The 62nd Bièvres International Photo Fair took place on June 6 and 7, 2026. On this occasion, two Spéos students were recognized for their work. Congratulations to them both!

About the Bièvres Fair

Organized by Photoclub Paris-Val-de-Bièvre with the support of the town of Bièvres, the Bièvres Fair has become, over the years, a must-attend event for collectors and enthusiasts alike.

The fair is renowned for its photography exhibitions, as well as for its various marketplaces: the secondhand and antique photography market, the new equipment and services market, and the artists’ market.

Each year, the Bièvres Fair welcomes nearly 250 exhibitors and is located just 20 km from Paris.
This year, the artists’ market jury was chaired by Bruno Dubreuil, photographer and art critic.
The jury honored two Spéos photographers: Agnese Garrone and Mariam Ghalim.

Young Photographer Award

Photographer Agnese Garrone received the Young Photographer Award for her series Ce qui reste (What Remains), a sensitive exploration of memory and its gradual disappearance.

Inspired by Alzheimer’s disease, she chose not to document it descriptively, but rather to convey its inner sensation: that of a world transforming, fragmenting, and distorting. Light becomes a central tool—not to reveal reality but to reconstruct it—while cold, at times violent colors create a sense of distance and strangeness.

In her images, people are not staged subjects but presences: they inhabit the frame while seeming to detach themselves from it. The space, now mental and almost unreal, carries the tension between inside and outside, visibility and disappearance. Far from seeking to explain, Ce qui reste aims to make the viewer feel, immersing them in an altered perception of time and self, where what remains is not necessarily what is visible.

Agnese is a graduate of the Spéos Professional Photography program in 1 year.

> Discover Agnese Garrone’s portfolio

Special Jury Mention

Photographer Mariam Ghalim received the Special Jury Mention for her series Allah y Rahmo, an intimate work devoted to memory and to what remains after the loss of a loved one.

The project is rooted in the recent loss of her father and in the traces he left behind: objects, places, and memories. Born in Morocco and arriving in France at the age of twenty, the photographer’s father inspired a journey to Casablanca, retracing the steps of his childhood. There, Mariam Ghalim explores a land to which she partly belongs, suspended between closeness and distance.

Deliberately altered, the images play with grain to compose a fragile visual language that mirrors grief, punctuated by short phrases that resonate like echoes of her father’s voice. 
Allah y Rahmo—”may God have mercy on him”—thus transforms absence into a fragile presence, where memory takes shape and where the father continues to live on.

Mariam is also a recent graduate of the Spéos Professional Photography program in 1 year.

> Discover Mariam Ghalim’s portfolio

Congratulations as well to all the Spéos students who staffed the booths and presented their portfolios throughout the day, contributing to the school’s strong visibility at this 2026 edition!

> Discover the work of all Spéos 2026 graduates

L’article Bièvres 2026: Two Spéos Students Honored! est apparu en premier sur Ecole Photographie Paris.

Famous photographers like Henri Cartier-Bresson or Alex Webb limit themselves to a fixed focal length, such as a 50mm or a 35mm. By working on composition with a specific field of view, they adopt a certain philosophy: they don’t get distracted by the multiple framing possibilities of a zoom lens, they maintain a certain distance from the subject, they travel with lightweight gear, and so on. While purists refuse to crop, the pragmatists eliminate superfluous and distracting elements at the edges of the frame during post-production.

Focal length too short

But what about situations where the focal length results in a field of view that’s too narrow? Where stepping back isn’t possible? Where the distance from the subject brings unwanted elements into the frame? The solution is to take multiple shots to cover the entire scene, then merge the images together in post-production using software. But a few precautions are necessary.

Plan for the merge

When shooting, a tripod isn’t essential, but the focus must be the same across all images.
This is useful both for facilitating the subsequent stitching and for maintaining consistency between sharp and blurred areas. Start by photographing what will be the center of the final composition. The images must overlap sufficiently with one another. To be safe, allow for at least a quarter of the area to overlap between each shot.

