In the Mood for Love: An Experiment

Recreating the look of In the Mood for Love…

One of the things that I love about Fujifilm cameras is their ability to mimic film simulations. They include a variety of film simulations by default, such as Astia, Provia, Velvia, and more. Fujifilm users have taken advantage of this capability and have created numerous other film simulations, like Kodak Royal Gold 400. This allows you to achieve the look and feel of vintage photographs and evoke specific emotions or vibes in the photos.

This unique feature of Fujifilm cameras inspired me to recreate the aesthetic of Wong Kar-wai’s timeless masterpiece, “In the Mood for Love.” Watching this cinematic gem years ago transported me to the old-world charm of 1950s and 1960s Hong Kong, portraying a poignant love story amidst the fashion and artistry of that era. The masterful use of light, color, and shallow depth of field imbued the film with a hauntingly beautiful and ethereal quality. The captivating colors and enchanting lighting underscored the unfulfilled love between the protagonists, adding depth and poignancy to the narrative.

Taking inspiration from this evocative visual atmosphere, I set out to develop a film recipe inspired by the movie. I decided to put it to the test during a visit to Santa Rosa, Northern California, where antique stores abound. While my friend was on the lookout for something to embellish his apartment, I eagerly seized the opportunity to test my film recipe inspired by “In the Mood for Love” with my camera in hand.

This recipe is still a work in progress, but I already love the way it gives a certain mood to the various pieces I found in the antique store. I might play around with it more, especially at night, to really see if I get that look that I long for from the movie.

I shot these photos with my Fuji XH2S camera (where I created the film recipe) and the Fuji XF 23mm F2 lens. I set my camera to aperture priority, with the aperture fully wide open. I do play with exposure compensation and move it around -⅔ to -1. I also have my ISO set to auto, maxing out at 800 ISO.

These photos are straight-from-the-camera-generated jpegs. No editing was done whatsoever. For now, I’m simply calling this film recipe In the Mood. You can view these photos, along with others that I took, by heading over to my Santa Rosa Antique Shopping gallery.

In the Mood Film Recipe:

• Film Simulation: Reala Ace
• Grain Effect: Weak, Small
• White Balance: K, 6500K
  • White Balance Offset: R:0, B:0
• Dynamic Range: DR400
• Tone Curve: H: -1, S: +2
• Color: +1
• Sharpness: -1
• High ISO NR: -4

If I were going to play with this, I might update the White Balance Offset with R:+3, B:-2. I most likely might use these settings for night shots, depending on the lighting. We shall see.

How did I come up with this?

Before embarking on this endeavor, I did a lot of research on the net, trying to get an understanding of each of the options found in Fuji’s camera settings. I came across various blogs and YouTube videos that helped explain some of the things. I found two blog posts extremely useful in explaining things. One blog is from Fuji X Weekly, a site that I adore and follow. The other is a Medium piece from a photographer by the name of Øyvind Nordhagen.

To come up with something from scratch requires a lot of research, but I short-circuited the process a little bit by getting some help from AI. With some carefully constructedprompts, I was able to get a possible film recipe starting point. I took that starting point and started experimenting with numerous test shots before finally settling on something I could try in the field. (Mind you, I’m a computer engineer by training and work, and so I’m very much into AI at the moment, seeing all it’s possibilities as a tool to help me with whatever work – personal or otherwise – to help speed things up and make me more productive). 

The result is what you see in the photos I took at the antique store in Santa Rosa.

Why Film Recipes?

You might be asking, “Why do this? Can’t you use Photoshop or Lightroom to get the same effect?”

Well, yes, you could. But that means extra work on your part, taking the RAW photo files and adjusting them so that you get the look you want. With my old Sony or Nikon Cameras, I used to spend an inordinate amount of time tweaking things. 

But why go through that when you can just take the shot and enjoy the photo you took right off the bat? That’s how film photography was back in the day before all of these digital tools. I can concentrate on composing, taking the photo, and seeing the result without having to think about post-processing whatsoever.