Hey all, it is Monday, which is usually the day I release a new preset. However today, I wanted to show you a product I devised for X-Equals that I feel would be of great interest to LifeInDigitalFilm readers. You may have already seen and used this collection of presets, but if you have not, I would like to ask you to give it a spin.

The X-Equals Monochrome Toolkit is a collection of 27 specialized presets that emulate generic film and filter effects as well as a selection of variable contrast paper simulation presets and a selection of basic toning presets. Combined, these presets allow for over 546 different image alterations, and when you find a combination that really appeals to you, you can save it as a new preset for your ongoing use. The X-Equals Monochrome Toolkit is part of the X-Equals & LIDF – Creative Production Presets collection, available at X-Equals.

Now that I have briefly covered what the X-Equals Monochrome Toolkit is, let me dig a bit deeper, so you can see how this toolkit can aide you in your black and white endeavors as well as how you can integrate parts of this toolkit with my LifeInDigitalFilm presets to create new spins on my emulations.

Step 1: Film Selection

The first step of action when using the X-Equals Monochrome Toolkit is to select the type of film you would like to emulate in your conversion. First is the selection of x=film presets, which emulate generic styles of black and white film.

• x=film+infra-red: Creates an image that simulates the response of Infra-Red films.
• x=film+ortho: Creates an image simulating Orthochromatic film which is sensitive to only green and blue light, also the first style of black and white film to be mass produced.
• x=film+pan: Creates an effect much like that of most modern B&W films.  Panchromatic films are sensitive to the entire visible light spectrum.
• x=film+ortho-pan: Simulates Orthopanchromatic film. Much like Pan film, but less sensitivity to the reds in an image.
• x=film+pan-super: Simulates Superpanchromatic films that have an extended red response.

Next is a selection of presets that simulate different colored filters on normal Panchromatic film stock. The x=filter presets unfortunately cannot be utilized in unison with the x=film or LIDF presets due to current limitations in the Lightroom preset system. To this extent, we have to treat filters as if they were films in and of themselves. The name of the preset indicates what color filter was used.

• x=filter+aqua
• x=filter+blue
• x=filter+green
• x=filter+magenta
• x=filter+orange
• x=filter+purple
• x=filter+red
• x=filter+yellow

The x=filter presets are basic emulations of the effect of colored filters on film. They are not scientific duplications of effect and are based on general observation of filter effects. In the future I will expand on this by researching in-depth the effect of different filters and their respective response to films. For now though, they are useful creative tools.

Click through the different presets available to you until you find the one that fits your image. A third option is to utilize an existing LIDF black and white film emulation. If you choose to go this route, I recommend that you utilize the Curve version of the preset of your choice, as it is the least intrusive of the differing versions of my film presets and will work best with the Toolkit.

You can utilize Existing LIDF black and white presets with the X-Equals Monochrome Toolkit, just be sure to use the “Curve” version of the preset you desire to use.

Once you find the film preset that best fits your image, you are ready to choose your paper simulation.

Step 2: Paper Selection

Now you will want to explore the paper simulation options the toolkit makes available to you. I simulated the characteristics of both Variable Contrast paper and Lithography paper in this toolkit. As before, these are basic emulations, and I have yet to do in-depth analysis of these papers for proper emulation. That will come in the future.

First is the single Lithography paper preset. This simulates the printing of a continuous tone monochrome image on Lith paper. It does not simulate the whole Lith process, only the look of images printed on said paper.

• x=print+lith:- Simulates look of continuous tone images on generic Lithography paper.

Next is a selection of 7 grades of Variable Contrast paper. VC paper is a single sheet of paper that can be filtered at time of exposure to create differing grades of contrast and in turn, sharpness. From low contrast VC grade-00 to high contrast VC grade-5, you have 7 graduations of contrast to play with.

