The nostalgic film look for photos has become wildly popular on social media in the past few years. Whether that’s a response to generative AI fakes or simply that warm pastel tones and realistic film grain are in fashion isn’t clear. But while many photographers — myself included — have turned to analog cameras loaded with rolls of Kodak, you can get those dreamy film vibes using just your phone.
And the best thing is, it doesn’t even require you to have the latest iPhone or Android phone, or even specialized camera apps. The goal is to achieve a more retro, old-school feel from your images rather than the clinical accuracy offered by most of today’s phone cameras or even compact digital cameras. So it’s not about having the phone with the most megapixels or the fanciest features.
There’s a vast array of filmic presets available for Adobe Lightroom if you want to buy specific looks for your images.
I’ll also apply quite a heavy amount of grain to simulate the natural grain seen in analog film, which also helps reduce the digital sharpness. I’ll also go into the Details tool and reduce the structure and ensure sharpening is set to 0. Other things in Snapseed that can add to the effect using the Dehaze tool to reduce sharpness, the Adjust tool to reduce Ambience and add a touch blur with the Lens Blur tool.
I love using Snapseed, because I can go back to different tools and layer the effect again and again, resulting in a photo with a color style that’s uniquely my own. It’s one of the most well-rounded photo editors out there and it’s amazing that it’s free.
Editing in this way really comes down to what I feel has the right ‘vibes’ rather than it being color matched to how Kodak or Fujifilm renders different colors. It’s all about personal preference here so I encourage you to play around as much as you want to find what looks best to you.
