Kodak Portra 400 Review: The Film Stock Everyone Loves

History

The current Kodak Portra line was introduced in 2010 to replace the older Kodak Portra 160 and 400 NC (Neutral Contrast) and VC (Vivid Contrast) films. Along with a modernized emulsion for Portra 160 and 400, Kodak also launched Portra 800, which is one of the last fast colour-negative film stocks available.

Together with Ektar 100, the Portra family represents Kodak's only last color-negative film stock. It is available in 135 (35mm) and 120 (medium format).

Color-negative films require the C-41 development process, which produces a film strip of negatives. These negatives must then be converted to positives. Nowadays, most photographers request digital scans from their labs. This is convenient for photographers, as the lab handles most of the processing work for them.

What It Is Suited For

Kodak Portra 400 is considered a fast film stock thanks to 400ISO. You'll notice that we often refer to the speed of film stocks; the higher the ISO, the faster the shutter speed that can be used.

With a box speed of 400, the Portra 400 can be used in various lighting scenarios, both outdoors and indoors.

Note: Since it is daylight color-balanced if you wish to shoot Portra 400 under tungsten light, you will need to use a cooling filter, such as a Tiffen 80B filter, which has a blue tint to counter the change of light from 5500K (daylight) to 3200K (tungsten). However, if you plan to shoot with the built-in flash on your camera indoors, there is no need for a filter. The same applies if you are shooting in a studio where the primary light source is coming from windows, which is an excellent way to capture indoor portraits, as the light can be quite diffuse and flattering to skin tones.

The Portra line was designed for portrait and wedding photography. It produces images with neutral contrast, excellent color rendition, and natural saturation. Its warm base tends to enhance parts of your pictures, especially skin tones, which is one reason why it is so popular.

Kodak states Portra 400 has the finest grain of any 400 ISO film, which is probably true. Even on 35mm, the grain is very fine, making it great for large prints and scanning.

With Portra 400, you can shoot just about anything, anywhere—be it everyday life, portraits, landscapes, street photography, or travel photography. It’s honestly hard to find a situation or scene where Portra 400 doesn't look good. It is one of the most versatile film stocks available.

I will choose Portra 400 for commercial and documentary shoots, as the extra speed allows me to be more mobile without relying on a tripod. That being said, I also enjoy using Portra 400 for travel and landscape photography. In such cases, I will most likely use a CPL polarizer filter.

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How To Shoot it

Color-negative film stocks, like Portra 400, thrive on light; they can never get enough of it. This means that you can safely overexpose Portra 400 by one to two stops, yielding excellent results. However, I do not recommend underexposing Portra 400. Underexposure will result in burnt shadows that lack detail, and mid-tones — often where skin tones sit — will appear muddy and unappealing.

I always overexpose my color-negative film by at least one stop. This technique lets me capture more detail in the shadows while having a nice roll-off into the highlights.

There are two ways to overexpose film:

Method 1: If your film camera has an exposure compensation dial, set it to +1 and adjust your ISO dial to box speed. In this case, 400 for Portra 400.

Method 2: If your camera has no exposure compensation dial, simply set your ISO dial to 200. This adjustment tells the light meter inside the camera that the film is slower by one stop, resulting in an overexposed light reading.

Once you start using more Portra 400 and become familiar with how it reacts to light (or any film, for that matter), you can experiment with your light readings. Depending on what I'm shooting, I might adjust my exposure compensation dial or my ISO dial to achieve the desired result anywhere between ISO 200 and ISO 320.

Tip: As we approach winter, if you plan to shoot with Portra 400 in the snowy mountains, be aware that your in-camera light meter might be deceived by the snow, which acts like a giant reflector. This can cause the light meter to expose the bright snow, resulting in significant underexposure of your images. To compensate for this, consider overexposing by 1 to 2 stops.

Pushing/Pulling

Being a professional film stock, Kodak Portra 400 handles pushing and pulling very well.

What is Pushing/Pulling?

In short, pushing or pulling refers to the practice of shooting film at an ISO value different from its designated box speed. Historically, this technique was primarily used to increase the sensitivity of a film stock. For instance, if a photographer only had 200 ISO film available but needed to shoot indoors, they might push the film to 400 ISO and instruct the lab to overdevelop the film to compensate for the change in ISO.

Pushing

When pushing film, you underexpose it in the camera and then request the lab to push it during development. This means the film will spend a longer time in the development bath.

You typically push by stops; for example, you can push Portra 400 to an ISO of 800 (+1 stops) or to an ISO of 1600 (+2 stops). Pushing film will increase contrast, introduce a slight color shift in the shadows (and potentially in the highlights), and produce more grain.

Pulling

Pulling film is the exact opposite of pushing it. Instead of metering at 400, you meter at 200 and request the lab to pull the exposure by 1 stop (-1). This means the film will be developed for a shorter amount of time, resulting in less contrast and more muted colors. It's far less popular than pushing.

My Favorite Way of Shooting Portra 400

Overexposing and pushing are two distinct techniques that can be effectively combined. This combination helps me keep my shadows clean while minimizing color shifts. I enjoy pushing Portra 400 by one stop. I still meter it at ISO 400 and instruct the lab to push it to ISO 800. This technique adds more contrast, and I appreciate the slight color shift, especially as it warms up the shadows.

Final Thoughts

Kodak Portra 400 is a workhorse of film stocks on which many professional photographers have built their careers. You can throw almost anything at it, still producing warm and pleasing results. Even with a nominal speed of 400 ISO, the grain is very fine.

If you haven't done so, I highly recommend you try it. But be wary; it's an addictive film stock!