How I Edit Film Photos in Lightroom - Medium Format & 35mm Film

This is how I edit my film photos in Adobe Lightroom. I will be editing a few medium format and 35mm film scans to hopefully show how my process can be applied to different situations. All photos have been shot on the Mamiya RZ67, Mamiya 7, Canon AE-1, and the Yashica T3 all on Portra 400 or Kodak Gold
Ever since I’ve been shooting film, I’ve been to a number of different labs and they all scan slightly different due to a variety of reasons. It sometimes depends on the scanner they have whether its a Noritsu, frontier, or flextight which all give a different look. It also depends on the person behind the scanner who makes adjustments to your work and their perception may not be the same as yours, so that’s why I always edit my film to get it exactly how I want it.
My workflow is nothing revolutionary, a lot of the adjustments are super simple and easy to do, so I thought it would be good for me to share exactly what works for me in the hopes that it might help some of you. I’m going to try to keep it as non-technical as I can, that way if you are just learning lightroom it should be very easy to follow.
So I hope this video was useful and maybe you learned a thing or two about editing film scans. I find it’s always good to experiment and try new things in the editing process so what I am doing now might not be the same in a year’s time, but currently, this is my method.
My Instagram:
/ bendroege_
My Website:
www.bendroege.com
Cheers!

[@-AtomsPhere-]

The green tones you choose are wild to me.

[@colinshootsfilm]

Genuinely can’t tell if this video is serious. These edits are abysmal. The green in that photo of the guy kneeling by the river is horrific. How are there no other comments calling this out? This is insane.

[@bendroege]

Hahahha chillllll dude

[@MHMenchaca]

Yes! Thank you! After he dropped the highlight and whites to make it look flat I was so confused... The originals look so much better

[@Alexonfire1]

Ben I'm sorry but he's right. Look, I know there's a level of subjectivity in photography but there comes a point where an edit is just ruined. The photo he's speaking of in Bali was overcooked. I say this respectfully.

[@jearwood85]

Agreed. What is the point of shooting film if you are going to make the edit look like a page in a coloring book

[@PaulFaracePhotography]

Great work Ben! I love seeing other photographers editing and workflow, the images look great!

[@bendroege]

Paul Farace Photography Hey Thanks Paul! Absolutely, there’s always something to be learned even if it’s only something simple. Cheers!

[@bendroege]

Thanks for watching this week's video! It's best to watch in 2x speed as my workflow is a little slow 🙌🏼

[@jackkrzysik2301]

Dam for some reason I didn't even realise that you could edit film photos in lightroom like this. Super interesting to see!

[@bendroege]

Jack Krzysik Yeah bro, you can do anything just like a digital photo. The only limitation is the scan resolution. So most of the time it’s the equivalent of editing a Jpeg which isn’t ideal. Think of a scan as the digital photo of a negative. A good way to scan yourself is actually by using your digital camera and then converting it. If you ever want to look into this let me know and I’ll point you to the good stuff. Thanks for watching bro!

[@jackkrzysik2301]

@@bendroege Ok sick that sounds super interesting ill let you know when I start 👍

[@bendroege]

Jack Krzysik Sweet as man. It’s a really cost effective way to shoot film, just requires a bit of setting up initially but worth it

[@mathiasandreasen8507]

I really enjoyed this video!

[@jamestortorella1112]

Solid tips man! Finally I can edit my photos properly 🔥

[@bendroege]

Ah that's so good to hear James, all the best with it man!

[@justinkerr4524]

I finally know what I'm actually doing when changing my lights hahaha, unreal video!

[@bendroege]

Hahah thanks so much Justin! It takes some time to get used to, but its actually real easy once you understand what everything does. Cheers bro!

[@EQencrypted]

Mannnn been waiting for this one for ages thank you!!! ❤️🙌🙌

[@bendroege]

Ahhh glad to hear bro! Really hope it was useful

[@TWP008]

Very interesting to see how you edit. Thanks for sharing! 👍

[@bendroege]

TWP Thanks so much! Hope it was helpful :)

[@phatmilkers2074]

Hi, nice video! The thing I hate is that editing pictures in the end is all about personal preference and taste. So for me some pictures look very neat as they were scanned, whilst others I might think need a lil makeup, but as I do, I don't get the desired effect. This video though helped me with giving priority to making little twiks at a time. Thanks.

[@bendroege]

Hey glad it helped! Exactly right editing is all very personal. It’s good to understand the basics…but from then on I find my style and process is always changing. Thanks for watching. Cheers!

[@paulcookphotography]

Great video Ben! I love to see other photographers editing process but I was especially interested in seeing your since you do it with lab scans. I have to say the lab scans looked pretty good, but the finishing touches you put on definitely enhanced the photos. Hope you are well, and hope you had a wonderful 21st birthday today! Take care mate!