The exposure settings (ISO sensitivity, aperture, shutter speed) should preferably be the same, as if they were part of a single shot. A manual exposure mode is therefore more appropriate.
The white balance setting, if set to automatic, may vary from one shot to the next: it will be adjusted during post-production.

Merging the shots

The shots are merged in Lightroom (or Photoshop or other similar software) by selecting from the Library or Develop module menu Photo > Photo Merge > Panorama… The image merging settings in Lightroom are very effective and offer several stitching projection modes: spherical, cylindrical, and perspective. Spherical projection aligns and modifies the images as if they were mapped onto the surface of a sphere.

This mode is suitable for very wide panoramas. The cylindrical projection stitches the images together as if they were arranged inside a cylinder. While it works well for wide panoramas, keeping vertical lines straight, it curves horizontal lines, just like the spherical projection.

Perspective Projection Mode

These projection modes, spherical and cylindrical, are well suited for landscapes but not for architectural elements, unlike perspective projection, which is based on a flat surface.
This mode preserves straight lines but tends to stretch the sides.

Since perspective projection uses the image in the center of the scene to create the blend, care should be taken to ensure this area is well-composed when taking the shot. Finally, if the images include people who do not overlap between shots, they will be retained in the final edit.

Discover the professional photography courses at Spéos

Spéos photography school offers professional photography programs in 1 year, in 2 years, short photography programs (in 2 months and in 5 months), as well as photography workshops.

The long courses to become professional photographers allow you not only to master all the photographic techniques and its vocabulary (blurs, hyperfocus, sharpness zone, depth of field, backlighting, focal length, shutter release, autofocus, wide-angle, rule of thirds, etc.), but also all the stages of shooting and image processing.

Visiting the school allows you to discover the premises, the studios and the equipment, and is undoubtedly the best way to familiarize yourself with your future way of working. This is why, in addition to the open days, Spéos offers throughout the year personalized visits by appointment to come and discover the school with a member of the team.

Text and photos: Philippe Bachelier, teacher of Printing techniques at Spéos

L’article Fixed focal length – See the bigger picture est apparu en premier sur Ecole Photographie Paris.

The School’s traditional annual exhibition took place on 20 and 21 May 2026 in Paris. This flagship event marks, each year, the culmination of the students’ work, providing a showcase for their creations.

On this occasion, Spéos was delighted to present the 2026 Jury Prizes in the following three categories: Studio, Photojournalism and Fine Art. These awards aim to recognise the most promising talents, selected by a jury composed of renowned professionals from the world of photography.

Congratulations to the 2026 Winners!

It is with great pleasure that Spéos reveals this year’s Jury Prize winners.

A huge well done to:

• Iveta Celmina – Winner of the Studio Prize
• Agnese Garrone – Winner of the Photojournalism Prize
• Ajay Dsouza – Winner of the Fine Art Prize

A Closer Look at Their Journeys

Iveta Celmina

Graduate of the Professional Photography Program in 1 year.

Before photography, Iveta worked in communications, fashion and artist booking, a background that shaped the way she connects with people. What draws her most to photography is its human dimension. Beyond light and composition, she is interested in what a person carries within and in the way it can quietly surface in an image.

She works with simplicity and gentleness, creating a space where everyone can feel at ease and fully themselves. She believes there is beauty in every person, at every age and whatever their level of experience, and she strives to reveal it with honesty and sensitivity.

> Discover her portfolio

Agnese Garrone

Graduate of the Professional Photography Program in 1 year.

Working primarily in black and white, her practice moves between documentary and editorial portraiture. She is drawn to the silent architecture of a face — the subtle tensions, the restraint, the weight contained in a gaze. Her work explores presence as something fragile yet enduring. Through intimate portraits and fragments of everyday life, she seeks moments where vulnerability and strength coexist without spectacle.

Each image is shaped by light, atmosphere and psychological depth. She is less interested in the surface than in what quietly persists beneath it — memory, identity, time. For her, photography is not about representation, but about what remains.

