Trying to replicate Hasselblad Natural Colour Solution with a Nikon and LrC

[AvecVue]

Hello,

I would like to reconsider my workflow of editing photos with LrC. My main frustration at the moment is the colors. To say it in few words, I love Hasselblad Natural Colour Solution but I do not own the right camera. In fact, I shoot with a trusty Nikon D750 and edit with LrC and Photoshop.

I know that Hasselblad cameras are calibrated and that Phocus is a good software to get the most of the photos, but I would like to get as close as possible to the HNCS and with my current tools, a Nikon and LrC.

- Which profile should I start with, Adobe Standard, Adobe Neutral, Camera Matching Standard, Camera Matching Neutral (...)?
- Which sliders should I pay attention to?
- It might be very difficult and time consuming to try to replicate the HNCS, and if it's not worth it, I'd still like to understand, in words and not numbers, what is going on with Hasselblad's gestion of colors that matches my taste?

I read several topics here and there, especially good points made by @MGrayson but I would like to learn more.

Thank you very much for your help

 

[Paul Spinnler]

You cannot replicate the HNCS with some slider movements in LR.

The colors are fundamentally transformed in a non-linear fashion via Hasseblad's own color transformation matrix which shifts hues and saturation around here and there to make it look both natural and filmic.

The way to get there is to get a Hassy camera.

 

[MGrayson]

You cannot replicate the HNCS with some slider movements in LR.

The colors are fundamentally transformed in a non-linear fashion via Hasseblad's own color transformation matrix which shifts hues and saturation around here and there to make it look both natural and filmic.

The way to get there is to get a Hassy camera.

Indeed. The closest I have seen - the best 3rd party color profiles - are from Cobalt. With Leica cameras, the Cobalt profiles are different (especially less aggressive reds), but very good. For Hasselblad, I use only native profiles. For all other brands, I use Cobalt if available.

Matt

 

[AvecVue]

Thank you for your answers, I understand.
Well, before I jump and buy a camera from Hasselblad, which LrC profile would you start with? In my opinion, Adobe Color is too punchy and (Nikon) Camera Neutral very (very) flat...

EDIT: @MGrayson do you think the Cobalt Repro profile for my Nikon D750 is interesting?

 

[MGrayson]

Thank you for your answers, I understand.
Well, before I jump and buy a camera from Hasselblad, which LrC profile would you start with? In my opinion, Adobe Color is too punchy and (Nikon) Camera Neutral very (very) flat...

EDIT: @MGrayson do you think the Cobalt Repro profile for my Nikon D750 is interesting?

I don't have a Nikon. But on the Leica S3, Repro is very flat and somewhat dark. Mostly, I use Cobalt Standard or Neutral. Note: I don't shoot portraits. On landscapes, I try a few - even the Adobe profiles in case something appealing jumps out.

 

[Godfrey]

I'm not so sensitive on color as others, I've learned. (I have the Hassy 907x/CFVII 50c and it makes nice colors, with both Phocus and LrC, but my eye can't tell that they're any more special than what I get out of other cameras...)

What I do is use an Xrite Color Checker and use it to create my own color profile for a given camera, when I'm trying for a more consistent and reliable color mix.

G

 

[Trevor Davis]

You could try taking an image from your camera and playing with the sliders in the calibration panel to get a look that appeals to you, and save that as an import preset. It would help to have a raw image from a Hasselblad made at the same time to compare to.

 

[rdeloe]

I had the same question last year. I like the Hasselblad output from Phocus. I was hoping to find a third-party custom camera profile for the Fuji GFX 100S that was a good attempt to match the Hasselblad palette. I could not find one...

My advice is to forget about trying to get exactly the same output from your Nikon files in Lightroom. You can't and you won't. Instead, think about what it is you like about the Hasselblad output, and try to get as close as you can with a profile in Lightroom.

The standard Adobe profiles are not a good starting point for this search. The problem is not the Adobe profiles. It's that as Paul says, Hasselblad has done a lot behind the scenes. The colours are not meant to be "accurate". Instead, they are meant to be "natural", which to me means "pleasing to people who like that palette".

My search ended up with one specific profile from a set developed by a photographer in France. I like it because it biases towards warmer tones overall, with greens leaning more to yellow than to blue. If you're interested, I wrote about it here: https://www.robdeloephotography.com/Pages/Colour-A-Better-Starting-Point

 

[AvecVue]

Thank you very much @rdeloe ! It's a very interesting read. Your article "Trust" is also a good one.

I checked Nikon D750 profiles on photoetmac.com, and it seems that the approach is different from what you've found with your Fuji GFX. I do like the subtleties of the color changes in your article ("Colour: A Better Starting Point"). Thus, I wonder if it is worth it to buy thoses profiles. Instead, maybe I can try editing with a clear vision of what I like with HNCS and dislike with say Adobe Color. Problems are:

1. Past, "less saturation and good dynamic range", it is very hard to put the right words
2. I don't want to tweak every single settings
3. I don't want to overcook the photos
4. I still need a profile to start with

 

[mristuccia]

You can try by acquiring an image of a color checker taken with an Hasselblad camera on a typical average light situation and comparing it against one coming from your D750 taken on a similar light situation, then playing with color balance in LR in order to match the latter to the former.
This is a very inaccurate way of approaching the problem of course, as a color profiles should be generated out of this comparison. Moreover, it may change depending on different illuminants. But one can try and see how close he gets with the above simple approach. After all, we are talking about subjective tastes here, we don't need to be scientifically precise...

 

[Paul Spinnler]

Just get a Hassy, X1's are not expensive anymore

 

[rdeloe]

Thank you very much @rdeloe ! It's a very interesting read. Your article "Trust" is also a good one.

I checked Nikon D750 profiles on photoetmac.com, and it seems that the approach is different from what you've found with your Fuji GFX. I do like the subtleties of the color changes in your article ("Colour: A Better Starting Point"). Thus, I wonder if it is worth it to buy thoses profiles. Instead, maybe I can try editing with a clear vision of what I like with HNCS and dislike with say Adobe Color. Problems are:

1. Past, "less saturation and good dynamic range", it is very hard to put the right words
2. I don't want to tweak every single settings
3. I don't want to overcook the photos
4. I still need a profile to start with

I would try to get to a place you like using the available tools before buying into profiles. You can spend a lot of money on third-party profiles and not be happy.

 

[AvecVue]

Well, I'm building my LrC workflow and I have several other questions:

- Can LrC auto exposition be a good starting point if I adjust the settings manually after? How does LrC calculate it?
- Should I avoid using the contrast function (and prefer to position the white and black points correctly)?
- Is pushing the variance and lowering the saturation a good strategy to get a natural result?

 

[tenmangu81]

Well, I'm building my LrC workflow and I have several other questions:

- Can LrC auto exposition be a good starting point if I adjust the settings manually after? How does LrC calculate it?
- Should I avoid using the contrast function (and prefer to position the white and black points correctly)?
- Is pushing the variance and lowering the saturation a good strategy to get a natural result?

I won't say there is a set of adjustments which could suit all images. Every photo needs a different combination of settings, and each tool could be needed.
As to the question of "auto" expo is a good starting point, it could be in some cases where you don't know how to start. You could also start with the new "adaptative color (or B&W)" as a starting point if you have strong issues with the tone balance.
Usually, I don't need to adjust variance and saturation with my X1D II files. Actually, most of the time, I don't need to do anything....
But IMO, the first step to start with is the "camera standard" input profile, provided you have chosen the correct options (your Hasselblad camera) in Preferences -> presets -> raw defaults.