Koji Ueda | Lightroom Presets "Backstreet Cinema" and "Warm Teal Negative Classic"

Koji Ueda Lightroom Presets (2 Types)
"Backstreet Cinema" and "Warm Teal Negative Classic"

Two Lightroom presets by photographer and videographer Koji Ueda, designed to capture travel and everyday scenes as dramatically as movie stills. Created based on Koji Ueda's long-used color palette, they are suitable for a wide range of scenes.
"Backstreet Cinema" features a film-like, cinematic tone with teal shadows and amber highlights. It dramatically enhances snapshots taken on sunny days and nightscapes. "Warm Teal Negative Classic" offers a warm, cinematic expression, and is ideal for cloudy days, shaded areas, and misty scenes. Its charm lies in its soft gradations reminiscent of negative film.

*Each preset includes two file formats: "dng" and "xmp."

Preset ① "Backstreet Cinema"

"I created 'Backstreet Cinema' to evoke the film-like, cinematic atmosphere of a backstreet. It allows you to dramatically transform various scenes you encounter while traveling into memorable movie stills.
By adding teal to the shadows and a hint of amber to the mid-tones and highlights, I've adjusted it to easily achieve a cinematic tone. Additionally, the sky color is finished with a cyan-leaning feel.
Furthermore, it's set to add a film-like grain. If you don't need the grain, please adjust the 'Grain' setting in Lightroom's [Effects] panel to 0.
'Backstreet Cinema' is especially recommended for snapshots on sunny days and night photography. In extremely dark or bright photos, colors may be desaturated or, conversely, become too strong. In such cases, please adjust the exposure to finish. You can also change the atmosphere to your preference by adjusting the white balance."

── Koji Ueda

Preset ② "Warm Teal Negative Classic"

"'Warm Teal Negative Classic' is a preset that allows for warm, cinematic expression in scenes with low contrast, such as on cloudy days, in heavily shaded areas, or in mist.
It's adjusted to add strong amber to the mid-tones and highlights, and teal (blue-green) to the shadows. The highlights are designed to be tenacious, like negative film, allowing for rich gradations and a soft atmosphere. I've also set the grain slightly strong for those who enjoy a classic film-like texture. The grain can be adjusted to your preference, so please adjust it from 'Effects' → 'Grain' in Lightroom. Although it's made for cloudy conditions, it works perfectly fine on sunny days as well, offering a warm, film-like expression. 'Warm Teal Negative Classic' is particularly suitable for photos with neutral exposure. In photos that are too dark or too bright, the colors and tones might become too strong, so in such cases, please adjust the exposure to finish."

── Koji Ueda

About the Author

Koji Ueda
Photographer and videographer. Studied photography and videography in San Francisco, USA, shooting commercials and documentaries. After returning to Japan, he worked as an assistant to photographer Shinichi Hanawa before starting his career as a photographer and videographer. He also gives lectures and writes, and teaches at institutions like Nikon College. He shares information on his YouTube channel "Photographer Koji Ueda's Travels and Camera." Nikkor Club Advisor and Nikon College Instructor.
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