An Introduction to Cross-Processing Film by Amy Elizabeth

35mm film image of the ocean - An Introduction to Cross Processing Film by Amy Berge on Shoot It With Film
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Written by Amy Elizabeth

Back in 2009, it felt like the beginnings of the “make-your-digital-look-like-film” movement, except it wasn’t the soft pastels or creamy skin tones of the pro stocks we were going for, it was the surreal color shifts of cross-processed film.

I looked up tutorials about how to give my digital photos the “X-Pro” (short for cross-process) look in Lightroom. It was all about flipping curves to create all the funky color shifts, and, yet, I didn’t really know what cross-processing meant.

In this introduction to cross-processing film, we’ll go over what cross-processing is, how it affects your images (with lots of examples!), and how to develop it.

Introduction to Cross-Processing Film
Introduction to Cross-Processing Film
Introduction to Cross-Processing Film
35mm film image of a boy looking at the camera - An Introduction to Cross Processing Film by Amy Berge on Shoot It With Film
Fujifilm Provia 100F

What is Cross-Processing?

It wasn’t until I started shooting film again that I learned that cross-processing just refers to any film processed in chemicals in which it wasn’t designed to be processed.

This can mean developing your C-41 film in E6 chemicals, your C-41 film in black and white chemicals, or most commonly, developing your E6 film (slide film) in C-41 chemicals.

(Caveat: Developing BW in C-41 will lead to varying results, and the bleach will strip away some or all of your image, so do it at your own risk.)

If you’ve read almost any of my other articles you know that a major reason I love film is because it lends itself to experimentation (Hello light leaks! Film soup! Pushing film!). So I was really excited to cross-process my first roll of slide film and get those results I had hoped to get by messing with curves in Lightroom.

In fact, the two things that pushed me to learn to develop my own C-41 film was film soup and cross-processing.

35mm film image of the ocean - An Introduction to Cross Processing Film by Amy Berge on Shoot It With Film
Fujifilm Provia 100F

Cross-Processing and Slide Film

Now is the time I admit I’ve never shot slide film and processed it in E6 chemicals, so I am NOT a slide film expert, (nor am I a cross-processing expert), but I do have some basics to pass along for those wanting to dive in!

And if you’d like to more info on slide film and the different film stocks for slide film, check out this Guide to Slide Film.

Slide film is known for its true to life colors and subtle grain, and cross-processing basically undoes all of these characteristics of slide film.

The grain is chunky, the colors are wonky, and I have found it hard to predict what will happen.

35mm film image of a city street - An Introduction to Cross Processing Film by Amy Berge on Shoot It With Film
Lomography X-Pro

But if you’re like me and you love experimentation, you will find these things are features and not bugs. In fact, I oftentimes think slide film looks too akin to digital images, and cross-processing it gives it that gritty character I love about film.

Slide film developed normally in E6 chemicals produce slides, which are positive images, so instead of seeing the weird colors you’re used to seeing on a negative, you will real-to-life colors.

But when you develop slide film in C-41, you won’t get a slide; you will get a negative. So expect to scan just as you would scan any other negative.

35mm film image of a boy looking out the window - An Introduction to Cross Processing Film by Amy Berge on Shoot It With Film
Fujifilm Provia 100F
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How to Shoot for Cross-Processing

Cross-processing kind of reminds me of pushing film in that you get higher contrast and color shifts.

I shot my first roll of slide film in the winter, and all of the snow was blown out and anything in the shadows basically had no detail on the final negative.

This makes sense because slide film is known for not having as wide a latitude as C41 film. It also means I shoot my film at box speed and meter for midtones or shadows.

Unlike negative film, more exposure isn’t necessarily safer!

35mm film image of the beach - An Introduction to Cross Processing Film by Amy Berge on Shoot It With Film
Lomography X-Pro
35mm film image of a lake - An Introduction to Cross Processing Film by Amy Berge on Shoot It With Film
Lomography X-Pro

Cross-Processing and Different Film Stocks

When I started cross-processing, it was basically just Fuji Provia 100F, Fuji Velvia 50, and Lomography X-Pro that were still in production. Since then, Kodak has reinstated Ektachrome, but I have yet to try my hand at it!

I have primarily stuck to shooting Lomo X-Pro and Fuji Provia 100F, and maybe I haven’t done enough cross-processing, but it feels like I have yet to nail down which film produces which results.

Provia is known for being a better portrait film than Velvia, which is known for being a good choice for landscapes. This is one of the reasons I have stuck with Provia… But since I am cross-processing, I kind of assume all those rules go out the window.