[@bendroege]

Thanks Paul! That’s so good to hear, I think the editing process is just as enjoyable as everyone does something different. Yes your so right, they did a pretty decent job, but with a few small adjustments they look a little bit better. Ah thanks so much Paul! Definitely had a great day. Cheers for the kind words and birthday wishes!

[@Vladgg26]

Really good technical video! How were you able to switch around between before and after images? Thanks!

[@bendroege]

Thanks bro! Just use the the back slash key 🙏🏼

[@ayodegah]

What’s The Song That’s Playing?

[@huytrang5307]

Thank u

[@bendroege]

Thanks for watching!

[@paultaylorphotography9499]

Nice work as always Ben do you ever try the vignette and dehaze sliders you don’t need much at all just a tweak but the vignette especially can really help to frame the subject. I totally agree with you not over editing your photos I generally drop highlights open shadows a bit add the s curve to boost contrast then the vignette and dehaze that’s it oh yeah level the horizon of course 😆📷❤️ great tutorial mate.

[@bendroege]

Hey Paul! Honestly I've never really played with the vignette, but I still think it's super powerful, just a tool I always forget about haha. The dehazer is great too but I tend not use it on my film photos as it tends to create some weird artefacts, but I should give it another go. Only time I might use it, is if there is some serious fog, but that's pretty rare. Sounds like a great workflow you got there too, opening the shadows really does wonders. Thanks so much for the kind words Paul, much appreciated as always. Cheers!

[@paultaylorphotography9499]

Ben Droege all good mate yeah agreed go easy on that dehaze thing. At the news paper that workflow is all we can really do to keep things authentic and accurate etc doing the job we do there’s often a lot of dust attacking the sensors so the clone tool for dust is a saviour 😆😆 Funny but using film again over the last few months I’ve not noticed much dust to spot out I guess the sensors attract more crap than film

[@bendroege]

@@paultaylorphotography9499 Yeah that makes total sense, photojournalism is so strict, but I guess rightfully so. Hahah that's so true, I always expect my film to have tonnes of dust, but the scanning software does a good job of getting rid of it.

[@paultaylorphotography9499]

Ben Droege bane of my life mate dust I hate the damn stuff then again never using lens caps and changing lenses in all conditions with the camera turned on ain’t doing me any favours 🙄😆😆

[@bendroege]

@@paultaylorphotography9499 Hahah that'll definitely do it 😂

[@COLTICOM]

Dude how do you get those shots so sharp? I feel like even when I get focus my scans still look a tad blury

[@bendroege]

Haha thanks man. I always get high res scans so maybe this is why? I don’t use super sharp lenses either so I’m guessing it’s a mix of making sure the focus is perfect and a good scan

[@michaelhooper571]

🔥🔥

[@bendroege]

🙌🏼🙌🏼

[@mrastro5226]

Great job sharing with us your workflow. However in your first example, the reddish sky is horrible. The original sky looks more natural. Anyway that's only my point of view. You certainly have your own preferences. Thank you again.

[@benmacri4543]

king

[@bendroege]

Love ya man...why couldn't this be the print assignment fml

[@elvincartagena1481]

this might be a dumb question but when you take your film to get scanned do you ask for color correction and then just correct it even more at home, or do you just ask for no color correction

[@bendroege]

Hi Elvin. The lab I go to has a pretty good workflow when it comes to scanning, so I never say anything. Once I get the files however, I always make adjustments to my own tastes. I'd say most if not all labs will colour correct the scans as they're so flat and washed out once being scanned, but I'm sure you could ask them to not make any colour adjustments. Hope that helps

[@elvincartagena1481]

@@bendroege it did thank you so much loving the videos :)!!!

[@bendroege]

@@elvincartagena1481 Thanks so much Elvin!

[@millwallfan111]

Just wondering is it easy to convert a Tiff to a Jpg? As I want the tiff for large prints and detailed editing but I was the jpg for social media and websites ☺️

[@bendroege]

Hey! Yup super easy. When you export your photos in Lightroom, there’s different options and file types. So you can select TIFF export it, and then change it to Jpeg and export it as well. Hope that helps, cheers!

[@23codez]

They went from good, to terrible. wtf dude?

[@rickyventaglio5811]

Yo man, are you Melbourne based? mee too!! I just followed you with my two accounts on Insta. I love this editing process. It'd be sick to go for a photo walk one day? cheers, R.

[@bendroege]

Hey man! So sorry just saw this now…glad you liked it! 100% that sounds sick

[@deaundrebondscheeks2]

Probably a dumb question, but how do you get 35mm film photos on your computer??? How are you editing them in Lightroom or Photoshop... Sounds like something I'd want to do!

[@bendroege]

Nope not a dumb question I get asked it a lot haha! So when I get them developed at the lab, they scan my film and email them to me. Then I just download them and put it into Lightroom

[@deaundrebondscheeks2]

@@bendroege oh, okay