There’s no doubt that digital imaging has transformed photography, making it quicker, cheaper and more accessible to everyone. But something has been lost, too, and that’s the imperfect, random and fragile nature of film. We can admire digital images for their accuracy and permanence, but film creates an emotional engagement of a different kind.

Film imposes its own character on a scene, prints fade and stain over time, cheap cameras have light leaks and soft lenses that add their own layer of personality to an image. You might dismiss all of these as irritating and unnecessary imperfections, but for a lot of people they spark memories and associations that add another layer of complexity to an image.

So software that replicates film ‘looks’ is increasingly popular and it’s also possible to create film or analog looks manually once you recognise the characteristics that make them stand out. Here’s a selection of tutorials and techniques for adding that film ‘look’ to your digital images.