Digital black-and-white photography still draws heavily on the aesthetic of film. For users of Lightroom and Photoshop, Silver Efex—included in the DXO Nik Collection—simulates the characteristic grain and contrast of the analog films that shaped the medium’s history.
For digital photographers who love black and white, the classic film aesthetic endures. Interestingly, the Adobe Photo Suite (Lightroom and Photoshop) black-and-white conversion tools don’t explicitly reference film. Yet, before digital, professionals carefully selected specific film types and developers to achieve their desired grayscale range. We can certainly adopt this historical approach as inspiration for converting our modern digital images.
From Lightroom to Silver Efex
DXO has been working on recreating the look of film in digital files for 20 years with its FilmPack software, which offers a wide variety of film simulations. Specifically for black-and-white photography, the Nik Collection—acquired by DXO in 2017 and regularly updated—offers film simulations through Silver Efex, a program included in the collection that is dedicated to monochrome photography and highly regarded by many professionals. Silver Efex works as a plugin for Lightroom and Photoshop. It does not process RAW files directly, but rather their TIFF, PSD, or JPEG versions. In our example, we’ll start with Lightroom.
To set up Silver Efex as an additional external editor in Lightroom, go to Lightroom’s preferences and click the “Select” button to choose the Silver Efex application.
You can edit the image in Silver Efex by right-clicking on it. Note that the file extension (.exe) indicates Lightroom is being used on a Windows PC; the extension would be .app on a Mac.
When editing an image, it is recommended to work on a copy of the file within Lightroom to preserve the original. For optimal quality, save the edited file as a 16-bit ProPhoto TIFF at 300 dpi, as Lightroom uses the ProPhoto color space. This TIFF file will be automatically included in your Lightroom catalog.
Silver Efex films
Upon opening the image in Silver Efex, the initial conversion to black and white is applied without any film emulation. This conversion uses the CIELAB* color model, mapping color values to grayscale based on their inherent brightness. No tonal curve is active; the curve remains linear (diagonal). The default settings for grain are neutral: Grain per pixel is set to 500, and Grain Hardness is 0%, effectively adding no visible grain.
When an image is opened in Silver Efex, it is converted to black and white by mapping its colors to grayscale based on their brightness in the CIELAB color space.
Film simulation involves replicating the unique characteristics of each photographic emulsion, including its specific color and tonal responses, as well as its grain structure. For instance, different films render the gray tones of a blue sky distinctly—an Ilford Delta 100 simulation might show them slightly brighter than a Fujifilm Acros 100 simulation. To accurately simulate a particular film, Silver Efex applies the corresponding, unique tonal response curve and grain settings.
Different black-and-white films translate colors into unique grayscale tones. For example, Fujifilm Acros 100 renders blue as a slightly deeper gray compared to Ilford Delta 100. Silver Efex mimics these specific differences by adjusting its color sensitivity.
Customizing settings
These settings are fully adjustable. The color sliders (red, green, blue, yellow, magenta, and cyan) control the brightness of the gray tones that correspond to those specific colors. The curve points can be manipulated by moving them closer to or farther from the diagonal line, which functions similarly to curve adjustments in software like Lightroom or Photoshop. To remove a curve point, simply double-click it.
By default, each film type is assigned a curve designed to simulate the emulsion’s rendering. Here, for Kodak Tri-X film, the contrast is too high for our liking. In a purely analog system, the film is printed by contact or enlargement onto paper whose contrast is adjusted to modulate the gray-scale transition. By modifying the curve to reduce the contrast, we replicate the paper’s contrast shift on the screen.
Grain is controlled as follows. The Grain per Pixel slider ranges from 1 to 500. At 1, the software generates grain clusters that are very large relative to the image pixels. At 500, the grain is “split” or “diluted” over an area so small that it becomes smaller than the size of a physical pixel. Result: it becomes invisible to the naked eye, and the rendering becomes perfectly smooth. When the Grain Hardness slider is set to the left, it softens the grain, similar to that of film; when set to the right, the grain is sharper, like digital noise.
Film type dictates grain pattern. For example, the simulation of the low-grain 50 ISO Ilford Pan F Plus emulsion displays almost no visible grain, a stark contrast to Ilford’s most sensitive film, Ilford Delta 3200 Pro. Crucially, the grain effect created by Silver Efex integrates naturally with the image, effectively mimicking authentic film grain.
Global and local adjustments
The curve associated with each film is not the only setting for adjusting brightness or contrast. In the left panel, under the Filters section, Basic Adjustments offers multiple adjustments: brightness, contrast, and structure. Silver Efex’s structure setting is equivalent to the clarity setting in Lightroom. It increases or decreases the image’s microcontrast. In black and white, microcontrast plays a very important role: it adds depth to the image. The Basic Adjustments panel includes local adjustments, similar to those found in Lightroom, but without the automatic selection options for sky, object, or person.
The Basic Adjustments appear in the right-hand panel when they are enabled in the Filters section of the left-hand panel. Local adjustments are also available. They work in a similar way to those in Lightroom.
Structure
Adjusting the structure enhances the image’s microcontrast, mirroring the effect of boosting a print’s contrast in a conventional darkroom. This contrast adjustment can be applied across the entire range of gray levels, spanning from the deepest shadows to the brightest highlights.
42 film simulations
The list of films in the right-hand panel (Film types) dates back to the early versions of Silver Efex, before it was acquired by DXO. It contains 28 films. The latest versions of the software include an additional list of films, drawn from DXO’s expertise in film simulation, particularly through its FilmPack software. They are available in the filter list on the left panel, in the Film Grain (Branded) section. This brings the total to 42 simulations. It’s a fascinating journey into the world of film grain, as these settings do not apply any curves or color brightness sliders.
Note that with these simulations, we recommend removing the Original Grain adjustment by setting the Grain per Pixel sliders to 500 and the Grain Hardness to 0%. Otherwise, the two grain adjustments will combine and may produce an unsatisfactory result. The Intensity slider allows you to reduce or increase the amount of grain in the image (default value 100%). Grain Size adjusts the fineness of the grain; finer on the left, coarser on the right (default value 1).
42 film grain filters can be applied to the image. The intensity and size of the grain can be adjusted for each film.
Once you are satisfied with your conversion, click Apply. Silver Efex will then close, and the black-and-white adjustments will be visible on your image in Lightroom.
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Text and photos: Philippe Bachelier, teacher of Printing techniques at Spéos