Update: Off for the weekend

Just wanted to let you all know that there will be no real post for today or tomorrow. I didn't want to just leave you all hanging, so I figured that I would let you know. I am in the middle of a fairly massive job for a client, so I don't have time this weekend to devote to the blog. I will be back by Monday, and should be back on schedule with daily posts early each day.

If I do get some time before hand, I will try to get a post up on Sunday, but it does not look favorable at the moment.

Thank you all for dropping by and giving me some time to take care of real-world issues, LIDF will be back in swing soon. I hate taking time off from this project, but there is no other option this weekend. It would have been longer, but I knew I had a busy week coming up so I got my daily posts for the past week done last weekend. I just hoped the I would have been done with the project by this weekend, but alas, that was not to be.

Back soon,

Michael

LR/ACR Preset: Maco IR

Today I bring you another attempt at simulating an infrared film. It is a fairly difficult task that cannot be done anywhere near as accurately as a normal B&W film. So when using my IR presets, keep in mind that you are not creating anything near what the actual film would create. I think I have the general feel of the film captured, however it is impossible for me to create a preset that can take a standard RAW file and give it an IR look.

However, if anyone has access to a IR-converted DSLR, and could send me some RAW files to test with, I should be able to work up a proper IR preset for use with IR modified camera RAW files. If you do, please contact me at michael@lifeindigitalfilm.com

Anyways, today I give to the world preset in the style of Maco IR. I can't really call it an emulation, but it has similar tonality and reacts to colors in a way that makes it kinda look IR. I hope you enjoy it and can find a use for it.

Don't forget to show LifeInDigitalFilm some love. Buy the Cold Storage collection, or even just donate a couple bucks. Every little bit puts more film in my hands, resulting in more presets. Find the buttons on the right side of the page.

A lot has been going on for LIDF lately, I have a few items in the works, so keep dropping by. New things are coming, I just can't say when yet.

Also, today is essentially the last day to make an entry into the Flickr Presetting Lightroom photo contest. Not alot of enteries, and there is a copy of HDRSoft's Photomatix Pro and 3 copies of my Cold Storage collection up for grabs. To enter you need to post an image to the group, with a title, preset used, and why it was used. the contest collection is small, so the odds of winning are pretty good. Jump over there to join in.

Until then,

Michael

LR/ACR Preset: Maco PO

Now to follow up my Maco Cube preset from this past weekend, I now give you my version of Maco PO, their Orthopanchromatic film. Being an Orthopanchromatic film, it has a very subdued response to red, but does not render it black as an Orthochromatic film would. Being said, that is all I can say I find special about this film. It is still a good, solid film, but nothing makes it stand out to me, especailly when compared to Fuji Neopan 100 Arcos, another Orthopan film.

I hope you enjoy it

Back again tomorrow, in the mean time don't forget my Cold Storage collection. If you enjoy my presets and wish to support their further development, the $9.99 usd purchase price goes towards costs for the website and to aquire new film and processing to prepare the film for emulation. The process for making these presets is fairly involved and does require an outlay of cash on my part...your support helps offset these costs. For more information on how I make my emulations click HERE.

Until tomorrow,

Michael

Random Items: ACR presets and Customizing LIDF Presets for Your Needs

So lately I have been fielding some questions via e-mail and reading some great criticism on other blogs. All in all, I feel the response to my presets has been amazing, but in the interest of always improving, I want to say a few thing that may help clear up some common issues.

Issue 1: Over Aggressive Tone Curves

Alright, I admit some of my tone curves can be harsh when used on high contrast images. I have noticed this and I am currently revising some of the worst offenders to help alleviate the problem. Frankly, it is hard to duplicate the effect of film, as each batch is different, and every frame can differ based on condition in which the photograph was taken. If you notice your image is breaking (excessive posterization in shadows, strange artifacts, etc) I recommend you take a look at the tone curve and make a few adjustments.

If the tone curve is steep, with deep shadows and bright highlights, you may want to pull the curve back on either side, flattening out the image. You may also want to adjust the Point Curve option in the Tone Curve window down a step: from Strong to Medium, Medium to Linear. These alterations may improve your image. The primary concern in my emulation preset is the color settings, with the tone curve coming in second. Try to fix any problems using the tone curve, it may help you out more if/when you take the image into Photoshop.

If you find yourself frequently altering the tone curve of a particular preset, you may want to consider permanently altering the preset to your needs. After making your corrections, right click the preset name and select Update. Hit okay afterward, now you have made the preset your own. If you find that you get better results, email me about your alterations...you may be the extra set of eyes that helps me improve my emulation. Contact emails are on the left side of the blog.

