Kodak films do tend to give your photographs a warmness, especially when compared to typical Fujicolor offerings. Portra 400 is no different in that sense, and I think it’s that warmness combined with the more muted colours that brings it so many fans. Kodak Portra 400 is more flexible overall, which is to be expected from the best-selling color film of all time. Portra 400 is designed for use by professionals, who need a cleaner look and reliability so that they can choose the look of the final image.

Kodak Portra 400 - Film Profile - Casual Photophile Kodak Portra 400 - Film Profile - Casual Photophile

Starting it off with Cinestill’s most popular film, Cinestill 800T brings cinematic converted film to the masses. Being made from converted Kodak Vision3 500T cinematic film, the process involves the removal of an anti-static ‘Remjet’ layer. The removal of this is what leads to 800T’s dreamy glowy halation around light sources – you can see for yourself through the many Cinestill 800T photos out there! Kodak Portra 400 was launched in 1998 and replaced the older 'Vericolor' emulsion in Kodak's range. Originally there were two variants of Portra: 'Vivid Colour' and 'Natural Colour' but a technical update in 2010 made the difference redundant with a new and improved film. It’s an incredibly versatile film in terms of exposure latitude – so much that Cinestill doesn’t even provide a fixed box speed to it! They do however give a suggestive ISO rating of 200-1600, which allows you to shoot in a multitude of light settings.Capture life’s vibrancy and passion with the classic film that inspired a whole crop of new portrait photographers. Kodak Portra 400 is one of the world’s most popular colour negative film and is perfect for both studio and location shoots. It is loved by experienced film shooters for its accurate skin tones, sharp focus, fine grain structure and superior flexibility in exposure. As tempting as it is to follow along with the photographic trends, I’m happy with my work and how I make my images. I love Portra, and I’m not saying that I’ll never buy it again. After all, it’s pretty much the only color negative film in medium format other than Fuji Pro400H – I suppose my hands are tied there. If I had a special occasion to shoot or a trip or holiday that I wanted to save on film, Portra would be high on my list of candidates for the job. I think it’d give me results I’d love. This film is mostly designed for the way it renders skin tones. If you’re photographing someone with darker skin tones, balance it out with a silver reflector. Superior Sharp Focus – Capture high image resolution & depth of field even in dim lighting, with the film giving great results even when pushed

Portra and Choosing the Best One A Handy Guide to Kodak Portra and Choosing the Best One

Lomo 400, on the other hand, accentuated the fall colors brilliantly. The yellow and red autumn leaves appeared more saturated, and simply dominated the image. In some ways, that was exactly how I wanted it. In others, I wish that I had a little bit more control.If you’re uncertain of how your subject should be exposed the sky can be a good reference point in this sort of light. On Portra I feel that the sky, whether partly cloudy or clear blue, looks best when exposed with that extra ⅔ stop of compensation. This reduces some of the saturation in the sky, which often leans towards an unattractive cyan on Portra. If your entire scene is in daylight, chances are that metering the sky and adding this extra exposure will result in a good exposure for your image on Portra, no matter what the subject is.

Portra 160/400/800: Film Portraits Kodak Ektar 100 vs Kodak Portra 160/400/800: Film Portraits

Capture stunning, lifelike images with Kodak Portra 400 120 film. This medium-speed, colour negative film is perfect for portraits and well-lit scenes, producing natural skin tones and rich, vibrant colours. Consistent and reliable performance: This film is known for its consistent and reliable performance, which means you can count on it to deliver stunning results every time. Overall, Kodak Portra 400 film is a high-quality film that is perfect for photographers who want to capture beautiful, lifelike images with natural skin tones and excellent colour reproduction. Again: just before sunrise, but a different angle: Portra 400 / Summicron 35mm ASPH Ektar / Summilux 50mmKodak Ektar 100 film is very sharp when used with good cameras/ lenses. It is almost unflatterringly sharp for female portraits for anything other than perfect model skin. However if you look deeper you can pull positives from this situation. To date I have only shot Kodak Ektar 120 film with sharp lenses stopped down. I try to use sharp lenses for film photography as images tend to be softer than when shooting digital. If 120 Ektar is almost too sharp for medium format portraits then it will also give me sharper 35mm portraits. If I find 35mm Ektar is great for sharp fashion portraits using modern ASPH and APO lenses but not very flattering for wedding portraits then I can just use older Leica lenses such as the Noctilux 50mm f1, Summarit 50mm f1.5 or Summaron 35mm f3.5 for a softer photo. Hasselblad 501C + Zeiss Distagon 60mm f3.5 CF + 120 Kodak Portra 400 film portrait Kodak Ektar vs Kodak Portra Skin Tones and Saturation Aside from just metering Portra 160 at 100, I also err on the side of overexposure. I pay more attention to the average reading in the foreground rather than the entire scene including the sky and I often have exposure compensation on my metering camera set to +0.7 for an extra two-thirds stop. This means that the film is almost always being overexposed by more than a full stop, and skies might be overexposed by a stop or two (or sometimes several) more than that. While I’ve shot a fair bit of Portra 400, it’s all been 35mm. I’ve yet to shoot this film in 120 so please bear that in mind as you continue to read! Shooting Portra 400 At Box Speed Where do we even begin with Kodak? A brand that is synonymous with film – covering a wide range of use cases from professional to novice use, and from still to motion picture. Kodak Portra is often the benchmark to aspire to for both film and digital cameras when it comes to natural skin tones. I have raved about it in the past and wrote a post on it. The less saturated Portra colours can really suit wedding photography hence it’s popularity (along with Fuji Pro 400H). When I shoot digital I only shoot in colour if I think colour adds to an image (or it is requested by a paying client such as a wedding).

Is Kodak Portra 400 Right For Me? - The Analogue Experience Is Kodak Portra 400 Right For Me? - The Analogue Experience

Fear not, though. If you can’t find any in person, don’t have time to go and look, want to find it at the best price before buying, or indeed want to buy less than 5 rolls, there are plenty of people online who will sell you some instead. The only thing you don’t want to do with any film is underexpose as you just can’t recover the shadows that much.After shooting your Portra, it’s developed using the standard C-41 process. It’s also designed to be a great film for scanning, which makes a lot of sense considering its history. The look of Cinestill 800T comes from the tungsten balance of the film. It’s made so that when pointed at warm colors, the film converts to cooler tones with a blue tint. Combine that with the iconic halation, and you’ve got yourself the coveted Cinestill 800T look. However, I should be honest in the fact that the only reason I took the Portra on that trip is that I had four or five rolls in my drawer not being shot. If I hadn’t have had that Portra, I probably would have shot more Gold or Ultramax on that trip as it’s the film I prefer. Thankfully though, Portra gave me beautiful results that I’m extremely happy with.