> Discover her portfolio

Ajay Dsouza

Graduate of the Creative Documentary Photography programme by Magnum Photos & Spéos.

Ajay grew up in a fast-changing Bombay, exploring drawing and painting before finding in the camera his true medium. After a few years in advertising, he began photographing the world around him. A former cricket and football player, he naturally turned to sport, and made it his profession in 2024 by becoming photographer and media manager for Sporting Club Bengaluru — a path that led him to document one of his idols, Ronaldinho, in Chennai in March 2025.

Feeling he could go further, he joined the 2025-2026 cohort of the Creative Documentary Photography course by Magnum Photos x Speos in Paris. The French capital pushed him to think differently and to create more personal images, produced over a longer span of time.

> Discover his portfolio

Well Done to the Entire Class of 2026!

Spéos extends its warmest congratulations to all the students of the Class of 2026 for their creativity, their commitment and the quality of their projects.

> Discover the portfolios of the 2026 students specialising in Studio
> Discover the portfolios of the 2026 students specialising in Photojournalism

A big thank you to everyone who came out in such numbers to support our talents at this end-of-year exhibition!

L’article Spéos Jury Prizes 2026 – The Winners est apparu en premier sur Ecole Photographie Paris.

Magnum Photos and the Spéos School of Photography are delighted to invite you to the opening of FINALFINAL_8, a group exhibition by the students of the Creative Documentary Program by Magnum Photos & Spéos.

Coming from all over the world, the students of the 2025–2026 class have worked on personal stories under the guidance of Magnum photographers.

We are pleased to invite you to the opening on Tuesday, June 2, 2026, starting at 5:30 p.m.

The students, members of Magnum Photos and the Spéos team will be in attendance.

Practical information

• Opening: Tuesday, June 2, 2026, from 5:30 p.m.
• Free admission.
• Exhibition: June 3–5, 2026.
• Venue: Floréal Belleville, 43 rue des Couronnes, 75020 Paris.

Featured photographers

• Ajay DSOUZA
• Ana LECHAPTOIS
• Antoine LEVEN
• Daniel LOFTUS
• Ivan BADANJAK
• Luke O’SHEA
• Pieter ROBBERECHTS
• Zoya RaZaiba HUSSAIN

L’article Magnum x Spéos Exhibition 2026 est apparu en premier sur Ecole Photographie Paris.

Grain is inherent to film photography. Its visibility depends on the image’s magnification ratio on the print. Let us consider a practical example: “Martinique” by André Kertész, taken on January 1, 1972. The photographer used 35mm film. The image is cropped, with grain clearly visible on a medium-sized print such as the one in the Center Pompidou’s collection: image size 19 x 24.8 cm.
On an enlargement like the one at the ICP, where the image measures 39.1 x 49.8 cm, the grain is indeed more pronounced.

Film grain: a matter of enlargement

Around the same time, the American photographer George Tice (1938–2025) used an 8×10-inch (20.4 x 25.4 cm) view camera with Tri-X Pro film, rated at ISO 320. His prints are enlarged only slightly, most often to 40×50 cm, which explains the absence of visible grain, even though their structure is similar to that of the film used by Kertész. In a print, the larger the enlargement, the more visible the grain becomes. 

Digital Grain: It is All About the Balance

When you add grain to a digital image to give it a film-like look, regardless of the software used (DXO FilmPack, Lightroom, Nik Silver Efex), the appearance varies depending on three factors: the image’s pixel count, the amount of grain applied, and the image’s intended use. The same amount of grain applied to a 4000 x 6000-pixel image or a 1000 x 1500-pixel image will result in a different grain pattern on a 10-cm-long print.

You must therefore adjust the grain to suit the print and apply it last, depending on the desired look. In Lightroom and Photoshop (Grain layer), grain is controlled by three sliders. Amount controls the overall intensity of the grain. Size adjusts the size of individual grain particles. Sharpening alters the randomness of the grain, resulting in a smoother or rougher appearance.

