Best Settings for Negative Lab Pro

It took me a while to dial in predictable results with Negative Lab Pro, but I finally found something that works well. Now I'm telling you! Converting negatives at home shouldn't feel like a guessing game, but finding that perfect balance between color accuracy and the soul of the film stock takes a bit of fine-tuning. I’ve spent years refining a set of universal settings in Negative Lab Pro that help take the "crunchiness" out of scans and bring back that warm, organic Kodak look we all love. Shop Very Good Presets, LUTS, workshops, and gear: https://shopverygood.com/ Join the Very Good Discord: https://discord.gg/AS46wnxxmu Visit me at https://dave.online/ Instagram: https://instagram.com/daveherring/ Foto: https://the.fotoapp.co/dave Join the Patreon: https://patreon.com/daveherring My camera strap: https://shopverygood.com/gear Another great strap: (Use HERRING for 10% off): https://cleversupply.co?ref=9q5OV MY CAMERA KIT: Leica M11P Safari: https://bhpho.to/4nqXyAa Leica M6: https://geni.us/H4NZTa Leica Q3M: https://bhpho.to/400rYjr Leica 28mm Summicron: https://geni.us/YAair Leica 35mm Summilux: https://geni.us/2xhIfkB Leica 50mm Summilux: https://geni.us/VtYro Leica 90mm Summarit: https://geni.us/sijs Hasselblad X2Dii: https://bhpho.to/3O02sZ3 Cover Your RED DOT: https://geni.us/reddotcover/ MY YOUTUBE STUDIO: Harlowe Lights (use the code DAVE10) https://www.hobolite.com/discount/Dave10 Sony A7SIII: https://geni.us/2ppkK Sony 16-35GM: https://geni.us/f5LTb Studio mic: https://bhpho.to/49WxBlj My printer: https://geni.us/BbUcVOj Protect your gear: https://www.ppa.com/join/member-2-member I use Squarespace with a lot of custom coding for my website. Check out Squarespace here: https://squarespace.syuh.net/c/5131831/533949/9084 Need additional footage? https://artlist.io/referral/6264182/Dave 00:00 Developing and Scanning Film at Home 01:00 My Current Scanning Rig and Process 01:59 Why Default Conversions Often Feel "Off" 03:09 Finding Universal Settings for Kodak Film 04:31 Comparing Frontier vs. Noritsu Color Modes 05:19 Deep Dive: Light and Tone Settings 06:23 Perfecting Color Tonality in Shadows and Mids 08:29 Example 1: Kodak Gold 200 Street Scene 09:07 Example 2: Portra 400 Portrait in the Dolomites 10:46 Example 3: Handling High Contrast Landscapes 11:36 Example 4: Balancing Blues in Mediterranean Shots 12:33 Subjectivity and Final Workflow Tips Master your film scanning workflow with the best settings for Negative Lab Pro, specifically optimized for Kodak film stocks like Portra 400 and Gold 200. This tutorial covers how to move beyond default conversions to achieve a professional lab-quality look using the "Lab Soft" tone profile and custom shadow color shifts. Learn how to manage the histogram to avoid pure blacks and whites, ensuring your digital files retain the characteristic smoothness and dynamic range of analog film. Dave shares his personal scanning rig details, including the Sony A7R3 and Sigma 70mm macro lens, while demonstrating how to apply universal settings across diverse lighting conditions from the Dolomites to Santa Cruz. Discover the subtle differences between Frontier and Noritsu color modes and how to use brightness and white balance to fine-tune your final images. Whether you're a beginner at home developing or a seasoned pro looking for more consistency, these NLP tips will streamline your post-processing and elevate your film photography. Join the community and learn how to make your digital scans truly reflect the beauty of the original negative. DISCLAIMER: Some of these links are affiliate links, meaning that if you click it and buy the service or product, they give me a small commission for sending you. This is a small way I support this channel, and making videos like this one.