VSCO Film – Guides & Tutorials

VSCO Film is one of the best digital film emulators around. But if you don’t have a lot of experience with analog film, it can be tough to know exactly how to use it.

Perhaps you’ve experienced this, too. You’ve just excitedly bought a new pack of VSCO. And what’s the first thing you do? You jump into Adobe Lightroom, pick a photo, and try each preset one by one.

“Hmm, what exactly am I looking at?” you think. “What exactly is changing? How do I know which film preset to use on each photo? How do I find that unique film look that works with my style of shooting?

In these free guides, you’ll become a master in film-emulation with VSCO and start forming your own signature “film-look.”  I’ll show you how to visualize exactly what each film preset will do prior to applying it. You’ll save time in processing & start producing stunning results.


VSCO Film 01 – The Modern Films

VSCO Film 01

VSCO FILM 01 focuses on modern portrait films still available from Kodak and Fuji. It’s widely used by portrait and wedding photographers. Go to VSCO 01 Guide –>

VSCO Film 02 – The Classic Films

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VSCO Film 02 has a mix of older portrait film from Kodak (great for wedding photography) and a popular consumer-film line from Fuji (great for general-purpose or street photography). Go to VSCO Film 02 Guide

VSCO Film 07 – The Eclectic Films

vsco-film-07-guide

VSCO Film 07 offers a unique collection of film presets from Agfa, Kodak & Fuji. While the effects are typically subtle, these films can get you a really distinct, refined look. Go to VSCO Film 07 guide –>

VSCO Film 03-06 – Coming Soon!


FREE VSCO Film Cheat Sheets Download

Since the guides are so in-depth, I’ve found that it’s helpful to have some quick, cheat sheets. This way you can quickly reference all of the films. Just fill in the form below, then click “Download” and I’ll send you a link!


Getting Stunning Images with VSCO Film

When I first came across VSCO film, I was amazed at the results others were getting with it. Yet when I purchased my first pack, I felt like I wasn’t getting nearly the same results.

I searched everywhere for more information about how to use VSCO, and there really wasn’t a lot of detail on how and when to use each film. Every article just said, “Try a bunch of the presets and see which one you liked.” Well, that’s what I was doing, and it sucked. It was time-consuming and I was still never satisfied at the final images.

It soon became clear that the reason I wasn’t getting great results from film emulation was that I didn’t understand the underlying analog film itself. 

So I’ve been going through each and every film inside VSCO. And I’ve been building the missing documentation.

I’ve rigorously studied real film examples, film manufacture documents, old photography magazines, and everything else I can get my hands on to methodically dissect each film VSCO offers.  And everything I’ve learned about VSCO Films, I’ve been putting into these super in-depth guides.


Other VSCO Resources: