How to Edit Negative Scans and keep True Film Colours
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- čas přidán 3. 08. 2024
- A guide on how to colour correct digital film negatives and keep film stock's true colour and contrast. An easy method that takes the guesswork out of editing negative scans.
How to digitise film negatives using a DSLR Guide:
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Thank you so much for this! I tried a lot of different approaches and tools, but this one is working best by far - better than $100 tools...
one of the best straightforward tutorial watched on one breath
Thanks for creating this guide Ant, it's really well explained and easy to follow! I've just gotten my first roll of film back so it's been nice to play around with the editing as you have shown instead of running it through a plugin.
Great tips! I was reshooting large size films that wouldn't fit my 135 film scanner, ending up using my phone and a light box; colors came out weird until I came across this tutorial. : )))
Just found your video. Thank you for sharing this. The best and most simple process I’ve tried so far.
Works the same with a levels adjustment too. I was going to buy NLP, but at $99 that's just ridiculous. I'm already paying for photoshop and lightroom, so I don't need more expenses. I'm pleased with the results I get from using a levels adj on the red, green, and blue.
Outstanding and easy to follow. You made my day as I followed you step by step and ended up with the image I knew was there. Thank-you!
Thank you for your kind words! I'm pleased that the guide was valuable for you.
Great video! Thanks! Now I have to go and re-scan all my colour negatives, wish me luck!
What a great video! Out of all I watched this one was the easiest to follow. Great pacing
Try scanning a little bit of the blank film outside of the image area, use that for your neutral point. You're welcome!
Best explanation I've seen, and very easy to follow. Thanks!
Best guide I've seen so far. Thanks ;-)
this is fantastic. hope petapixel stops selling everyone negative lab "pro" and posts this!! feels like i have watched 200 of these videos, you win.
This is exactly the kind of video I’ve been looking for
You achieve nice results, but here's the dilemma: you say "retain true film colors" as if this is objective and inherent to the film (which does have particular color properties), but also "this is all personal preference, so just go with your eye and what you think looks good" when adjusting the color balance. My point is that each film will capture each scene a bit differently, but this always has to be corrected, so the end results when editing color negative will always be subjective, based on what you think looks good. It's both the enigma and fun of working with color negative film!
Same. I am studying how to digitize photographic heritage objectively and scientifically and this is a completely subjective approach. What we do, for example, is exchange in Capture One the beginning of the black dot for the beginning of the white dot, making an X with the sliders, in order to develop the negative. Then we adjust the black point (pure black) and the white point (pure white) just like he does in the tutorial. Finally, a white balance. That's all.
@Pete Melon there is really no such thing as “the colors of Portra” or any color negative film. Whether you’re scanning or printing in the darkroom, the end result is completely subjective and depends on the person doing it.
If you want objective film colors, you have to shoot slides.
@Pete Melon of course there are slight spectral sensitivity differences between negative films, but unlike a slide a negative is not an image. The image only exists after it’s been processed in scanning or darkroom printing, and there’s no way to do that objectively. This is one reason commercial photographers for magazines and advertising back in the film days all shot positive film, without exception.
@Pete Melon “properly correct for that...”
Ah, there’s the whole problem. What is a “proper” correction?
You act like you can simply set the sliders in Photoshop a certain way and every negative scan will pop out the other end with “true film colors”. That’s simply not the case.
It seems obvious that you didn’t grow up during the film era. We had something called a One Hour Photo Lab that used an automated process like what you’re suggesting to give you a pack of prints in an hour. I can tell you first hand that the results from such a process went from passable to complete garbage, all in the same roll of film. Normies didn’t care, they weren’t photographers and had no concern for color correction.
@@joeltunnah It seems obvious that you have too many opinions but nothing to contribute.
This is the most accurate method I've tried so far. I've also added another curve adjustment layer on top to get the white balance right with the 50% grey pointer.
Thanks, glad you found it useful. Using the 50% grey colour picker on a curves adjustment layer to manage the colour balance is a good shout.
Great! thanks for sharing. Already phogographed a few films. Now need to process negatives.
this is such a helpful video! thank you so much.
Dear Tran, Many thanks, greatly appreciated. Cheers Neil
Great guide, thank you!
