Color reproduction of Kodachrome?

[SethB]

Although I shot some Kodachrome back when it was possible, I hadn’t really learned much about color nor had I developed an eye for color to understand what I was looking at.

If I were to process/grade a sunlit raw image like Kodachrome, what would anyone suggest as a starting point?

My somewhat unreliable memory says to increase the saturation and (slightly) luminance of reds-yellows, and maybe selectively increase their sharpness… but may need to mask to somewhat hold back these effects on faces?

Anyone really familiar with the look of Kodachrome who has worked on recreating it?

 

[ShipleyNW]

When I think Kodachrome, I think saturation and deep shadows. Can't help you with skin tones. That's a good question.

 

[Lester Wareham]

I used to shoot a lot of K64, I remember very vibrant yellows and deep reds, greens had colour but seemed a bit soft.

Did shoot K25 which was indeed very contrasty with deep shadows.

I did reversal prints with Cibachrome which gave to my mind better balance.

But it was long ago. I am sure someone does a emulation add-on for Photoshop for classic films; that might be a better route.

 

[RodneyCyr]

Owners of DxOLab can buy an add-on film-pack that supposedly emulates film emulsions. I haven't tried the film pack myself, so I cannot speak to its effectiveness.

 

[SethB]

Thanks Ken, Lester & Rodney. We are deep in winter cloud cover in the PNW right now, but when the sun comes out I look forward to experimenting with these suggestions.

For some reason I was not thinking of plugins for PS and LR - a brief search found this comparison of several plugin packs:

The 7 Best Kodachrome Lightroom Presets & Filters | Gridfiti

Looking to achieve the classic slide film look with your digital photos? We’ve rounded up some of the best Kodachrome Lightroom presets!

gridfiti.com

I have no affiliation with any of these, and haven't yet tried any. I'll post back when I do!

 

[richardyoung]

I love https://exposure.software/exposure/presets/

there is a Kodachrome 64 setting in there that works great.