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Download my ‘Portra’ style FujiFilm Preset for Lightroom

After many requests, I finally sat down and created a Lightroom preset for FujiFilm users that serves as a starting point for achieving a look that’s close to the images that I shoot using Kodak Portra 400. Also, I’ve made it available for free!

I also just want to make it clear that this isn’t a film emulation based on charts and calculations. This preset simply emulates how I like my Fuji files to look and re-creates the tweaks that I make to match them with the images that I’ve shot on film.

So, I refer to this as a ‘Kodak Portra’ style preset, because yes, it does a really good job at helping my digital images look like the ones I’ve shot using Kodak Portra 400 film (see examples below), but in the end, this is more of a personal preset that emulates my preference for colours and tones in an image.

I have people reach out to me constantly asking me about which film presets I use and how I achieve a specific look with my Fuji files, so I figured I’d make this preset to help give people a starting point with their images.

I also want to note, that this isn’t a ‘one click and you’re done’ type preset. You will need to tweak things like exposure and white balance afterward. I have a video below that shows my workflow.

To start, here’s a comparison showing two images—one shot on the Pentax 645N with Kodak Portra 400, and the other with the Fujifilm X100F with the ‘KM | Fuji Film RAW (Warm)’ preset.

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And now here are some before and after examples of a number of images shot on the X100F. Just to note, these were all RAW files, shot with a daylight white balance, and exposed to protect the highlights.

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All of these example images are from the X100F, but from my testing, this preset also works great with the X-T4 and the GFX50R. If you download and use this, it would be awesome to hear some feedback so I can make tweaks to improve future versions.

Using The Presets

  • This preset is meant to be used only with RAW files inside of Adobe Lightroom, as it’s made up of both a profile (for colour) and a preset (for light tonal adjustments and grain). So you will need to install both.
  • To install in LR: From the menu bar, choose File > Import Profiles & Presets. In the Import dialog that appears, browse to the required path and select both the profiles and presets that you want to import. You made need to do this in two parts. Click Import.
  • There are two presets included, both relatively the same, other than one is neutral, and the other is warmer.
  • These are meant to serve as a starting point for editing, and you will need to make tweaks (exposure, tint, white balance) as every scene is different when it comes to light and colour (please refer to the video for an idea of how I work with these)
  • I always shoot with ‘daylight’ white balance selected on my camera, although this can obviously be tweaked in LR
  • These were created using my style of imagery, which includes a lot of high contrast scenes, as well as blues, yellows, and oranges. I find these work best with the exposure a little higher than normal, and well as lifted shadows

In the future I’ll be releasing a pack of similar presets for Fujifilm shooters. An email will be sent out when those are available, so make sure to sign up to my ‘Field Notes’ email if you’re not already. Any feedback is always appreciated.

Enjoy!

About Author

Kyle McDougall is a contemporary landscape photographer originally from Ontario, Canada, now based in the UK.