Stop Making Digital Look Like Film
I shoot digital. I don’t do film, and I have never touched a film camera. I have never spent hours in a darkroom waiting for a print to appear under red light. My photography career began entirely digital, and I have grown to appreciate the possibilities it offers. Every modern camera provides clarity, precision, and control that film could never fully deliver. Every detail, every color, every expression is there, ready to tell the story as it happened.
Digital allows consistency in color, exposure, and style, which is especially useful for commercial work. Film, by contrast, can vary between rolls, development, and processing, leading to unpredictable results.
Yet, everywhere I look, especially on social media and even in delivered wedding photographs that were never requested, digital images are often softened, hazed, or made to look film-like. Grain, muted tones, dreamy effects… it sometimes seems that the very strengths of digital photography are being quietly downplayed. One has to wonder why this trend persists.
Digital Is Not Broken
Digital photography is inherently precise. It captures light, shadow, texture, and expression in ways that film never could. Film-like effects are now common, and while the intent may be creative, it can sometimes mask the sharpness and honesty of the original image. Camera makers, like Fujifilm, have introduced film simulation modes to appeal to analog enthusiasts, but for photographers who work digitally, these tools are optional rather than necessary.
Fine Art Versus Reality
Experimenting with grain, haze, or muted tones can be compelling in personal or fine art projects. Mood, texture, and aesthetic exploration have their place. But when the photograph serves a story, a subject, or a client, softening clarity may distract from what matters most.
Photojournalism and Responsibility
A crystal-clear image presents reality as it happened. A hazy, film-like image conveys what the photographer imagines it might have looked like. In journalism, clarity is not optional; it is a responsibility. Viewers rely on honesty, and any alteration, however subtle, can compromise that trust.
Clients and Professional Expectations
Even in commercial photography, clarity is often paramount. Wedding couples, fashion brands, and corporate clients usually prefer images that are precise, vibrant, and technically sound. While film-like effects can appear stylish online, they may dilute professional standards and visual impact.
Industry Trends
It is easy to see why this approach persists. Digital cameras offer film-like presets, software encourages vintage aesthetics, and social media often glorifies a softer, nostalgic look. Yet the presence of a tool does not require its use. Digital photography is already powerful, and embracing it fully can be more rewarding than attempting to emulate the past.
Nostalgia Versus Authenticity
We are often told that grain, softness, and faded colors are more “emotional” or “authentic.” Yet true emotion exists in the moment itself. A child’s laughter, a protester marching, a wedding ceremony—these moments convey depth in every detail. Allowing the photograph to carry that clarity can be more moving than obscuring it for nostalgia’s sake.
Film Simulation Prints
Some photographers feel that printing digital images with film simulation adds warmth, mood, or a sense of timelessness. In personal projects or fine art prints, this can create an appealing aesthetic.
However, there are challenges. Film simulation approximates a medium with its own chemistry, texture, and tonal complexity. On print, these effects can appear flat or inconsistent, and added grain may reduce sharpness. Color subtleties can also be lost. For professional or documentary work, these hurdles can outweigh the benefits, turning a stylistic choice into a compromise rather than an enhancement.
Celebrate Digital
Rather than softening or muting digital images, there is value in embracing the clarity, precision, and immediacy that the medium allows. Doing so respects the subject, the craft, and the audience.
A Gentle Call to Reflection
If you shoot digital, consider whether your choices are guided by story or by trend. Are you honoring the moment as it happened, or seeking to evoke nostalgia for a past you never experienced? Let your images convey honesty, precision, and presence. Film has its place in history. Digital is the present and future, and there is beauty in letting it shine.
Why blur a crystal-clear moment for nostalgia that never existed?
About the Author: Bimal Nepal is a professional photographer based in Austin, Texas, who began his career as a journalist. He now specializes in medical photography within the clinical research field. More of his work can be seen on Instagram.
Image credits: Header photo licensed via Depositphotos.
