Twenty looks, with the settings written down
A recipe is a whole look saved in one place: the film, the warmth, the grain, the glow and the crop. Each page below gives you the settings and the light it was built for, so you can copy it rather than guess at it.
Clean girl brunch recipe
The clean girl look is 35mm Sunday with warmth barely on, fine grain and Glow on rested. Window light, no flash, and nothing anyone can name as a filter.
Mob wife winter recipe
The mob wife look is CCD Night Out with hard flash, blacks left black and Glow on event. Fur, gold and a room that falls away behind you. Full settings inside.
Coquette golden hour recipe
The coquette look is Polaroid Pocket with lifted blacks, a magenta highlight shift and soft focus, shot into low backlight. Pink haze without a pink filter.
Old money summer recipe
The old money look is 35mm Sunday with saturation pulled back, warmth almost off and a wide crop. Linen, boats and restraint, without a beige filter on top.
Tomato girl summer recipe
The tomato girl look is Disposable Summer in daylight: warm saturation, coarse grain and daytime flash. How to shoot Mediterranean reds without them clipping.
Vanilla girl recipe
The vanilla girl look is Polaroid Pocket with lifted blacks, low contrast and saturation pulled back. Cream, not white, and why the difference matters.
Dark academia recipe
The dark academia look is 35mm Sunday cooled off, with deep blacks, fine grain and halation on lamp light. Library windows, wool and how to keep it out of mud.
Euro summer recipe
The euro summer look is Super 8 with the fade dialled back so the sea stays blue. Strong sun, warm skin, short handheld clips. Full settings and adjustments.
Soft launch recipe
The soft launch look is CCD Night Out used for concealment: hard flash, a background that falls to black, and a crop that shows a hand and nothing else.
Indie sleaze recipe
The indie sleaze look is Y2K Digicam with heavy flash, over-sharpening and visible compression. The 2008 party photo, including why it has to look careless.
Night out flash recipe
The exact settings behind the night out flash photo: CCD Night Out, hard direct flash, a background that falls to black. What to shoot and what ruins it.
Beach day film recipe
A 35mm recipe built for hard coastal sun: warm highlights, fine grain, soft shadow fade and a low horizon. How to shoot it and how to stop it going orange.
Cozy autumn recipe
An autumn recipe built on Super 8: warm faded colour, coarse grain, blues pulled down and a tight crop. How to shoot leaves and knitwear without going sepia.
Christmas warm recipe
A 35mm recipe for fairy lights and lamplight: amber warmth, halation around bulbs, soft fade and brunch glow. How to shoot a dark room without night mode mush.
Concert lights recipe
A digicam recipe for gigs: saturated stage colour, coarse shadow noise, bloom on lights. Plus an honest account of why phone photos of stages are so hard.
Matcha morning recipe
An instant-film recipe for window light: lifted blacks, cream highlights, a green that stays green. How to shoot a cafe morning without the flat lay cliche.
Cottagecore recipe
A 35mm recipe for long grass and low sun: gentle warmth, halation through leaves, honest greens. What to shoot and why the aesthetic often looks like a costume.
Y2K party recipe
The Y2K party recipe: flash on, saturation pushed up, hard clipped highlights and visible JPEG blocking. How to shoot a lit room like a 2004 compact camera.
Balletcore recipe
A balletcore recipe on instant film: pale pink highlights, lifted blacks, soft focus and studio light. How to shoot a bright hall without it going flat.
Golden hour portrait recipe
A 35mm recipe for backlit portraits: warm rim light, halation in hair, no fade and event glow. How to expose for a face with the sun directly behind it.