What’s the Difference Between a Film Simulation, a Film Preset and a Film Emulation?

Film Simulations, Film Emulations, and Film Presets, oh my! These terms are floating around your TikTok algorithm and Instagram feed, but can anyone tell you what the difference between these are? 

What is a "Film Aesthetic"?

Film is still in style, and whether you’re shooting on physical film rolls or trying to recreate the look on your digital photography, it’s important to know what each of these terms mean- and why you would even want to replicate the style itself. 

Photographers love trying to get the “film look” because it’s often described as cinematic, nostalgic, and classic. Features of the so-called "film aesthetic" are often dreamy and hazy photos with cinematic grain, fades, and contrast that mimic the tones created in the darkroom and retro colors that were once developed with the magic of chemistry. 

As technology advances into the era of digital photography, let’s take a closer look at all these trendy terms floating around so you can determine what works best for your photography workflow. 

Film Simulations 

Photo by Kobe Subramaniam on Unsplash

Maybe you’ve heard the term recipe in conjunction with simulation– essentially, this term is used most around Fujifilm digital camera users. 

Digital cameras in the Fujifilm world are providing photographers with the ability to create a certain look inside the camera. 

Similar to how post-production softwares such as Lightroom and Capture One allow you to adjust sliders to create a look and apply it to multiple photos, these adjustments are instead made in-camera so the user is able to see what the colors and tones could look like while shooting. 

This “look” is then applied to the photo upon capture and creates a nicely stylized JPG straight out of camera. 

The term recipe refers to the exact formula used to get a certain aesthetic, how much highlights are pushed, how warm you’re making the look, etc. For film simulations and recipes, they are designed to mimic the cinematic colors and textures of film photos.  

• Instant results. You can see exactly what you’re getting when you shoot, helping you see the final result quickly. 
• Less editing. Since the look was already applied, photographers can spend less time in post-production and have a JPG ready to use. 

Cons:

• Less flexibility. JPGs with simulations baked in don’t have the same data that unedited RAW files do, which means if you need to make adjustments after the shoot, it’ll be more difficult to make clean edits.
• Less Longevity. You may love a certain look now, but the photos you’ve already taken have that same style forever. 

Another in-camera option relating to film simulations are real-time LUTS that can be used in certain camera brands. You can read an in-depth review using Mastin Lab's video LUTS with the Panasonic Lumix S5ii for photography. 

Shot by Joe Ensley, using a Real-Time LUT

Film Presets 

Edited with the Portra Pushed preset pack and shot by Colby Moore

Film presets, in this case, are a packaged set of adjustments that create that cinematic film look which can be uploaded and applied to photos in post-production. 

The main difference is that typically, while Fujifilm simulations are used in-camera, presets are a collection of data to be imported into an editing software like Lightroom or Capture One. 

You can create your own presets unique to your style, or you can purchase them from companies that specialize in certain styles, like Mastin Labs. These presets are named after the specific film stock they were inspired from, so each preset gives the user a different film look.

Presets are meant to work with software, which means it doesn’t matter which brand of camera you’re using, even mobile, the look can be used for everyone. 

Pros:

• Flexibility. Depending on the software, you can often adjust preset settings to fit the unique qualities of a photo to your liking.
• Non Destructive Editing. Presets can be applied, removed, and adjusted on top of an unedited image, which means you can undo anything you don’t love without changing the unedited image for good. 

Cons:

• More Editing. Unlike the simulations noted above, you will need to upload your photos to a software and apply the preset instead of having a JPG straight out of camera.
• The Unknown. You might not know what your image will look like until you apply a preset, since you can’t see the colors in-camera. 

Bonus: Film Emulations

Different softwares and cameras might use this term interchangeably with the terms we’ve just gone over, but what they’re telling you is that their tools are designed for creating adjustments and features to mimic the style of film photography. 

Film presets and simulations are both, technically, emulators of film photography. 

There are some standalone or plug-in softwares that title themselves “film emulators” which are focused primarily on adjustment sliders and tools that emulate film looks- such as grain, halations, haze, etc. They might have presets built into their software as well. 

Why Film Will Never Die

As digital technology grows and adapts, we’ll have to keep an eye out for what terminology is used for photographers to stay on top of, but the love of film will likely always live on, in some form or another.

The original method of taking photos created styles and aesthetics that will be coveted for generations to come, no matter the medium.

#StayBrokeShootFilm