Issue 2: Adobe Camera Raw Presets

For a while, every preset I make has an ACR preset included in the release. The ACR presets are located inside a folder in the archive entitled "ACR Presets". Every film emulation preset on LIDF now has ACR counterparts to the Lightroom presets. Most of my style presets also have ACR counterparts.

To install the ACR presets all you have to do is copy them to the corret folder for ACR to access them. They folders are as follows:

Macintosh: /Users/UserName/Library/Application Support/Adobe/CameraRawFolder/Settings
Windows: C:\Documents and Settings\UserName\Application Data\Adobe\CameraRaw\Settings

Simply replace your current user name into the folder structure where you see UserName. These folder paths lead you right to where you need to copy the .xmp files found in the ACR Presets folder. Once you have them copied over, the next time you open ACR the presets will be available in the Preset tab in ACR (Which is the button furthest to the left under the histogram).

Alot of people were not aware how to install these presets, and if you are interested in converting Lightroom presets yourself, please refer to my post over on X-Equals. It walks you through the process, and gives more indepth direction on installing presets into ACR.

Issue 3: Non RAW Images

If you have been to LIDF lately you may have seen the poll on the top left side of the blog asking if I should make presets for raster images in Lightroom. Overwhelmingly the answer was no, but I saw enough intrest in raster images that I made a decision. I am going to start woking on Photoshop actions to accomplish much the same effect as my presets. This will likely be a way off, and the releases nowhere near as frequent as my Presets, but I plan on doing it.

I decided to forgo presetting for jpegs, as I found the results less than adequate, and I feel Photoshop is the place to make these pixelpushing changes anyways. Take away the power of RAW data and Lightroom is rendered fairly inept for my emulation purposes.

Keep an eye open, they will be coming.

Issue 4: Using My Presets

Finally, if you are using my presets and getting great results, let me know. I want to see and hear about successes. In the same right let me know about problems you encounter, feedback will help these presets improve.

If you use my presets on your own personal blog, drop me an email or a tweet on Twitter, and let me know. I love to see others work with my tools and I will happily send everyone who views this site to you to see what you have done. I enjoy showcasing those who use m presets.

If you are on Flickr and post images processed with my presets, you don't even have to email me. Just tag you image with "LifeInDigitalFilm" or "LIDF" along with the emulation used in the description, I will find them as once a week I troll Flick looking for examples of my presets in use. If you have a number of images using my presets, I will showcase your Flickr stream just as I would a photoblog.

Maybe it is vanity, but I enjoy seeing my work paying off. Also I can see any inadequacies I did not encounter whilst testing the presets out myself. Again seeing them used can help me further refine and improve my presets.

Well thats it for today, another preset is coming tomorrow!

Until then,

Michael

LR/ACR Preset: Fuji Fujicolor Press 800

Alright, here is a preset I had mentioned I have been working on for a little while. Today I release my version of Fuji's Fujicolor Press 800 film, which was design to be a high-speed film primarily for media use in adverse lighting conditions. The emulsion is rather grainy, but grabs sharp, clear images. This was one of the first Fuji film emulsions that utilized their 4th color layer, leading to vibrant images even under bad lighting without sacrificing shutter speed.

A warning up front, my presets are primarily designed from me physically shooting a roll of film and then further analysis. Sometimes this can lead to unique effects from roll to roll. I feel this is a case of that, the blues in this roll and emulation are really washed out, as you can see in the image above. I could correct this, and make the blues look more "correct" however that would be an inaccurate emulation of this roll. I emulate actual film, not the average look of the film. As I shoot more, there will be new emulations of every film I have done so far. It is the way I am choosing to do this project...there is no end all be all emulation for any film, each batch of film created will differ in appearance and reaction from batch to batch...therefore my emulations retain the quirks of each individual roll and each processing method used.

To compensate for the washed out blues, I recommend that you first slowly lower the Blue channel Luminosity, bringing some more depth to the color. If that is not enough, increase the Blue Saturation slowly until you get what you are looking for. Only do this if you really nee to do the blues, as most other colors look accurate compared to other samples of the film I have encountered. Enjoy the preset.

That is all for today, quick post just to make the release. Enjoy your day, and if you have any beautiful photos that you have just process with my or anyone else's preset, please consider entering it in the Presetting Lightroom contest on Flickr. Just a few days left to enter!

Until Tomorrow,

Michael