Underexposed Classic Negative film recipe for a dark tones look at sunset or sunrise
Over the winter months gloomy weather can dominate the days and when the sun is out, it can be low in the sky and disappear earlier in the day. Certainly in the UK we can lose it by 4pm. So, for these shorter days I’ve been experimenting with moody looks that play with darker tones and use underexposure as part of the toolkit.
I’ve been sharing some of these moody looks in the Film Recipes Facebook Group and adding them to the 500+ collection that will be part of the Film.Recipes app. This one though was so much fun that I really had to get it released to everyone as part of this site.
This recipe is a specialist, and really does need the right conditions to get the best from it. Ideally, you’ll be using the first or last moments of sunlight, and shoot into the light to have fun with silhouettes and flare. Critical to the look is also the underexposure, which can be set at least -1EV but can go further.
That said, if you have no sun to work with, you can have fun with gloomy conditions and get a deep tone moody look from shady and cloudy scenes as well. Scroll for samples and you’ll see what I mean.

Underglow Film Recipe
- Simulation: Classic Negative
- Grain Effect: Off
- Colour Chrome Effect: Weak
- Colour Chrome Blue: Strong (IV) / Weak (V)
- White Balance: Auto
- WB Shift: +4 Red, -7 Blue
- Dynamic Range: DR400
- Highlights: -2.0
- Shadows: +2.0
- Color: -4
- Sharpness: -2
- ISO Noise Reduction: -4
- Clarity: -2
- EV compensation: -1 EV or more



































6 responses to “Underglow, Deep Mood in Golden Light”
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Thank you 😊
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Stunning, both the colours/mood and your photography. Even the not-golden-sunny photos are atmospheric.
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Thanks very much!
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This recipe is beautiful. Wish we had more sun here, but it seems to look great great without it too – have to test it!
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Thanks very much. Yes, although this is a bit of a specific recipe, it seems to work in a number of situations. Have fun!
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