January Preset: Expired DM Paradies 200

We're coming close to the end of January and so it's time for another preset. For this month I've decided to make a simulation of the very first 35mm film I ever shot - DM Paradies 200.

DM is just the normal drug store here in Austria and they used to sell consumer film and currently still offer film development. Back in the early 2000s when film was still the norm for many people DM had their own brand of film in stock called DM Paradies 200.

A couple years ago when I decided to try film photography for the first time I asked my Dad whether he happened to have any film left anywhere and so he checked the cupboard and found four rolls of DM Paradies 200 film that had expired back in 2005. Not minding the expiration I decided to shoot one of those as my first roll.

The results were, as expected, very grainy, poor in detail with some shadows simply being a black stain with grain and an overall magenta shift. Traditionally speaking, this is certainly not what you'd describe as a pleasing look. However it did have a uniquely charming character that was fun to look at.

Thus I decided to make a simulation of the look for you to apply to your digital photos. I recommend using this on anything that you'd like to give a slightly weird expired film look, especially if you like magenta.

In the preview I'm showing you how it looks in various situations. Most of them are barely changed after applying the preset. I just might have shifted the white balance a little, because it doesn't go too well with a very cool image, so warming up the picture can be beneficial.

Also do not be surprised, the preset will darken the entire image by 1 stop - that is on purpose of course. Usually I leave the exposure untouched in the preset because that setting of course depends on your RAW file. However in this case it makes sense to me to stop it down, because I want your shot to get this darker underexposed look, that works especially well with sunny photos I find. Darkening the sunny photos like this gives you that lofi expired look.

Anyway, I suggest having fun with this one and trying it out on various photographs. It might not have as many use cases as the other ones, but I think it's a good one to add to your portfolio of Lightroom presets :)

Cheers,

Teo