Appreciation post: I finally tried pushing a roll of Portra 400

I was always told it would just make my photos look weird and grainy, but I shot a roll at 1600 for a dim indoor party last month. The lab developed it normally, and the colors held up way better than I thought they would. Has anyone else had good results pushing other color films?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_julia2mo ago

I was wrong, pushing color film is legit.

willowroberts2mo ago

Wait, you pushed color film and it WORKED? I tried that once with some old Portra and got the weirdest green shadows, like a bad 70s sci-fi movie. The whole roll was just a sad, murky mess. I figured it was a hard rule you just didn't break. What did you even push, two stops? This changes everything.

the_sean1mo ago

Oh man, YES it worked but you gotta be SO careful with which film you pick. Old Portra is a total gamble, I've been there with the gross green mess too. I pushed Fuji Superia 400 to 800 once and it came out surprisingly good, like barely any color shift. The key is starting with fresh film that's not expired and only pushing one stop max, two if you're feeling BRAVE. Honestly the whole "never push color" thing is a lie from the film snob crowd, you can absolutely do it. Just don't expect miracles from old, expired rolls.