenge for me. When I started to put it together, I was reminded that ASTIA is one of the film simulations that I have the least experience with. I have considered ASTIA as the “middle-of-the-road-kinda-look” and in ignorance, missed the fact that it might just be the film simulation that delivers the most refined aesthetic of the three original FUJICHROME looks – PROVIA, Velvia and ASTIA.

Are you or have you been as surprised as I was and have you come to a similar realisation? Okay! Keep reading.

When I began this journey of discovery, I came across a statement by Fujifilm experts that described the ASTIA film simulation as “designed to improve the balance of saturation between people and landscapes” – just like the original emulsion with the same name which it is based on. They also mentioned that “it is best not to change settings too much”. I found this second part of the statement interesting and during my research aimed to uncover some information on this too. I wanted to figure out exactly what Fujifilm meant by this.

Keeping in mind that Fujifilm draws on its extensive experience of creating analog emulsions, my first step was to look back at the original film stock, FUJICHROME ASTIA 100F (which was the last rendition of the film before being discontinued in 2011). I learnt that many analog shooters loved the wonderful, vibrant yet controlled colours of FUJICHROME ASTIA 100F.  It also got commended for its very fine grain and professional grade quality that delivered exquisite skin tones, of fair-skinned people in particular, was also excellent at controlling information in the highlights and the shadow areas of an image. So it came as no surprise to learn that the film was developed for fashion photography and portraiture, genres that require faithful colour reproduction, vivid colours and neutral skin tones.

In its time, the film stock proved to be very popular and analog shooters were distraught when it was discontinued. 

Did Fujifilm level-up when creating the “digital version” of ASTIA? 

Fujifilm’s writes about the ASTIA film simulations that it is: ”…based on FUJICHROME ASTIA, a color reversal film designed for use in fashion portraits, and prioritises soft and faithful reproduction of skin tones while also reproducing vivid blue skies and greenery.” In other words, the digital look was specifically modelled after the analog film.

Beyond that, the ASTIA film simulation benefits from the digital process in that it produces sharper images without compromising on softer skin tones – a quality that could not be achieved with film and the reason why images shot on FUJICHROME ASTIA could sometimes appear a little soft overall. In a way, it appears that Fujifilm has been able to reproduce the ASTIA look in the way that it would have liked the analog version to perform back then, without the limitation of silver halide that gave a softer appearance.

All in all, ASTIA is a film simulation that is vibrant, without getting too vivid, contrasty without harsh shadows and results in images that retain fine and sharp detail without appearing too digitally processed. Not just sounds, but looks pretty awesome to me!

What you can expect from jpegs shot in ASTIA

SOFT, NATURAL COLOUR REPRODUCTION
Soft is the official description for ASTIA, yet I consider the colours rather “controlled but vibrant”. Reds and greens are definitely more subdued when compared to Velvia and that gives images a more natural look. On the other hand, I found that greens can still be a little overpowering, depending on the scene and lighting conditions, but overall colours appear tamer.

LOWER SATURATION
Across the spectrum, colours are less saturated than in images shot with Velvia and produce a more balanced look without looking flat. This is particularly useful when shooting in bright daylight, when colours are at their punchiest.

MODERATE CONTRAST
Just like the original film stock, ASTIA handles highlights and shadows well and retains more information in the brightest and darkest areas of the image. This results in a softer, more delicate look, without compromising on depth and dimension.

EXCELLENT FOR SKIN TONES
ASTIA renders skin tones beautifully (and pet/animal fur too!). It creates a smooth, flattering effect without harsh contrast and is perfect for a natural look. This, however, applies to fair skin tones, rather than other “darker” skin types. This makes sense since this film simulation was developed in Asia.

Although I have not yet compared portraits of people from a wide variety of skin tones I plan to test this further and include my findings later in the series. At this point I rely on third-party experiences that portraits of people with darker skin tones tend to get very contrasty and become less flattering. My advice on this: give it a go and develop your own perspective and preference.

VERSATILE FOR MANY LIGHTING CONDITIONS
As mentioned earlier, ASTIA delivers a well-balanced look which makes it versatile for many situations. Possibly, it is the dark horse in the FUJICHROME trilogy. It produces images with soft highlights and gentle shadows for bright and diffused light.