I have a kinda similar method but with capture one, and I think it delivers a better start point than this photoshop method. In C1, it's about adjusting the "back" and "white" extreme points also, but using the levels tool for green, red and blue. After that you will get more natural film colors. Finally it's just adjust a little the middle point of each RGB levels in case you want to remove any other cast. So in C1 my workflow is 1) apply lens correction and choose the film curve you prefer (linear, natural, extra shadow), 2) modify exposure level (but only exposure), 3) adjust the RGB level max and minimum 4) adjust WB (preferably depending of film: day for ultramax, tungsten for Cinestill, etc. And finally 5) creative and custom adjustments from there...
hi Martino, i wonder how you ivert the picture on C1 i see could be just in the mode of C1 witch its for a Museum method, i have C1.23 and didnt find it :( thabnks a lot
@@luiscalderon5526I have C1 and I think a similar method would be creating 3 full layers and using the levels window in each of them with each of the colors: Red - Green - Blue.
To invert the negative from the curves window, we invert the curve taking the lower point of the blacks upwards and the upper point of the whites downwards.
Correct me if I am wrong. Greetings.
Many thanks! iYes you rigth i try it allready! and the newest version of Capture one haves an option ( in base characteristics) ere you can make it positive and negative. @@franciscojoseramirez7434
Very nice and clean tutorial. Liked~
Thank you , really good video.
Show de bola! muito bom!
Great information thanks
How to get threshold view in Capture One?
ALT key doesn't work in C1
I'm scanning using canon software and get automatically inverted color negs. But if I like a photo I usually use this way to process it in a more personal, more detailed, and way controllable form.
Big question is, what defines a neutral camera profile and how neutral can one go? Make your own with a profile editor?
Your Dslr guide - histogram - specific care on red channel.
I missed this while dslr scanning.
It's nothing about "true" film colors... It's about how to tweak some sliders in photoshop to get some usable image.
Perfect - Τέλειο!!!!!
Thanks, that helped :D
I have data lost from my red channel before i move any of the points on curve, what is the solution to this? I tried rescanning on my epson v370 but its the sae every time. Is this just how the photo was taken, was it something that happened during devoping or is there a way to fix it in ps? Thanks
I'm using a mac and ALT (option) on the curves adjustment doesn't work .. Do you know a mac shortcut?
Can this be done in Lightroom? Also, how do you scan your negatives? Thank you.
Good for single image processing and when you really have nothing else better to do.
Therefore, Negative Lab Pro still wins, hands down.
Excuse me, what means: "single light colour temperature" at 5:16?
Can I do it in gimp or photoscape??
I cant find the adjustments layers tab
Can do this also a video ☝?
And what’s the routine converting B&W negatives?
just invert colors and fix brightness
what about scanning?
What program do you use?
I use Adobe Photoshop here
No batch processing... I've got zillions of color negs, I'll need a couple of extra lives to do the job...! or be very, very selective, thanks mate...!
Check out Negative Lab Pro.
@@GibsonLucille Found a way in Photoshop Adjustments. It works!
The preset negative profiles in Silverfast are pretty good, or at least get you 95% of the way there. The method in this video is good for special cases where the presets don’t work good.
As you’ve demonstrated very well, there is no such thing as the “true film colors” with color negative film. The end result is always completely subjective, just as it was in the darkroom days.
Apparently I’ve been chasing something that doesn’t exist! I’m glad I came across your comment
@@dyani4755 it’s a common misconception. If you want a certain color palette “baked in”, shoot slide film. Although once that’s scanned, all bets are off again. Have fun.
thank you for your comment! i thought there was a “correct palette” to color film too. i’ve been shooting and scanning expired color film so i guess that’s even more subjective!
3:45 (for future reference for myself)
I think it's misleading to say »true film colors« because you obviously eyeballing the colors and white balance.
Why not just shoot digital in the first place?
dumbass
@@maximocozzetti2771 No, it's dumbass to shoot on film when you want a digital copy!!! So you're the dickhead for calling me dumbass!
@@migranthawker2952 you're double dumbass 😂 films can be digitalized since ever, but you are probably a baby kiddo who wasn't even born when film photography was in its golden era 🤷♂️
@Migrant Hawker I and many others like me, who have tons of negative film shot when digital photography did not exist, may want to digitize those negative films.
With that being said, this method is far from ideal for people like me with a bulk of photographs to process. Therefore, as I mentioned in the comment directed to the owner of this channel, Negative Lab Pro remains the best solution, even at the cost of $99.
@@nicolacammisa5205 point the camera at the illuminated negative and set the white balance to this background. It largely fixes the colour cast etc and couldn't be simpler.