Carry On: Kodak Portra 400

All Photos 2011 © Brian Adams

In 2006 when I first started working with Getty Images and was preparing my portfolio for Global Assignments, Jamie Penny, an assignment coordinator and photo editor I truly admire, told me to slow down on the black and white and start shooting more color, primarily because color is just a lot easier to sell to the clients. He was right. I started experimenting with color films both positive and negative, and then in 2007 I found Kodak Portra 400NC. 400NC was fast enough for indoor and outdoor shooting, and the skin tones in my images were consistent indoors and outdoors, unlike some positive films I have used that are great for skin tones outdoors but work poorly indoors without the use of a strobe.

This year, Kodak introduced the New Kodak Portra 400. My initial thoughts were ones of hesitation and fear. (Ohh no, what are they going to discontinue?) Kodak discontinued the 400NC (NC=natural color) and 400VC (VC= vivid color) films, which they replaced with the Ektar (for vivid color) and Portra 400 (portraits/skin). I felt like I was loosing a dear old friend and I was going to have to move on, but after testing out the New Portra 400, I realized I gained more than I lost. The Portra 400 has an even finer grain, and I don't know if it's just me, but the skin tones look even more natural. The photos above were all shot using the new Portra 400. The first portrait of author Liz Murray was my biggest test for the film, but the whites came out white and the skin tones were exactly what I wanted! After that shoot all my skepticism went away. I feel blessed that kodak still makes a wonderful product for my needs and I look forward to many more years of their film. Carry on friends!