Tips for Photographers

The Discontinuation of Fuji 400H: Where to go from here for Film Photographers

If you are a part of the film community that you have heard of Fuji 400H. A couple weeks ago Fujifilm came out with the shocking news that they were going to discontinue fuji400h at the end of the year, which has rocked the film wedding world. I noticed some nervous photographers in our community and I wanted to clarify a few things since I have shot both Fuji and Portra and that both mediums are a gorgeous way to showcase your work.

For Fuji400h shooters, I feel like the worry is they won’t be able to get the same look that they’ve had in the Past with Portra and I’m here to say you can! Here are some tips for all my Fuji Shooters out there.

Also listen to our Dare to Develop episode on more information on Fujifilm 400H. We have Dustin Stockel from The Archetype Process and Patrick Le. We all have a great conversation soon the next steps in the wedding world with Film and how to work with Portra 400.

If you are a part of the film community that you have heard of Fuji 400H. Last week Fuji just came out with the discontinuation of their film, which has rocked the film wedding world. We’re noticing some nervous photographers in our community, so we wanted to take this opportunity to talk about how to navigate this time.

How does Portra400 Compare to Fuji400h?

Fuji and Portra have some main differences. Portra400 film typically leans a little warmer than fuji400h scans. Fuji has their richer blues and greens while Portra has more of an orange base. Portra definitely has more latitude in its scans then fuji, which allows you to continue to shoot it in less light then fuji and not having it underexpose. Portra is so versatile and such a great stock. I suggest playing around with it before your shoots to start to understand it and make it work for you.

The light and airy look

When people think of film in the wedding world they think “Light and airy”. While not all film photographers are this way, it is the majority in the wedding world. I think when one chooses to start film, they see this look and automatically think Fuji400h. I think this is a misconception because a lot of film photographers choose Portra and still get that same look. I have been able to use Portra 400 to get the same look of Fuji and have even used both stocks in the same shoot. I normally choose a film stock by a number of different reasons but regardless, I am able to achieve my same look.

The “Fuji 400h greens”

Another hard hit to Fuji400h shooters is their love for the soft colors and thoughts that with Portra this is going to change up their style. Portra does have more of a ‘punch’ when it comes to its colors because the film has more contrast. If the main reason you are worried about the slight change, there are ways to combat that, either in Lightroom or where you place your couples. No matter what you do, you cannot change the greens too much to what they naturally are and remember your clients are looking at themselves more than your greens.

You are NOT your film stock

Just like a painter is not the type of paints they use. We are not our tools. The tools help us create what we want but in the end we are the artists. We can mend and change our styles with continuing with the times. I feel like if we stopped evolving as artists we are not getting better and would still be shooting dutch angle like back in 2005.

Communicate with your Lab

Communicating with your lab is key during this transition. They are 80% of the reason your film looks the way it does and having that relationship with them that you are still trying too keep the fuji400h look will be extremely helpful. Remember you can also try Portra on both Frontier and Noritsu Scanners to see which one you like more. Ask your lab to do a side by side comparison. I know I’ve had Photovision do that in the past and it was extremely eye opening.

Bonus

Check out the TAP community group on Facebook. Dustin Stockel of the Archetype process is in the works of a film fuji emulation with Portra.

The main thing to take away from this news is that while a lot of photographers will have to adapt to the changes, that we are ever evolving as artists and more photographers will start creating beautiful work with Portra. In your down time, take the change to go out and practice with multiple film stocks not just Portra 400. Some other great options are Portra 800, Portra 160 and even Ektar 100. I cant wait to see what you create!

For some Portra 400 Inspiration, Check out some of my favorites below.