Internet and Social Media

If the image is intended for social media, such as Instagram, the recommended resolution is 1080 x 1080 pixels. First, export the image at this resolution, then add grain, adjusting the amount based on the desired effect. Upload the image to the platform and check if it looks right.

For a website, the issue is more complex due to the variety of screen resolutions. Most websites today use responsive design. A Full HD image filling the entire surface of a UHD screen (3840 x 2160 pixels) appears less sharp due to display interpolation.

The grain is diluted. Balancing its presence in post-production is therefore a matter of compromise between the appearance of the grain on a “pixel-for-pixel” display (1 pixel in the image = 1 pixel on the screen) and an interpolated representation.

Resolution and Printing

When it comes to printing, the challenges are different. Each type of printer has a specific dot resolution—the resolution at which the image’s pixels are converted into ink droplets.
For example, on Epson printers up to A2 size, this resolution is 360 ppi. The printer driver automatically interpolates a file with a resolution different from these values.

For grain to be printed without loss of sharpness or structure, it must be incorporated into a file with a resolution identical to the print resolution. Let us take the example of the opening image from a Nikon Df, which is 4928 x 3280 pixels. If we print it at 40 x 60 cm, the file resolution is 4928 pixels/60 cm, or 82.13 pixels/cm, or 208.62 pixels/inch. If I apply grain to this file, it will be slightly distorted by the resolution interpolation, which will increase from 208.62 to 360 ppi in the print driver.

It is therefore better to resample the image to 360 ppi before applying the grain. This way, it will be rendered clearly on the print, as there is no interpolation. That said, the grain size will need to be determined on a case-by-case basis, depending on the desired texture. Testing is essential.
There is no magic formula. Print at the desired size and adjust the grain in the software if it appears too strong or too weak.

Discover the professional photography courses at Spéos

Spéos photography school offers professional photography programs in 1 year, in 2 years, short photography programs (in 2 months and in 5 months), as well as photography workshops.

The long courses to become professional photographers allow you not only to master all the photographic techniques and its vocabulary (blurs, hyperfocus, sharpness zone, depth of field, backlighting, focal length, shutter release, autofocus, wide-angle, rule of thirds, etc.), but also all the stages of shooting and image processing.

Visiting the school allows you to discover the premises, the studios and the equipment, and is undoubtedly the best way to familiarize yourself with your future way of working. This is why, in addition to the open days, Spéos offers throughout the year personalized visits by appointment to come and discover the school with a member of the team.

Text and photos: Philippe Bachelier, teacher of Printing techniques at Spéos

L’article Adjust the grain est apparu en premier sur Ecole Photographie Paris.

A landmark project in the Niépce House restored by Spéos

To mark the bicentenary of the invention of photography, Spéos and the Niépce House have joined forces with the Magnum Photos agency on a major artistic project: a commission awarded to American photographer Gregory Halpern, invited to create an original series at the historic birthplace of photography, in Saint-Loup-de-Varennes, in Burgundy.

This project extends Spéos’s longstanding commitment to the world’s photographic heritage. Since 1999, it has indeed been the Spéos photography school that has been restoring and showcasing the Nicéphore Niépce House — the very place where, two centuries earlier, Niépce perfected photography.

Now designated a Maison des Illustres, this house stands as an essential site for understanding the origins and history of photography.

To make this celebration accessible to as wide an audience as possible, the series produced by Gregory Halpern is being released as a “turnkey exhibition box,” ready to be hung by cultural institutions. Distribution and sales of the box are handled by Magnum Photos.

Gregory Halpern, the fourth artist invited to the Niépce House

With this project, Gregory Halpern becomes the fourth artist to work at the Niépce House, following Paolo Roversi, Daido Moriyama and Janine Niépce. The photographer stayed on site for several days, observing the light, the volumes and the traces of time that permeate this historic place.

This residency gave him the opportunity to reflect on Niépce’s founding gesture and on the birth of the photographic gaze: “I wanted to spend time at Niépce’s window, to reflect on the original desire to fix an image and on the birth of an idea that would go on to shape the modern imagination,” he confides.

