Chocolate filters aren’t new, but they’re certainly not talked about. Is there something more for them?
Instead of the filter heating up or messing up your white balance, chocolate filter can give a feeling of warmth without overdoing it. As Kummerfeldt describes here, it adds brown tones. I’ve seen them used in the past and personally love how the mids don’t get washed away in an orange cloud. For lighter skin tones like mine, it can bring life to skin tones without looking like a fake tan.
I was particularly intrigued by what Cinestill’s 800T looks like. Kummerfeldt shot only with the “Chocolate 1” filter and it’s a pretty subtle effect. However, it completely changes the look of tungsten film. I don’t know what it would look like outside of the sunny hills of Los Angeles. I’m not sure I’d recommend shooting this way in all situations, as overcast skies can cool things down too much.
Robert K Baggs wrote a excellent article about how pulling the blue out of your photo can enhance it. Blue color can blur the image and focus away from the subject. Kummerfeldt after a certain muted tune, similar to Dune. He wants to pull the blue out of the shot, and not necessarily replace it with orange. Perhaps the chocolate filter is a handy tool to have nearby.
Chocolate filters don’t come cheap. I’m not sure I’ve seen it available from any rental. So if I’m going to try it out, I need to figure out why. Tiffany’s Antique suede could be a viable alternative here and might be easier to get a hold of. If you’re looking for your filter game, Alex Armitage just made a wonderful Writing up filters for landscape photography can help the reader understand it all.
