Cinematic Color Negative: A Nostalgic Picture Profile for Canon Cameras

One of Fujifilm cameras’ key selling points is their ability to produce beautiful, nostalgic looking photos straight out of the camera, with little or no post-processing required. Fujifilm users swear by the beauty of recipes that perfectly emulate the looks of classic Fuji film, such as Provia, Astia, and Velvia, or those of documentary films and print magazines (Classic Chrome, Classic Negative).

Of course, most cameras allow photos to be exported in RAW format, where one can apply any sort of color grading in post-processing. However, this is a time-consuming process that often takes fun away from the process of taking photos itself. This is what Fujifilm understood when they entered the digital cameras market — not everyone has the time or ability to edit their photos to perfection, but most people would enjoy sharing the great photos they’ve just taken.

What if I told you that other camera models have similar capabilities that were simply never marketed for creative exploration? If you have a Canon camera, you can grab the picture profile I have created for you, and add it to it. The resulting images will have colors resembling those of photos taken with a vintage camera.

What characterizes the Cinematic Color Negative profile? #

The Cinematic Color Negative features natural, muted tones that remind the viewer of classic color negative film stocks.

Color Profile: Colors are subdued and desaturated, with a slight warm bias. Greens appear rich but not overly vibrant, while whites maintain a clean, neutral quality without harsh digital sharpness. There’s a subtle yellow-green cast in the highlights that gives the images an organic, film-like quality.

Shadows and Highlights: Shadows are lifted and retain good detail without appearing crushed or overly deep. Highlights roll off gently without harsh clipping, maintaining texture and detail in bright area.

Contrast: Medium contrast with a gentle curve that avoids the extreme blacks and whites often seen in digital processing. The overall tonal range feels compressed in a way that’s characteristic of color negative film, creating a cohesive, harmonious look across all images.

Grain and Texture: While not heavily pronounced, there’s a subtle organic quality to the image rendering that suggests fine grain structure, adding to the authentic film aesthetic.

How to get it #

Cinematic Color Negative is currently available for download on Gumroad, and is completely free. While this may not always be the case, my decision was to make it free for early users, so I can get their feedback, some sample photos, and hopefully, a favorable review. Of course, if you’d like to spare a couple of bucks to pay for my coffee, it would be more than appreciated.

Installation #

Once you download the profile, you will get access to a note with detailed, step-by-step installation instructions. If you prefer video, check out this fantastic tutorial by Thomas Fransson (whose work inspired me to start making my own Canon Picture Profiles).

Sample Photos #

A few sample images below. I will soon include a folder with samples, including, ones from other people who have tried it.