neew help to get this "low contrast" / film type effect

[dinokun]

hi guys, i am amaze at the knowledge most ppl here have :thumbsup: i am hoping if some of you can help me with this? the first pic is a sample of the nice soft, low contrast with a kind of soft filter to the pic.

the second shot is my photo, I have been trying to get this effect, but no matter how i shoot, I cant seem to get it right. Someone told me it's post processing and I need to play with the curve, I manage to find the curve in lightroom, but I am not sure how to pull the curve to get this effect. Someone told me need to split toning, but I am super noob at this, just wondering if anyone can share a light?

Nice Good Sample
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-DoibWcO4404/VKZdwrqfUBI/AAAAAAAAHlY/Xw7w0pk_Lug/s1600/nice+contrast.png

my sample how to make it similar like above.

 

[catchlights]

Lightroom?

in develop module, you can try lower the contrast slider, or just drag the black point upward in curve adjustment.

 

[pettypoh]

personally, i actually like the 2nd shot more than the 1st shot =D

 

[devilry]

personally, i actually like the 2nd shot more than the 1st shot =D

same sentiments!

If I have the first photo, I would process it such that the colors look like more like the 2nd photo.

Maybe becos we prefer images that are sharp and with colors that are contrasty..

(Don't flame me, the first thought that comes to my mind is: the second image looks like taken from a L lens, while the first image looks like taken from a super entry level lens and thus the low sharpness and contrast i.e. not so much the result of post processing..)

 

[kandinsky]

These might help:
https://photographylife.com/that-classic-vintage-look
https://fstoppers.com/post-production/how-create-popular-matte-look-lightroom-3280

Depends on your clientele I guess. I've found that while it can look interesting on backlit screens, sometimes it doesn't translate well to prints? Gotta experiment. E.g., If your client wants prints, you might end up processing two sets of files...

 

[catchlights]

These might help:
https://photographylife.com/that-classic-vintage-look
https://fstoppers.com/post-production/how-create-popular-matte-look-lightroom-3280

Depends on your clientele I guess. I've found that while it can look interesting on backlit screens, sometimes it doesn't translate well to prints? Gotta experiment. E.g., If your client wants prints, you might end up processing two sets of files...

probably the effect will be like 20 years old faded cheap colors prints.

 

[PinkDevil]

I personally likes the second photos more to in terms of composition and sharpness. Maybe you can let us know what is it about the 1st photo that you like so that we can know the look you are after.

If it's the big so sharp feeling, maybe you can try decrease a bit of luminance and clarity. Not sure if that's what you are after.

 

[naynoy]

i dont understand why would you prefer the 1st shot compared to the shot that you took.. as what others here have stated, your shot is better.
or better yet you might be using a wrong tool.
the a phone cam and u can easily get the 1st dull effect.

 

[dinokun]

sry sry late reply, I was away without my phone for the weekends >.<

thanks for the comment, just to let u know yes the second shot is shot with L lens 70-200, thanks for kandinsky for the link, i manage to find something i like, I have been liking "film" like since day 1 (soft contrast/hazy/yellow fuji look), but L lens doesnt produce this effect sooc.

But anyway thanks to kandinsky I manage to find some resources to postprocess. I guess this could be one situation whereby too good of an equipment might not be suitable for everyone >.<

 

[eleveninth]

in the words of Zack Arias.

http://instagram.com/p/tqwrr5mogF/

"Looks like some VSCO bullshit right? Nope. A poorly exposed negative is what this is. I get asked a lot why I dislike this VSCO'ish look so much. Here's why &#8212; It looks like poorly exposed and/or poorly developed film when the shadows are this muddy and flat. I know. I know. That's not the only VSCO look out there but it's the most popular and easiest to spot and many people think it's so awesome and looks just like film. No. It looks like BAD film. Maybe it's just a popular aesthetic and that's fine but it's popular now. It will be out of fashion soon enough and folks who have entire portfolios of this look are going to have to go back and rework everything or else they'll look dated and out of touch with the new new trend. My opinion, and it's just an opinion, is solid color work and solid B&W work will always stand the test of time. A tweak here or there can be good. Some like it a bit more saturated. Others like it a little less saturated but good contrast wins all the time. Some like a bit more contrast. Some like a bit less. That's cool. But this flat as hell bullshit like this scan? It sucks AND it looks horrible in most printing situations. IMHO. IMHO. IMHO. The day will come when this line of conversation will happen... Remember selective color? Remember when everyone was putting textures on everything? Remember when that VSCO look was hot? Note I'm not trying to kick up a dust storm here. Some people love this look so much. To each their own. I'm making this post because I'm asked why I don't like the look and I now have a REAL piece of film to illustrate my opinion."

]
thanks for the comment, just to let u know yes the second shot is shot with L lens 70-200, thanks for kandinsky for the link, i manage to find something i like, I have been liking "film" like since day 1 (soft contrast/hazy/yellow fuji look), but L lens doesnt produce this effect sooc.

But anyway thanks to kandinsky I manage to find some resources to postprocess. I guess this could be one situation whereby too good of an equipment might not be suitable for everyone >.<

Also I doubt the lens is the reason for people to like the shot you took. Yes I prefer 2nd shot too.

 

[catchlights]

sry sry late reply, I was away without my phone for the weekends >.<

thanks for the comment, just to let u know yes the second shot is shot with L lens 70-200, thanks for kandinsky for the link, i manage to find something i like, I have been liking "film" like since day 1 (soft contrast/hazy/yellow fuji look), but L lens doesnt produce this effect sooc.

But anyway thanks to kandinsky I manage to find some resources to postprocess. I guess this could be one situation whereby too good of an equipment might not be suitable for everyone >.<

just shoot with colour negative film, and terribly underexposed it, than you will have it, it is not very hard to achieve that.

btw, please do not mistaken film newbie mistakes as the "film look".

 

[kandinsky]

But anyway thanks to kandinsky I manage to find some resources to postprocess.

Glad it helped. Just to chime in, between the two shots, I too prefer your shot. Even though I do favour the low-contrast aesthetic from time to time, the merits of your shot (composition, the stuff that's supposed to be sharp is sharp, etc) outweigh the processing of the other shot, which looks to me like the focus was off leh ;p