G. Halpern envisioned the window through which Niépce produced, in 1827, the famous Point de vue du Gras — regarded as the earliest surviving photograph — as a primitive viewfinder, and the house itself as a vast camera. Rather than documenting the site, his images visually explore time, light and the memory of place. Through fragments, details and atmospheres, the series sets the origin of photography in dialogue with contemporary creation.

A strong link with the Rochester Institute of Technology

This collaboration carries particular meaning for Spéos: Gregory Halpern teaches photography at the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT), an institution with which Spéos has partnered for more than 40 years. The project illustrates the wealth of international bridges the school has built around fine-art photography and the transmission of knowledge.

A graduate of Harvard University and of the California College of the Arts, Gregory Halpern now lives in Rochester, in the State of New York. A Guggenheim Fellow, he is represented by Magnum Photos and ranks among the most acclaimed contemporary photographers of his generation.

The author of eight monographs, he has for several years been developing a body of work attentive to landscapes, atmospheres and collective narrative, offering a poetic reading of reality and probing the way territories nourish our imagination.

His photographs are held in the collections of major international institutions: the Museum of Modern Art (New York), the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, and the Fotomuseum Antwerpen. His work is also represented in the collections of the Henri Cartier-Bresson Foundation and the Fondation d’entreprise Hermès.

The Niépce House, fully restored and safeguarded by Spéos since 1999

The Nicéphore Niépce House holds a unique place in visual history. It was in this family home, in Saint-Loup-de-Varennes, that between 1816 and 1832 Niépce conducted his research into fixing images by means of light, eventually inventing photography in 1824. There he developed heliography, a process based on the use of bitumen of Judea applied to a surface (stone, tin, copper, glass, and then a silvered plate) exposed to light.

The house still preserves today the rooms in which these pioneering experiments were conducted. Engaged in its restoration since 1999, the Spéos school has turned it into a major heritage site dedicated to passing on the history of photography. Two centuries after Niépce’s invention, this place remains the symbolic starting point of the photographic medium.

A ready-to-hang exhibition for cultural institutions

To broaden the project’s reach, Gregory Halpern’s series is offered as a fully prepared photographic exhibition box. Media libraries, town halls, cultural centers, art schools, universities, museums, heritage venues and French Institutes abroad can therefore host a contemporary exhibition built around the bicentenary of photography, with no production constraints.

The box brings together everything required for installation: the photographic prints from the series produced at the Niépce House, the introductory texts, the captions and information about the works, and the installation guidelines. It is a solution designed to be easy to purchase, quick to ship and simple to install across a wide variety of cultural venues.

Practical information

• Exhibition: Maison Niépce × Gregory Halpern
• Format: ready-to-hang photographic exhibition box
• Prints: 19 photographs, 50 cm wide, accompanied by 3 texts
• Installation footprint: 50 cm × 22 panels, i.e. 11 linear meters (plus the spaces between panels)
• Price: €3,500
• Distribution: Magnum Photos
• Acquisition contact: Andrea Holzherr — andrea.holzherr@magnumphotos.com

Spéos, an active partner of the bicentenary

By linking the heritage of the Niépce House with the contemporary creation championed by Gregory Halpern and Magnum Photos, Spéos reaffirms its mission: to keep the history of photography alive while supporting the visual writings of today. Every image made in 2026 traces, in one way or another, its roots back to Nicéphore Niépce’s visionary invention — and it is this dialogue between origin and creation that this project sets out to celebrate.

› Visit the Niépce House

L’article Spéos celebrates 200 years of photography with Gregory Halpern and Magnum Photos est apparu en premier sur Ecole Photographie Paris.

Every year, Spéos photography school stages its much-anticipated end-of-year exhibition — a two-day event that showcases the richness, creativity and diversity of the projects produced by its graduating students.

