Capture One Film Workflow
A practical Capture One workflow for creating a richer film look with Dehancer using film profiles, halation, bloom, grain and print-style finishing controls.
In this tutorial I walk through how to use Dehancer with Capture One to build a stronger film-emulation workflow than you can get from standard styles alone. The example image starts as a TIFF prepared in Capture One, then moves into the Dehancer plugin where the film look can be shaped with much more control over bloom, halation, grain and print-style finishing.
That is what makes this workflow interesting for photographers who want a more analogue-looking result. It is not just a preset overlay. It is a much deeper film-emulation process where you can preview film stocks, compare looks quickly, and then refine the image through a dedicated set of analogue-inspired controls before returning to your Capture One workflow.
Photographers who want a richer film-emulation workflow inside a Capture One-based edit, especially for travel, street, portrait and editorial imagery.
Prepare the image in Capture One, send it into Dehancer as a TIFF, preview film looks, then shape halation, bloom, grain and print behaviour for a stronger analogue finish.
The most important point in this workflow is that Dehancer is not just being used as a simple preset layer. In the tutorial I show how the image is first prepared in Capture One, exported as a TIFF, and then opened into the Dehancer plugin through the “Edit With” route. That step matters because it turns the process into a deliberate finishing workflow rather than just a quick style application.
I also make a very clear distinction in the video: some of the effects Dehancer offers, especially halation and bloom, are not the kind of thing you can reproduce with normal Capture One styles. That is one of the strongest reasons to use it. If you want a result that feels more analogue and less like a digital grade with a preset on top, the extra film-behaviour tools become important very quickly.
Use Capture One for the base edit and file preparation, then use Dehancer as a dedicated finishing stage when you want a stronger analogue film response with more depth than a standard style.
In the video, the image is already partly prepared before it goes into Dehancer. I mention that I have already graded some of the files from a trip to Italy and, in one case, also used a little generative fill in Photoshop before bringing the image to the Dehancer-ready stage. That is a useful reminder that film emulation works best when it is layered onto an image that already has a solid base edit behind it.
Once the TIFF is ready, the workflow is simple: right click the file in Capture One, choose “Edit With,” and open it in the Dehancer plugin. Even though the menu label may reference Lightroom, the process still works as the same Dehancer photo plugin workflow for Capture One.
A very practical part of the tutorial is how quickly you can move through the available film looks. In the Dehancer interface, I go into the presets section, open all presets, and then scroll through with the keyboard to compare how each film emulation changes the image. That is a strong workflow feature because it makes comparison much faster than building looks manually from scratch.
In the video I also point out that some profiles carry much heavier grain than others, while some look cleaner or softer. This is useful because it shows that film emulation is not just about colour — it is also about the texture, density and surface character of the final image.
One of the clearest demonstrations in the video is the red halation effect around bright edges. I show how turning halation on and off makes that analogue edge behaviour appear and disappear. The same happens with bloom, which softens the bright edge response and gives the highlights a more optical, film-like glow.
This is exactly where Dehancer moves beyond a conventional Capture One style. Those effects are a big part of what gives the final image a more convincing film personality, especially if you are chasing a richer or more cinematic result.
Another useful part of the tutorial is the walkthrough of the parameter stack itself. In the source section, I show controls like compensation, temperature compensation, tint compensation and defringe. Then further down there are film developer controls such as contrast boost, gamma correction, colour separation, colour boost and film compression. Later sections also include controls around impact, white point, internal range and colour density.
From a workflow point of view, this matters because it shows that Dehancer is not locked to a one-click preset system. You can use a film profile as your starting point, but then still fine-tune the response in a way that feels much more deliberate and photographic.
This setup is especially useful for photographers who already like editing in Capture One but feel that standard styles do not quite get them to the analogue finish they want. It makes sense for travel photography, street work, portraits, editorial images and creative post-production where the film look is not just a subtle tweak but part of the final identity of the image.
It is also useful for photographers who want a repeatable route into film emulation without jumping into a more complex grading environment. Capture One handles the RAW preparation, Dehancer handles the analogue finishing, and together the workflow remains relatively clean and easy to repeat.
This is a strong workflow for photographers who want a more developed film-emulation finish than Capture One styles alone can offer. It works especially well when you want to add grain, halation, bloom and print-style behaviour in a way that still feels controllable and repeatable from image to image.
Build the base TIFF first so the image is already in a good place before the film-emulation stage begins.
Send the file into the Dehancer plugin from Capture One and begin from the preset interface.
Scroll through the presets, compare grain and colour behaviour, and test the halation and bloom response.
Adjust source, developer and tonal controls so the final image feels more intentional than a simple preset overlay.
Useful for photographers who want to understand how Dehancer actually fits into a Capture One photo workflow rather than just hearing a feature list.
Relevant if you are trying to go beyond Capture One styles and build a stronger analogue-inspired finish with halation, bloom and grain.
Helpful for users comparing Dehancer against standard styles, presets or simpler colour grading approaches.
Designed for photographers who specifically want to understand which Dehancer tools give the image that more optical and analogue film feel.
You can move through many different film profiles quickly and find a starting point that suits the image before deeper refinement.
Halation and bloom add analogue-style behaviour that is difficult to recreate with ordinary Capture One style workflows.
Grain and print-style finishing make the image feel more tactile and less like a purely digital grade.
Capture One remains the base RAW editor while Dehancer acts as a specialised finishing step for film-emulation work.
I’ve kept the Dehancer offer lower on the page so the workflow stays educational first. If you want to try the plugin after watching the tutorial, you can use my code below when purchasing.
Use code SIMONSONGHURST for 10% off Dehancer. I see it as a finishing tool that sits alongside a Capture One workflow rather than replacing your core RAW edit.
Yes. In this workflow the image is prepared in Capture One as a TIFF and then sent into the Dehancer photo plugin through the Edit With route.
Because Dehancer adds tools such as halation and bloom that create a more convincing analogue-style response than a standard style-only workflow.
It adds film-stock emulation, grain, halation, bloom and a broader set of film-inspired finishing controls that shape the image beyond basic colour styling.
In this tutorial the file is sent across as a TIFF after the base preparation work has already been done in Capture One.
It is especially useful for photographers who like Capture One for RAW editing but want a richer film-emulation finish for travel, street, portrait or editorial imagery.