• x=paper+VC-00: Creates a very low contrast image that is very soft
• x=paper+VC-0: Another very low contrast setting and is less soft than 00
• x=paper+VC-1: Low contrast and soft
• x=paper+VC-2: Creates a balanced image with medium contrast and tone
• x=paper+VC-3: Create a higher contrast image that is slightly sharp
• x=paper+VC-4: Creates a high contrast image that is sharp
• x=paper+VC-5:  Creates a very high-contrast image that is extremely sharp

These presets adjust the contrast and Clarity of your image to simulate the effect of the paper. Unfortunately we cannot simulate paper texture in Lightroom. The absence of texture is not a big deal if you are planning on printing your image to paper down the road as you will inherit what ever texture is present on your output paper.

Once you have chosen your paper you are ready to choose you toning in the next step, if you choose to do so.

Step 3: Toning Selection

The Toolkit also provides a few Toning presets, allowing you to add a splash of traditional color to your images. These presets are created through simple, balanced Split-Toning. Nothing fancy here, just classic finishes for traditionally styled images.

• x=toning+copper: Creates a rich orange toning
• x=toning+cyanotype: Creates a light blue toning
• x=toning+palladium: Creates a slight metallic toning trending toward brown
• x=toning+selenium: Creates a metallic toning trending toward blue
• x=toning+sepia: Creates a subtle brown toning, but you probably knew that
• x=toning+uranium: Creates a light reddish-brown toning

Using these preset in unison gives you a strong suite of tools to forge you monochrome images with a minimum of manual intervention. However, always tweak your images as needed, there are no one-click solutions for fantastic images. There is always some work to be done after the presets are applied.

Tips For Use:

As you experiment with the tools provided to you in the X-Equals Monochrome Toolkit, you can hop back and forth in the steps as needed. If you are sticking to the presets included in the Toolkit, there is no overlap in adjustments made and the presets are completely stackable. Theoretically the presets can be applied in any order, but the order presented to here seem to work best for my design flow.

If you do utilize LifeInDigitalFilm presets with the Toolkit, you may want to reapply your Paper and Toning selections after you change you film simulation choice. My LIDF presets were not originally designed with this process in mind, but the Curve presets should work well for your experimentation.

Why Am I Discussing This?

I decided to revisit this creation of mine for two reasons. First, you may have not seen the X-Equals Monochrome Toolkit before or was unaware that it was a LifeInDigitalFilm creation. Secondly, this represents a new direction I am taking in preset development. I no longer feel that my emulations allow enough flexibility when it comes to reproducing traditional photographic techniques in Lightroom or ACR. Sure they give you the look of the actual film, as if it were scanned in to print, but neglects some of the nuance that is introduced in the wet printing process. The Toolkit approach allows me to provide tuned, complimentary presets to my film emulations allowing you to create more creative applications of my emulations.

This is a new venture I am delving into, designed for dedicated preset toolkits that I will sell that will compliment my emulations. The X-Equals Toolkit takes a generic approach to my new development methods and was a working proof for me to test this new methodology. In the future I will be making available toolkits such as this, tailored to specific film emulations. I hope to provide a greater variety of alterations, from different developers and filters to papers and special processing tailored to each film stock. These efforts require a bigger investment of time and resources than my normal film emulations, therefore Ii will have to sell these toolkits individually. As I prepare to release these, I will update you with more specific information.

But don’t fear, I will still continue to produce my normal LIDF presets as I have been doing for the past year. Cold Storage Collection Vol. 2 is complete and I am finishing up the manual currently. I am hoping these specialized toolkits for my more popular emulations will add additional value to my presets and expand the scope of film emulation beyond just getting reasonably close to the look of film.

I’ll speak more on my theories regarding presets and the use and design thereof in my next post. I want to challenge both end-users and preset designers to think about presets from a different view. Less like Photoshop actions, where you click a preset looking for a final result and more like building blocks, where you combine and stack individual tools to create specialized effects. But I’ll pour gasoline on that fire later.

Until Next Time,

Michael

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