The Spéos 2026 exhibition will take place on Wednesday 20 and Thursday 21 May 2026, from 5 pm to 9 pm, at the school’s premises, 6, 7 and 8 rue Jules Vallès – 75011 Paris. Admission is free, with no booking required.

The culmination of one or two years of work

Each year, Spéos throws open the doors of its studios for what has become an unmissable date in the calendar. For two days, the walls of the school turn into a living gallery, displaying the work of the graduating students of the Class of 2026.

The exhibition marks the culmination of one or more years of intensive work. It is a rare opportunity to discover the fresh, singular viewpoints of a new generation of photographers shaped by the school.

A diversity of voices and visions

Fashion photography, long-form reportage, documentary projects, artistic explorations, intimate series, contemporary experiments: the exhibition faithfully reflects the wide range of perspectives that take shape at Spéos.

Every image on display is the fruit of demanding training, personal research and self-questioning — patient work that here finds its full public dimension.

Meet the photographers

Beyond the images themselves, an entire generation of photographers comes into view.

Visiting the Spéos exhibition means discovering distinctive visual voices in preview, talking directly with the artists — all present to share their projects, their choices and their influences — and immersing yourself in the creative energy of a school where photography is lived, thought through and passed on every day.

An exhibition for everyone

Whether you are an industry professional, a photography enthusiast, a prospective student or simply curious, this exhibition is an invitation to see the world differently — through the eyes of those who will soon be its next witnesses.

Practical information

> See the exhibitions of the previous years

Students from the Spéos Class of 2026

• Julie AREIAS
• Stephanie ARNAIZ
• Ivan BADANJAK
• Seungbeom BAEK
• Mayeul BALBOUS
• Mathis BAUR ZAMBAUX
• Sacha BELLOIR
• Adèle BERTSCHY
• Maneska BEUQUE
• Ismaël BOULAKHSAS-PÉRÉ
• Susan BROOKS
• Eléa BUTIN
• Nicholas BUTORAC
• Lou-Ann CADET
• Jules CALLIN
• Giovanni CAUSARANO
• Iveta CELMINA
• Aliyah CHASE
• Maéva CHAZÉ
• Xinxin CHEN
• Seohyeon CHO
• Bettina CLAUSS
• Kylee CROMWELL
• Virginie DEMIRDJIAN
• Shana DEWSLEY
• Katrina DOBBERMANE
• Rino DOMI
• Ajay DSOUZA
• Léa DURRIEUX
• Danil ELEZOV
• Delfina FACCINI
• Arsène FAISSAT
• Léa FATOUT
• Ana Laura FISCHER
• Floriane FURIC
• Agnese GARRONE
• Alma GARZO
• Mariam GHALIM
• Eva GOMES REGAL
• Mabel HERNANDEZ
• HESOIA.
• Zoya RaZaiba HUSSAIN
• Mariah IBRAHIMA
• Yanis IDERKOU
• Jonathan JACOB
• Lilou JOLY
• Louane JOSSART
• Sabri KACED
• Apostolos KALFOPOULOS
• Mania KINTARO
• Azélie KIRCHE
• Soline LANG
• Ana LECHAPTOIS
• Benjamin LEGRAND HOTE
• Charlène LEHMANN
• Elias LERIDON
• Lucie LESCURE
• Antoine LEVEN
• Kaixin LI
• Alicia LIDDY
• Daniel LOFTUS
• Léa LOPRETE
• Chabela MADERO
• Electra MANNARA
• Agathe MAX
• Mafer MENDOZA
• Flavie MERTZ
• Anisha MUKHERJEE
• Matthieu MULLER
• Katsusuke NISHINA
• Luke O’SHEA
• Onimspics
• Nicole PENNEQUIN
• Lucie PLASSE
• Dorian RATTE
• Laurine RECH
• Justine REGNIER
• Tifaine RÉGNIER
• Shana REISSMAN
• Nicola RICCI
• Pieter ROBBERECHTS
• Sarah ROLLAND
• Swan SENG
• Ilan SERRE
• Devika SINHA
• Julia SMITH-EPPSTEINER
• Marianne SURET-CANALE
• Landry TAILLEFERT
• Samii TAN
• Olga Maria THEOFILA
• Rose TOMY
• Midori UNOKO
• Rémi VALLAT
• Nicole VALLEJO LOPEZ
• Johanna VILLEMIN
• Shuang WU
• Maison WZATLAS
• Dongdong YAO
• Yiqing ZHU

L’article Spéos 2026 End-of-Year Exhibition est apparu en premier sur Ecole Photographie Paris.

