If you scan 35mm colour negative film, you’ve probably encountered the dreaded orange mask—a heavy orange tint that throws off your colour correction. Most tutorials suggest subtracting a uniform colour based on the film base, but this often leads to inaccurate colours because the orange cast varies across shadows, midtones and highlights areas. This guide will show you how to remove the orange mask from colour negative film, using reference points within the photo instead of relying on the film base. It’s a simple but powerful technique that results in true-to-life colours that match the look of 35mm colour film. So, let’s get started!
🛠️ What You’ll Need
- A scanned colour negative (ideally shot in daylight).
- Adobe Photoshop (or similar software with RGB sampling and Colour Balance tools).
- Basic knowledge of image editing.
📸 Remove the Orange Mask from Colour Negative Film (Step-by-Step Guide)
🎞️ Step 1. Open Your Scanned Negative
- Firstly, open the negative in Photoshop.
- Preferably, choose an image shot in natural daylight.
- Identify areas that should be pure white (e.g., clouds) and pure black (e.g., shadows or underexposed parts).
🎯 Step 2. Sample Colours from Bright and Dark Areas
Then, use the Eyedropper Tool (Colour Picker) to sample:
| Area | Expected Real-World Colour | RGB Sample Likely Shows |
|---|---|---|
| Bright area (e.g. cloud) | White | R: 240, G: 205, B: 180 |
| Dark area (e.g. deep shadow) | Black | R: 30, G: 20, B: 15 |
👉 The skewed RGB values reveal the non-uniform orange mask tint.
🎨 Step 3: Use Colour Balance to Neutralise the Image
Afterwards, go to Image > Adjustments > Colour Balance and start fine-tuning the Midtones and Highlights until the RGB values from the sampled areas are equal. For instance, use the sliders to:
- Reduce Red.
- Increase Blue.
- Raise the Green slightly.
Suggested Starting Settings:
| Tonal Range | Cyan/Red | Magenta/Green | Yellow/Blue |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shadows | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Midtones | -30 | +15 | +30 |
| Highlights | -90 | +45 | +90 |
🧪 Keep adjusting the colour balance — your goal is to match (e.g., equalise) the R, G and B values in bright and dark sample areas.
📏 Step 4: Confirm Neutral RGB Balance
When the RGB values in your sampled areas are roughly equal, your colour cast is gone. You should now see, for example:
| Area | Final RGB Reading (Ideal) |
|---|---|
| Bright cloud | R: 240, G: 240, B: 240 |
| Shadow | R: 15, G: 15, B: 15 |
✅ The photo is now neutralised across all tonal ranges — not just the film base!
🧰 Step 5: Apply Auto Tone
- Furthermore, go to Image > Auto Tone.
- This step improves contrast by refining the white and black points.
- It enhances tonal depth without undoing your colour corrections.
💾 Step 6: Save & Reuse Your Settings to Remove the Orange Mask from Colour Negative Film
Lastly, if you’re working with a full roll:
- Record an action to apply the same Colour Balance settings to other frames from the same scan.
- This step gives all your images a consistent look with minimal extra effort.
🔑 Key Steps to Remove the Orange Mask from Colour Negative Film
- Open a daylight scan with both bright and dark areas.
- Sample white and black points using the Colour Picker to reveal the orange cast.
- Adjust Colour Balance to equalise RGB values—reduce red, boost blue, and increase the greens.
- Use Auto Tone to enhance contrast and finalise tonal range.
- Save and reuse settings for consistent results across similar film scans.
🎨 Why This Orange Mask Removal Method Works
Most tutorials recommend sampling the film base, but this doesn’t account for the complex, uneven colour cast across the tonal range.
By sampling actual highlights and shadows in the photo, this workflow:
- Produces more natural and true-to-life colours
- Keeps the original contrast of the photo
- Works well with most types of 35mm colour film
In my experience, 90% of images look better using this method than any lab print or automatic colour correction software.
📷 Sample Photos
The images below were processed using this exact technique. And I think they have the silky, rich tones you expect from 35mm film.
📌 Final Thoughts
Removing the orange mask from colour negative film doesn’t have to be guesswork. By using reference points within the photo and adjusting each tonal range separately, you can achieve vibrant, natural-looking colours that do justice to the beauty of film photography.
Whether you’re digitising old family photos or perfecting your film workflow, this method is a reliable, repeatable solution for beautiful scans every time.
🔍 Want more film photography inspiration? Then explore Kodak’s Film Stocks, Ilford’s Learning Zone, my other how-to guides and 35mm film photography post!