The other reason I tend to shoot Provia is that Velvia tends to be more expensive, and if I’m going to “ruin” the film anyway, why spend the extra money? Yafeelme?

35mm film image of a boy playing at the beach - An Introduction to Cross Processing Film by Amy Berge on Shoot It With Film
Fujifilm Provia 100F

Lomography X-Pro

Lomography claims their slide film is especially meant for cross-processing, but I have found Lomography X-Pro (find at Adorama) to be the biggest wildcard of the bunch (I suppose that’s the point of Lomo!).

I have gotten crazy grain, weird yellow color shifts, and overall less predictable results. So if you’re really down for experimentation and unexpected results, definitely give this film a try.

35mm film image of a boy eating a popsicle - An Introduction to Cross Processing Film by Amy Berge on Shoot It With Film
Lomography X-Pro
35mm film image of a boy playing in the sand - An Introduction to Cross Processing Film by Amy Berge on Shoot It With Film
Lomography X-Pro
35mm film image of boats in a harbor - An Introduction to Cross Processing Film by Amy Berge on Shoot It With Film
Lomography X-Pro

Fujifilm Provia 100

Fuji Provia 100 (find on Amazon), on the other hand, has given me more expected and classic cross-processed looks with skin tones and color shifts, especially in the shadows.

The part that is more surprising is that in a shot that is accurately metered and has a lot in the midtones, it can be difficult to tell it was cross-processed film!

I would say choose this film if you want finer grain (it’s all relative), more consistent results and maybe even if you want less obvious results.

35mm film image of a boy in a fox mask - An Introduction to Cross Processing Film by Amy Berge on Shoot It With Film
Fujifilm Provia 100F
35mm film image of waves crashing on the beach - An Introduction to Cross Processing Film by Amy Berge on Shoot It With Film
Fujifilm Provia 100F
35mm film image of a portrait of a boy - An Introduction to Cross Processing Film by Amy Berge on Shoot It With Film
Fujifilm Provia 100F

Here’s a good overview from Lomography on how the typical color shifts you can expect from cross-processing different film stocks.

Developing Cross-Processed Film

For developing crossed-processed slide film in C-41 chemicals, you’ll follow the normal C-41 developing instructions based on your chemicals. You can read more about how I develop color film here.

The big question is whether it messes up your developing chemicals. I did A LOT of research before developing it and found very mixed results.

I had faith it wouldn’t mess with my chemicals, so I cross-processed at the beginning of a batch (I use a batch of 1L chemicals on about 15ish rolls of film).

Although the rest of the film I developed with those chemicals turned out, they all had some color shifts to them. Everything seemed to have a more yellow tinge, especially in the highlights.

Now, I realize correlation does not equal causation, but I was suspicious enough that I haven’t done it since. I now wait until the end of the batch and develop it right around the time I’m developing film soup, or often times WITH my film soup.

But this is going off of one data point, so I am not completely convinced it was the cross-processing’s fault.

35mm film image of a rainbow at the lake - An Introduction to Cross Processing Film by Amy Berge on Shoot It With Film
Lomography X-Pro

Sending Film to a Lab for Cross-Processing

Before sending film to a lab for cross-processing, you’ll want to make sure the lab offers cross-processing.

You’ll also want to make it clear on the order form that you want the roll cross-processed (and which rolls you want cross-processed). Otherwise, they’ll just use normal E6 chemicals to develop it.

Cross-processing usually incurs a little fee over normal C-41 developing.  

35mm film image of a lake - An Introduction to Cross Processing Film by Amy Berge on Shoot It With Film
Lomography X-Pro

I hope that this helped you feel ready and excited to cross-process your own film! Definitely check out my develop C-41 tutorial so you can develop yours right at home!

You can also send it to my film lab (filmlab135.com) and have it developed right along with film soup. Whatever you choose to do, I hope you’ll go out and try something new!

Thank you so much, Amy! Amy is a regular contributor here at Shoot It With Film, and you can check out her other articles here, including How to Develop B&W Film at Home and Scanning Film Negatives with a DSLR!

To see more of Amy’s work, be sure to visit her on her website and Instagram! Amy also shares tips and tutorials for shooting film over on her IGTV channel. Go check it out!

Leave your questions about cross-processing below, and you can pick up some slide film here on Amazon to get started!

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Amy Elizabeth

Amy Elizabeth is a family and experimental film photographer and a regular contributor for Shoot It With Film. Find her other articles here, such as How To Develop Black and White Film at Home and Scanning Film Negatives with a DSLR.

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