For digital photographers who love black and white, the classic film aesthetic endures. Interestingly, the Adobe Photo Suite (Lightroom and Photoshop) black-and-white conversion tools don’t explicitly reference film. Yet, before digital, professionals carefully selected specific film types and developers to achieve their desired grayscale range. We can certainly adopt this historical approach as inspiration for converting our modern digital images.

From Lightroom to Silver Efex

DXO has been working on recreating the look of film in digital files for 20 years with its FilmPack software, which offers a wide variety of film simulations. Specifically for black-and-white photography, the Nik Collection—acquired by DXO in 2017 and regularly updated—offers film simulations through Silver Efex, a program included in the collection that is dedicated to monochrome photography and highly regarded by many professionals.
Silver Efex works as a plugin for Lightroom and Photoshop. It does not process RAW files directly, but rather their TIFF, PSD, or JPEG versions. In our example, we’ll start with Lightroom. 

Silver Efex films

Upon opening the image in Silver Efex, the initial conversion to black and white is applied without any film emulation. This conversion uses the CIELAB* color model, mapping color values to grayscale based on their inherent brightness.
No tonal curve is active; the curve remains linear (diagonal). The default settings for grain are neutral: Grain per pixel is set to 500, and Grain Hardness is 0%, effectively adding no visible grain.

Film simulation involves replicating the unique characteristics of each photographic emulsion, including its specific color and tonal responses, as well as its grain structure. For instance, different films render the gray tones of a blue sky distinctly—an Ilford Delta 100 simulation might show them slightly brighter than a Fujifilm Acros 100 simulation. To accurately simulate a particular film, Silver Efex applies the corresponding, unique tonal response curve and grain settings.

Customizing settings

These settings are fully adjustable. The color sliders (red, green, blue, yellow, magenta, and cyan) control the brightness of the gray tones that correspond to those specific colors. The curve points can be manipulated by moving them closer to or farther from the diagonal line, which functions similarly to curve adjustments in software like Lightroom or Photoshop. To remove a curve point, simply double-click it.

Grain is controlled as follows. The Grain per Pixel slider ranges from 1 to 500. At 1, the software generates grain clusters that are very large relative to the image pixels. At 500, the grain is “split” or “diluted” over an area so small that it becomes smaller than the size of a physical pixel.
Result: it becomes invisible to the naked eye, and the rendering becomes perfectly smooth.
When the Grain Hardness slider is set to the left, it softens the grain, similar to that of film; when set to the right, the grain is sharper, like digital noise.

Global and local adjustments

The curve associated with each film is not the only setting for adjusting brightness or contrast.
In the left panel, under the Filters section, Basic Adjustments offers multiple adjustments: brightness, contrast, and structure. Silver Efex’s structure setting is equivalent to the clarity setting in Lightroom. It increases or decreases the image’s microcontrast. In black and white, microcontrast plays a very important role: it adds depth to the image. The Basic Adjustments panel includes local adjustments, similar to those found in Lightroom, but without the automatic selection options for sky, object, or person.

Structure
Adjusting the structure enhances the image’s microcontrast, mirroring the effect of boosting a print’s contrast in a conventional darkroom. This contrast adjustment can be applied across the entire range of gray levels, spanning from the deepest shadows to the brightest highlights.

