Can You Fake Medium Format?

Medium format photography offers a wide variety of benefits in terms of image quality, but is it possible to try to achieve those results when shooting on a camera with a much smaller sensor?

Jamie Windsor talks you through his detailed process, which uses a technique known as the Brenizer method. The difference here is that rather than simply trying to achieve a wide angle of view with an amazingly shallow depth of field, Windsor is specifically attempting to replicate the results from a Hasselblad loaded with Kodak Portra 400 film.

Both Lightroom and Photoshop have a feature for stitching a number of images together, the advantage of Lightroom being that it outputs a raw file on which you can continue working. Windsor throws in a few other useful Photoshop tips for good measure.

One aspect that I really appreciate in Windsor's videos is his editing. Funky transitions add a little bit of flair to content that can otherwise be a little bit dry. This seems a much better option than awkwardly shoehorning some female flesh into a video to try to hold people's attention. In addition, Windsor uses graphics very effectively to help explain some of the technical aspects, such as sensor size and the way that photographic film responds to light.

I wrote recently about how you shouldn't pay for Lightroom presets, but — and I say this without having tried any of Windsor's bundles — this is one instance where I'd make an exception. Many of the comments on my other article argued that film replication is an area where many people are happy to pay a little bit of cash to tap into the extensive knowledge and testing clearly invested by the likes of Windsor, and I'd certainly agree. If you want to blow $20 on a pack of orange and teal presets, go ahead and waste your money. If you want to use the expertise of a seasoned pro in replicating film, this seems to be well worth the investment.