Choose ASTIA to create images with a gentle aesthetic

LANDSCAPES
When capturing landscapes, there are many looks to choose from depending on what kind of a mood you would like your images to convey. Images shot with ASTIA often have a magenta hue that works very well for soft light like sunrise and sunset. On overcast days, it further enhances the already soft quality of the light.

PORTRAITURE
As described earlier, moderate contrast has a flattering effect on fair skin tones which is perfect for portraits and therefore, makes ASTIA a great option for outdoor shoots in soft light or on overcast days, as well as in studio environments with controlled lighting conditions.

FASHION AND BEAUTY PHOTOGRAPHY
Based on its origins, it is understandable that ASTIA is a leading go-to look for fashion and beauty photography. It delivers vibrant colours for clothing, accessories and make-up, all of which should be at the centre of attention in these genres, while keeping skin tones natural and well balanced. 

WEDDINGS AND EVENTS
One of the key challenges in wedding and event photography is to produce well-exposed images of people and venues in a wide variety of lighting conditions. ASTIA does well at delivering images with a timeless feel, good contrast and lovely colours that also persist in skin tones. These qualities should encourage you to put it at the top of your list if you are a wedding or event photographer. 

The Dynamic Range Function

The Dynamic Range function built in to the menu options in your camera is not tied to, or exclusive to the ASTIA film simulation, and since the original film stock was said to have good dynamic range, I thought it would be fitting to give it a special mention in this article. Especially because I have enjoyed using it a lot while shooting with ASTIA. 

In the sample image below, rock the slider left and right and pay attention to the sky and the mountains in the background.

To summarize this, dynamic range describes the number of stops of light an image can depict, from the brightest highlight to the darkest shadow, before detail is lost. The “DR” function in the I.Q. Menu can be used to increase the amount of detail shown in both of those areas by changing the setting to DR200 or DR400. I have achieved great results with ASTIA combined with DR400 and recommend that you try this too once you have familiarised yourself with the straight-up look of the film simulation. 

However, before you start using this function, you should be aware that its availability is directly related to the ISO setting. If you set ISO manually rather than use AUTO ISO you may have to adjust ISO depending on which DR setting you want to use. DR200 increases the dynamic range by one stop and requires a minimum of the doubling of the base ISO. DR400 is equivalent to two stops and requires a minimum of the quadrupling of the base ISO. Let’s simplify this! For example, the X-T5 has a base ISO of 125 and if you wish to choose DR200, a minimum of ISO250 must be set. Similarly, to use DR400 on a camera with a base ISO of 200 (like the X-T2), a minimum of ISO800 will be required – quadruple the base ISO200 of that camera.  

Depending on your camera model, its base ISO may be 125 for X-Trans 5, 160 for X-Trans 4 and 200 for X-Trans 3 sensors. I suggest that you check up on that. A tip to help you along: if DR200 or DR400 is greyed out in the camera menu options, the current ISO setting is not high enough and needs to be increased accordingly. 

In Conclusion

Initially, I guarded my hopes when I started work on this article a few weeks ago. But after having shot with ASTIA a fair bit, I find myself enjoying this film simulation more and more. 

At the beginning of the article I mentioned that I came across a statement by Fujifilm experts that recommended “keeping ASTIA as close to its original look without changing too many settings”. I was curious as to why. Now I am of the opinion that they were very convinced that the results achieved with the straight-up film simulation are very well balanced and don’t need adjusting. Furthermore, I am comfortable speculating this may also be the reason why the least number of “recipes” is based on this film simulation.

To wrap-up, if you are aiming for great colour tones that are somewhat tame, yet punchy and have an overall balanced look for nature, people and lifestyle photographs, ASTIA is a fantastic choice. 

Over to You

I can’t wait to hear your thoughts on this film simulation! Have you given ASTIA a try?  Why don’t you do that and see if you like it. And then, once you have done so, please share your favourite images on Instagram using #ColourYourStory and remember to tag me @nathalieboucry! I also can’t wait to see what you create.

This article is the third in the “Colour Your Story” series. If you enjoyed it, don’t forget to subscribe to my blog so you don’t miss out on any new content!