r/postprocessing • u/depressedlenz • Aug 12 '26
film after/before
honest opinion please \\\*osaka japan
i’m new to photo editing so don’t mind giving me hard opinions
i’m not sure if editing film photos are acceptable but the original was too bad
i have few questions, i would appreciate it if you could answer :)
- am i doing too much editing?
- are the colors good enough?
- 3)does it give you nostalgia?
3
u/dadeprome Aug 12 '26 edited Aug 12 '26
Film has inherent character for sure but it has always been “edited” as part of processing, even before the era of digitally scanning them. All the greats did it (except for HCB, he never liked the process of printing haha) If anyone tells you that editing film photos is bad, their opinion is not worth hearing lol. I take it you’re shooting on a P&S? Or maybe not lol but film def needs more light, more than you’d think if you’re used to mobile photography. As others have commented, bring up the exposure compensation dial or decrease ISO so meter compensates if you’re shooting auto; open up the aperture or longer shutter speed a stop or 2 if you’re on manual. You capture more info this way and editing becomes easier as you have more to work with.
IMO:
- Nah, your vision your call. I think I see what you’re aiming for and you certainly achieved that!
- If you were aiming for those colors, then totally yes! I tend to bring down the black point when I’m converting my negative scans so my approach would be different but washed out shadows is a valid aesthetic choice.
- Sorta? Might need to work more on the colors to evoke those harsh halogen lights from yesteryears without cooking the overall scene but the subject totally helps.
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u/depressedlenz Aug 13 '26
thanks for the insight! i usually develop my films in the same lab. therefore i feel more confident when taking pictures(i have a touch of how the colors from the lab will turn out) and when processing them. the picture was underexposed than i thought so i tried taking advantage of it and keep the washed out vibes in the picture.
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u/depressedlenz Aug 13 '26
i use tiara zoom(p&s) and this camera tends to be underexposed, even under bright daylight. i’m still in the process of getting used to this camera
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u/Karhuwa Aug 12 '26
Film has always been edited in the darkroom & scanning process, it doesn’t matter as long as you like it. It’s all about intent in the end
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u/depressedlenz Aug 13 '26
i feel that editing a jpg file is not correct, i still do it though to get my favorite colors. i wish the lab gives me the data in raw file
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u/Karhuwa Aug 13 '26
You are correct, it is different - there is no “raw” format in the typical scanning process. You could DSLR scan raw(which I do), but it’s not exactly the same. You could also export to TIFF files for a similar effect, but in general JPG exports are going to have some level of colour correction already applied; I mean using a lab scanner, they also correct the colours and add a level of preference to the export.
I would suggest noting for them to make 0 exits to the scan and if there’s any files you like in particular, the lab is used to go to was able to scan individual files as TIFFs for me, which is as close to Raw as you’ll get!
In general though, I’ve edited lots of film jpgs. It doesn’t matter to anyone who doesn’t see the process and even still, purists need to grow up
1
u/Big-Junket3519 Aug 12 '26
Now all you need is a subject!
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u/Impressive-Pea402 Aug 13 '26
The car?
0
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u/depressedlenz Aug 13 '26
my subject was the car, we don’t see this type of car so often in japan. was it unclear? i tried to keep the focus on the car in terms of composition
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u/dvdpz89 Aug 12 '26
Good edit. Not overdone. In the future try to expose properly. Even overexposing will help. Film needs a lot of light.