Five film styles that can create a vintage look
Referencing analog film can give the AI a great starting point
One way to achieve a vintage look is to incorporate an old film type in your prompt. Some of the classic types of film used in 35mm photography produced prints with a distinct look. And just like filters on photo-sharing apps have tried to mimic the looks, AI-art generators can also bring the look of film to the images they create.
In this article, we’re looking at samples of five film types that you can incorporate into your prompts:
Kodak Portra 400
Fujichrome Velvia
Kodak Ektar 100
Lomography Color Negative 400
Amber 400D Color Negative Movie Film
Note: These examples were generated in Midjourney. I kept the prompt as simple as possible with only a sparse description of the scene in an attempt to isolate the impact of the film (see caption of image above for an example). These have been upsized just one time from the original prompt.
Kodak Portra 400 Film
Known for its smooth and natural color palette, Kodak Portra 400 is a high-speed color negative film that is used for daylight photography. Photographers love it because of its accurate skin tones and sharp images. Unlike some of the films on this list, it’s still produced today.
You can see some real-life examples of images taken with Portra 400 here.
Fujichrome Velvia Film
Velvia is a slide film known for its high-saturation and vibrant colors. It was produced in both 50 and 100 ISOs. Landscape photographers, especially, like the way it renders colors. It produces excellent deep shadows. Fujifilm discontinued it in 2021. You can see some real life examples of images taken with Velvia 50 here.
Kodak Ektar 100 Film
Like Velvia, Ektar is known for vivid colors, high saturation and sharpness. Because it’s a relatively “slow” film, which means it typically needs a bright light and stationary subjects, it’s a favorite of landscape photographers. You can see some real life examples of images taken with Kodak Ektar 100 here.
Lomography Color Negative 400 Film
Lomography Color Negative 400 film touts its “bold colors and stunning sharpness.” But as you can tell by looking at the photos on this page, there’s not a huge distinction between all the samples. The images tend to have green and yellow tones and this film is no exception. You can see some real life examples of images taken with Lomography Color Negative 400 here.
Amber D400 Color Negative Movie Film
Amber D400 color negative film was developed for motion pictures but was re-formatted for use in still cameras. Thus, the cinematic quality of the images it produces. The one caveat in using this as a prompt, however, is that the AI tends to pick up the word “amber” and applies it to the color palette. When comparing the AI images to images developed in the real world, the non-AI-generated images tend to have more of a green tint to them. You can see some real life examples of images taken with Amber D400 here.
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