I’ve been revisiting previous film recipes and creations that I’ve not yet published. This time, I was comparing this crisp new take on my Waldorf Astia film recipe, inspired by the tremendous New American Color film recipe by Øyvind Nordhagen.

I’ve always loved the playful bright colours of the Astia film simulation, and enjoy using it when there are clear blue skies or other bright colours, like the rich greens of summer or first signs of autumn. In this recipe, I wanted to capture this with some additional sharpness to make images that felt characterful, rich and lively, but without looking too false, or too similar to HDR phone photography.

Several elements come together in this recipe to produce the look. Firstly the sharpness which comes from the clarity setting at +2. This does cause a processing delay after shooting, so if this is annoying to you, swap to sharpness +2 instead. Secondly, is the color balance and shifts, which mimic the tones of the New American color samples, but with Astia being so vibrant, a -2 color setting. This keeps things rich without being too bold, but again, if personal preference is for more ‘pop’, set color to 0 or even +2 for real zing!

Adapting film recipes to your preference is very much in my thoughts when I publish them. All of them are ideas that I hope will inspire your creativity. Use them as published, or fiddle and adapt as you see fit. The important thing is to have fun and take lots of photos 🙂

American Sharpie Film Recipe Settings

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American Sharpie Film Recipe: Sample Photos

Using the American Sharpie Film Recipe

Each film simulation recipe has its own character and style. These features mean recipes are more suited to certain situations, or when seeking a particular look. Here are the categories that American Sharpie has been tagged with.