I built Film Lab FX after finding that a preset alone could not give me the whole film workflow I wanted inside Photoshop. Grain, halation, diffusion, print response, and the way an edit behaves after the first click all mattered.
Full disclosure: I created Film Lab FX. I used one difficult street photograph here because it lets me show the workflow properly, from an untouched source to a finished export. Dehancer details come from the company's current official pages.
The short answer
Film Lab FX suits photographers who work in Photoshop and want film-stock starting points, finishing effects, and direct access to the layers that build the look. Dehancer Film lists a broader set of analog-process controls and works across Photoshop, Lightroom Classic, Capture One, and Affinity (beta).
The clean file and the finished Film Lab FX edit
I chose this photograph because it exposes weak film grades quickly. Sunlight is already pushing the pale facade close to white. The road falls into a broad dark area, fine branches cross the sky, and the yellow van can turn electric after one careless saturation move.
Both images below are direct Photoshop exports. Only the untouched source layer was visible for the clean version. The completed export includes Portra 400 at reduced intensity, Kodak 2383 Print Film, Haze / Diffusion, Halation / Bloom, and Classic 35mm grain.
Look at the sky, the road, and the van first. The final image carries more texture and a softer atmosphere, while the blue sky and yellow paint still read clearly. Around the sunlit building, the brightest edge has softened without spreading a glow across the whole frame.
Original photograph by Nikita Pishchugin via Pexels
Start with the film stock
Film Lab FX currently contains 50+ presets built from real film-stock reference scans. The browser includes color negative, color positive, black-and-white, cinema, cross-processing, and special-process choices. I settled on Portra 400 because the scene already had a gentle daylight palette and plenty of pale color.
That choice was only a starting point. The browser also includes Gold 200, Portra 160, and cinema stocks, among many other choices. Camera profiles can change how film presets render, so a preset name can point you in a useful direction, though the photograph itself should make the final decision.
Pull the preset back before stacking more effects
At full intensity, Portra 400 gave me the color direction I wanted, though the warm facade and yellow van were starting to compete. I reduced Preset Intensity to 82 percent. That brought some of the source color back and left room for the print treatment and optical effects.
The yellow van became my alarm bell during this edit. Whenever it started demanding attention before the building or the light, I knew the grade had gone too far.
Film Print adds a second color decision
A camera-stock preset sets the broad palette. Film Print gives that grade another color and contrast response. Film Lab FX includes Linear and Cineon Film Log options, Kodak 2383 and 2393 print film, Fuji 3510 and 3513 print film, plus Kodak Endura Glossy Paper.
For this photograph I used Kodak 2383 Print Film and kept its contribution restrained. That gave the existing grade a print-film finish while preserving the balance I had already built with the Portra preset.
A useful way to judge print strength
Watch the bright facade and the dark road together. A pleasant highlight shift can hide a crushed shadow. Moving your eyes between both areas makes the tradeoff much easier to catch.
Haze and diffusion shape the atmosphere
Haze / Diffusion works across a broader area than halation. Four controls are enough here. Strength brings the veil in, Spread decides how far it travels, and the two color sliders keep that veil neutral or give it a tint.
I used Strength 18, Spread 20, Hue 0, and Saturation 60. The result is easiest to see where the fine branches meet the bright sky. Raising Strength too far makes those branches merge into the light and flattens the darker building on the right. A restrained value softens the fine-detail crispness while keeping the street readable.
Halation belongs around the hard light
The left edge of the facade gave me a clear target for a film halation effect in Photoshop. It is bright enough to form a visible rim, and the branches make the width of that rim easy to judge.
Strength and Spread handle the obvious part: how much glow appears and how wide it gets. Sensitivity is more useful than it sounds because it decides which bright tones earn a halo in the first place. Soften cleans up the transition, while Hue and Saturation set the color.
This edit uses Strength 45, Spread 20, Sensitivity 50, Soften 0, Hue 10, and Saturation 40. Those values suit this one photograph. The brightest edge holds a warm fringe, while the midtone road stays clear of it.
Grain needs an output-size check
I leave grain until the color and light feel settled. Film grain can change after export because resizing and web compression can make a mild setting look much rougher.
The finished edit uses the Classic 35mm profile with Amount 50, Size 1, Roughness 50, and Opacity 100 percent. Amount decides how visible the texture becomes. Size sets its scale, Roughness controls the irregularity, and Opacity blends the complete grain group into the document.
At 100 percent, the blue sky reveals clumping quickly. The road gives a second check because too much grain can fill the deepest tones and hide surface detail. I also inspect the final web-size export before calling the image done.
The layer groups I wanted in my own files
I wanted the finished document to remain useful after the quick preview. Film Look, Halation, Grain, PrintStock, and Haze each sit in their own named group. The Portra group contains separate Color Grading and Tone Curve layers as well.
That structure leaves regular Photoshop tools available. Lowering a group opacity softens only that stage, while a mask can keep haze away from a face, remove grain from a clean graphic area, or reduce halation on a distracting object. Opening the curve gives you a direct way to reshape contrast after the preset has run.
My export check
I hide every Film Lab FX parent group and export the clean source. After that, I turn on each chosen group and verify the Layers panel before exporting the finished image. The visible layer groups are the reliable record of what reaches the file.
Film Lab FX beside Dehancer Film
Dehancer Film lists a broader set of analog-process controls. Its current photo plugin includes more than 60 film profiles with Push / Pull, print films, photo papers, Film Developer, Film Compression, grain, halation, bloom, film damage, CMY Color Head controls, vignetting, histogram tools, and clipping aids. It supports Photoshop, Lightroom Classic, Capture One, and Affinity (beta). You can review the current details on the official Dehancer Film page and Dehancer feature list.
Film Lab FX has a tighter focus. I designed it for still photographers working in Photoshop, with 50 stock-inspired presets, practical finishing effects, and visible control over the layers inside the document.
| Area | Film Lab FX | Dehancer Film |
|---|---|---|
| Main workflow | Preset-led Photoshop editing | A broader set of analog-process controls |
| Film starting points | 60+ stock-inspired presets built from reference scans | More than 60 film profiles with Push / Pull |
| Print treatment | Selectable print film and paper choices with trim controls | Print-film and photo-paper stages within the analog pipeline |
| Editable result | Named Photoshop layer groups | Re-editable in Photoshop when applied as a Smart Filter |
| Photo hosts | Photoshop | Photoshop, Lightroom Classic, Capture One, and Affinity (beta) |
Choosing between them
Dehancer Film supports several photo hosts and includes a long list of analog-process controls. Film Lab FX is built for a Photoshop-centered still-photo workflow where masks, opacity changes, curves, and named effect groups are part of the appeal.
I created Film Lab FX because I wanted film character without giving up the document structure I use every day. The complete workflow shown above is available on the Film Lab FX product page.
