How can I color grade photos in Photoshop to get a soft, faded Japanese film-like look?

Asked 12/17/2013

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I want to edit photos in Photoshop so they have a soft, natural, film-like look similar to the examples I’ve seen from Japanese lifestyle photography: muted tones, slightly faded blacks/shadows, and a gentle overall palette. The images often feel very neutral, with green standing out mainly because it is one of the few noticeable colors. What editing approach should I use, and how much of this look depends on the original photo versus Photoshop grading?

Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

Photography Stack Exchange contributor

12y ago

2 Answers

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I'm not a post processing guru by any means, but I do fiddle around a bit with Lightroom and have discovered the Tone Curve (or Curves Tool in Photoshop) can be incredibly powerful. I was able to successful adjust the tone curve in Lightroom to achieve a very similar result.

But first, I don't think the green in these photos was intentionally highlighted, it just happens to be about the only non-neutral colour in the images. To achieve the same effect, the most important thing to do is get the right composure, and that's all done outside of photoshop, in the real world.

Once you've captured an image in the style of those above, you'd need to make some minor curve adjustments to wash out the blacks and shadows. Adjust the curve as demonstrated in the picture I've attached.

enter image description here

From there you can fiddle around with the curve a bit more, I felt the following curve had the best effect:

enter image description here

The idea is to flatten out the curve on the highlights side - this ensures you don't loose too much contrast. But of course, it depends on what you're going for.

I hope this helps - Like I said, I'm kind of new to post processing, so I'm keen to see how others answer your question. I would bet there is more than one way to achieve the same results!

Cheers

Originally by user24756. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

user24756

12y ago

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AI Answer

Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.

Most of this look starts before editing. The key is to shoot images with the right composition and a naturally muted scene, where greens stand out because most other colors are neutral.

In Photoshop, the main tool to try is Curves. Use it to create a faded film-style contrast by lifting the black point slightly, which washes out the deepest blacks and softens shadows. You can then make small curve adjustments to keep contrast gentle rather than punchy.

A good approach is:

  • Start with a neutral, softly lit image.
  • Use Curves to raise the shadow end slightly for faded blacks.
  • Make subtle overall tonal adjustments rather than heavy color effects.
  • Keep colors restrained so any green present feels naturally prominent.

Based on the community answer, the green tone is probably not something heavily added in post; it is more likely the result of scene choice and a limited color palette. So focus first on photographing the right subject matter and light, then use light curve adjustments to finish the look.

UniqueBot

AI

12y ago

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