VSCO Film Presets for Resolve

[Nicolas Hanson]

It seems like the VSCO Film Presets are popular among still photographers and others. Are there any magic involved in making these presets or are they simple color transforms?

Edited March 14, 2018 by Nicolas Hanson

[Aaron Rosapepe]

Hi Nicolas,

I love the VSCO presets for photography. I wish I had more technical knowledge of what was happening under the hood for you but pretty sure there's no magic to it as they work right within Lightroom. I think they've just done their homework as far as coming up with looks that can feel very natural or more processed depending on one's aesthetic. I usually use them for a little film grain and I like the emulations they achieve (a couple of my photos attached).

I think Ill have a go of analyzing a few of my favorite settings and see if I can emulate in Resolve. Should be good practice!

 

Edited March 14, 2018 by Aaron Rosapepe

[dermot.shane]

render out a gradient from gradeing software

in lightroom import, apply effect, save

import saved gradient in gradeing software and look at scopes as a starting point

 

there's much much more that can be done, but that's a quick way to take a look at the basics

[cameronrad]

 

VSCO Presets are no magic at all. They are just some settings in Lightroom. Occasionally bundled with a RAW Camera Profile which just contains a modified tone curve. They are quite heavy handed. Especially in the shadow areas. The 3DLUTs used in film/video are much more accurate "emulations". VSCO is typically just trying to mirror the aesthetic from a Noritsu or Frontier scan (Common in photo labs). 

There's other brands making presets as well for Lightroom such as RNI Films, Replichrome, Alien Skin, Mastin Labs, Tribe Archipelago.

I don't typically use any of these. I find it's better to learn the tools themselves rather than relying on preset looks. However that said, when learning it can help to reverse engineer things. I think the issue with presets is that people become reliant on them and don't develop a look of their own or know how to. For instance on instagram you'll see tons of photographers who don't have any style of their own. All their work looks exactly the same because they use the same presets and shoot similar things. 

Edited March 14, 2018 by cameronrad

[Aaron Rosapepe]

21 minutes ago, cameronrad said:

 

VSCO Presets are no magic at all. They are just some settings in Lightroom. Occasionally bundled with a RAW Camera Profile which just contains a modified tone curve. They are quite heavy handed. Especially in the shadow areas. The 3DLUTs used in film/video are much more accurate "emulations". VSCO is typically just trying to mirror the aesthetic from a Noritsu or Frontier scan (Common in photo labs). 

There's other brands making presets as well for Lightroom such as RNI Films, Replichrome, Alien Skin, Mastin Labs, Tribe Archipelago.

I don't typically use any of these. I find it's better to learn the tools themselves rather than relying on preset looks. However that said, when learning it can help to reverse engineer things. I think the issue with presets is that people become reliant on them and don't develop a look of their own or know how to. For instance on instagram you'll see tons of photographers who don't have any style of their own. All their work looks exactly the same because they use the same presets and shoot similar things. 

 

I like the VSCO stuff myself but Im not a professional photographer. Ill usually find a look I like then bring it into photoshop and mix it back into the original image until I get the look I desire. It would be nice if you could do this right in Lightroom but it's a nice way to back off on the effect.
 

Nice work on your site btw. 

[cameronrad]

On 3/14/2018 at 3:02 PM, Aaron Rosapepe said:

 

I like the VSCO stuff myself but Im not a professional photographer. Ill usually find a look I like then bring it into photoshop and mix it back into the original image until I get the look I desire. It would be nice if you could do this right in Lightroom but it's a nice way to back off on the effect.
 

Nice work on your site btw. 

Thanks man! I need to update it with some new work some time. Haven't updated it in a couple years.

With VSCO and filters I think toning them back and using them in conjunction with Photoshop isn't bad, especially if they look good and get the job done. The issue i have is when people just paste them on and it looks "filtered". A lot of people don't modify the preset and eventually they all look the same. 

Also you might dig this free opacity plugin for Lightroom https://www.capturemonkey.com/thefader/

 

 

[Aaron Rosapepe]

8 hours ago, cameronrad said:

Also you might dig this free opacity plugin for Lightroom https://www.capturemonkey.com/thefader/

 

 

Never heard of that plug-in, thanks!