After many years of trying a bunch of different Fujifilm film simulation recipes, there are only a few I can’t live without.

So yes, I’m back to shooting both raws and jpegs.

And today I’m giving you guys the secret recipes, including my favorite daytime, black and white, and go-to recipe I use in 90% of my JPEGs.

These are all for the “xtrans4” sensor but you can adapt it to whatever Fujifilm camera you have. The full recipes are available down below.

Portra 400

Portra 400 is a film simulation recipe I’ve been using for a while now.

Personally, I don’t think this looks exactly like the film stock Portra 400. But that’s to be expected because it’s a digital recipe and there are many variables at play.

The foundation for this recipe is classic chrome which I’ve noticed has a bit of those tealer skies you might see in film. It also uses the daytime white balance setting which makes it great for midday photography where you might have bright or harsh lighting. That’s where I think this recipe truly shines. I enjoy using it when I go out for walks during the day, whenever I’m faced with that early afternoon sun. Personally, I think 1-2pm is a great time to try Portra 400, but golden hour always works. It’s also great for everyday photography and it’s a nice balance between something that has some character but not too much.

Now although I prefer not to use SOOC JPEGs for prints or use in a photobook, a few Portra 400 images have actually made the cut. This is because the images from this recipe can look really good. And if it looks good, there’s no need to change anything. I personally like to be as flexible as I can with my looks, sometimes choosing to edit a certain way, and other times the edit is the recipe I’ve chosen itself.

So if you’re looking for a film simulation recipe to use during the day or even for a “summer” vibe, I definitely recommend this one.

The Portra 400 Recipe (thanks to FujiXWeekly):

Classic Chrome
Dynamic Range: DR-Auto
Highlight: -1
Shadow: -2
Color: +2
Noise Reduction: -4
Sharpening: -2
Clarity: +2
Grain Effect: Strong, Small
Color Chrome Effect: Strong
Color Chrome Effect Blue: Weak
White Balance: Daylight, +3 Red & -5 Blue
ISO: Auto, up to ISO 6400
Exposure Compensation: +1/3 to +1 (typically)

Newspaper

Newspaper is my favorite black and white film simulation recipe. I’ve been hesitant to talk about this recipe because I use it in almost all of my black and white photography and even emulate a lot of the characteristics when I edit my own raws. But I want to share this one with you guys because it’s really that good.

Newspaper is a custom recipe made by Kevin Mullins. It’s an Acros based recipe with heavy tones in the highlights and shadows. One of the most interesting things of this recipe is that the contrast really brings out a bit of drama in your images. It’s also got a bit of a clarity bump and heavy grain, which emphasizes what it’s intended to look like: photos from a newspaper. I’ve taken and shot many photos over the years with this recipe, from places like Coachella events to simple road trips with my friends. And its one of those recipes that never gets old.

An interesting aspect about this recipe is the use of Acros Yellow. If you didn’t know, the black and white film simulations have filters you can apply - like a yellow, green, and red filter. These filters were used often with film cameras and yellow was by far the most versatile. What a yellow filter does is absorbs the blue light, increasing contrast between certain subjects, adding depth in your skies and clouds. This is built into the recipe, which can add a interesting look to your images.

A big reason why I encourage photographers to shoot in black and white is because it has improved the way I personally look at light. In photography we are “blinded” by color. Color is great, but it can distract us from seeing interesting compositions of light and shadow.

So here’s a useful photography exercise for you. Spend your days shooting only in black and white and start paying attention to the different ways light and shadow interact. You’ll begin to notice things like how lines are created by shadows themselves, which can change the entire composition of an image. Soon enough, light and shadow will dictate your compositions - not color. And when you go back to shooting in color, you’ll start seeing the world differently and your photography will improve.

Try it out - it may change how you take photos forever.

The Newspaper Recipe (thanks to Kevin Mullins):

Film Simulation: Acros + Ye

Monochrome Colour: WC:-1 MG:+1

Grain Effect: Strong

Grain Size: Small

WB Shift: R:7 B:-4

Highlight Tone: +4

Shadow Tone: +4

Sharpness: +2

Noise Reduction: -4

Clarity: 0

Usual + Usual 2

Usual is the custom recipe I use 90% of the time. It’s one I created for myself and really, it’s nothing special.

All it is is classic chrome with highlights and shadows at negative 2. That’s it. I’ve taken the normal basic classic chrome and applied a reverse S curve to it. And I’ll tell you why I’ve done it and why it works.

Classic Chrome is a film simulation that’s very versatile. You can use it in many situations from street photography, to sunset photography, to portrait photography. One of it’s defining characteristics (at least in my eyes) is the flatness. It generally has a lower contrast when compared to other film simulations like Classic Negative and Acros.

Now you’d think I’d do the opposite to compensate for this lower contrast by adding a normal S curve to even things out. But I actually like how it looks this way. When I’m shooting during harsh daylight scenarios, the highlights don’t kill me. And in lowlight night scenarios, the shadows aren’t destroyed. It takes what I like about classic chrome and adds to it. It also acts as a great editing base for JPEGs because the tones are neutral and you can adjust from there. If you shoot raws, this recipe can be a great reference point for your images as well. It can show you just how much you can bring out your shadows and highlights while still looking good.

Usual 2 is something I’ve been experimenting with where I’ve added one additional thing - color. All I’ve done is added +1 to color and I might try +2 later. You may have noticed I like small adjustments. Since classic chrome is a lower saturation film simulation, adding that small bit of color brings some pop to the photos. But as always, this is something I’m still experimenting with.

So this is my go-to default recipe. I find “Usual” to be the most versatile profile to use in all scenarios because it’s quite basic and looks good - but doesn’t look like an iPhone photo. If you’re looking for a “set it and forget it” Fujifilm recipe, I greatly recommend you try this one out.

The “Usual Recipe” (thanks to me):

Film Simulation: Classic Chrome

Highlights: -2

Shadow: -2

Color: 0, +1, or +2 (if desired)

So those are the film simulation recipes I can’t live without. Portra 400 is main daytime shooter. Newspaper is my all inclusive black and white driver. And usual is usual.

Try them out, they’re lots of fun, and thanks for reading.