Flat, low contrast film recipes for a cinematic or edit-ready look
Low contrast recipes flatten the tone curve, lifting the shadows and pulling back the highlights to produce an image that sits comfortably in the middle of the tonal range. The look is cinematic in the same way that log footage from a video camera is cinematic — understated, with room to breathe.
These recipes work well in mixed or difficult light where a high-contrast recipe would clip the highlights or crush the shadows. They also suit subjects and moods where subtlety is more useful than impact.
These recipes are drawn from both the site and the Film Recipes App, ordered first by how closely each recipe was designed to capture the low contrast character — from direct interpretations through to inspired-by looks — and then by popularity within each group. App-only recipes are included and marked 🔒.
Low Contrast Film Simulation Recipes
This list shows 100 low contrast recipes from the site and app combined. All 225 — including those not shown here — are available in the Film Recipes App for iOS and Android.