42 film simulations

The list of films in the right-hand panel (Film types) dates back to the early versions of Silver Efex, before it was acquired by DXO. It contains 28 films. The latest versions of the software include an additional list of films, drawn from DXO’s expertise in film simulation, particularly through its FilmPack software. They are available in the filter list on the left panel, in the Film Grain (Branded) section. This brings the total to 42 simulations. It’s a fascinating journey into the world of film grain, as these settings do not apply any curves or color brightness sliders.

Note that with these simulations, we recommend removing the Original Grain adjustment by setting the Grain per Pixel sliders to 500 and the Grain Hardness to 0%. Otherwise, the two grain adjustments will combine and may produce an unsatisfactory result. The Intensity slider allows you to reduce or increase the amount of grain in the image (default value 100%). Grain Size adjusts the fineness of the grain; finer on the left, coarser on the right (default value 1).

Discover the professional photography courses at Spéos

Spéos photography school offers professional photography programs in 1 year, in 2 years, short photography programs (in 2 months and in 5 months), as well as photography workshops.

The long courses to become professional photographers allow you not only to master all the photographic techniques and its vocabulary (blurs, hyperfocus, sharpness zone, depth of field, backlighting, focal length, shutter release, autofocus, wide-angle, rule of thirds, etc.), but also all the stages of shooting and image processing.

Visiting the school allows you to discover the premises, the studios and the equipment, and is undoubtedly the best way to familiarize yourself with your future way of working. This is why, in addition to the open days, Spéos offers throughout the year personalized visits by appointment to come and discover the school with a member of the team.

Text and photos: Philippe Bachelier, teacher of Printing techniques at Spéos

L’article Silver Efex: The World in Black and White est apparu en premier sur Ecole Photographie Paris.

Are you looking for a photography school in Paris to turn your passion into a professional career? Join our upcoming live webinars and discover how you can study photography in Paris and become a professional photographer.

Those interactive sessions are designed for anyone interested in professional photography training in Paris and wishing to learn more about programs that combines creative development, technical mastery, and entrepreneurial skills.

Reserve Your Spot!

May 2026

June 2026

> Check out the dates for Spéos webinars and open house events

Meet the Spéos Team and Hear from a Former Student

This live webinar will include:

• A presentation by Félix Cornu, Recruitment Officer at Spéos
• A testimonial from a former student, sharing her experience studying photography in Paris
• A live Q&A session, where participants can ask questions about the program, admission process, and student life in Paris

Why Study Photography in Paris?

Paris is one of the world’s most inspiring cities for photographers. From fashion and art to documentary and commercial photography, the city offers countless opportunities for creative exploration and professional development.

By joining Spéos, students benefit from:

• An international learning environment
• Access to professional equipment and studios
• A network of industry professionals and Alumni worldwide

We look forward to meeting you online and helping you take the next step toward your future as a professional photographer!

L’article Join our live webinar: 10 June, 2026! est apparu en premier sur Ecole Photographie Paris.

Spéos International Photography School is pleased to announce a new educational collaboration with the International Center of Photography (ICP), a leading institution based in New York.

As of summer 2026, ICP and Spéos will jointly offer an introductory professional photography program in Paris, bringing together the expertise and creative communities of both institutions.

Program Structure and Location

The first edition of this summer program will take place in June and July 2026 and will last for 8 weeks.

The program will be taught in English and will take place on location at the Spéos Campus in Paris.

Classes will be jointly taught by ICP and Spéos instructors, creating a dynamic learning environment, where students benefit from diverse perspectives and approaches to photographic practice, combining the international teaching traditions of both schools.

Learning Experience

Participants will have the opportunity to explore photographic techniques and visual storytelling, while working in one of the world’s most iconic cultural capitals.

This program is designed for:

• international students interested in studying photography in Paris
• beginners
• advanced amateurs
• artists
• aspiring photographers 

Participants will evolve in an international environment combining studio work, classroom dialogue, as well as photographic exploration throughout the city.

About The International Center of Photography

The International Center of Photography (ICP) is the world’s leading institution dedicated to photography and visual culture. Cornell Capa founded ICP in 1974 to champion “concerned photography”—socially and politically minded images that can educate and change the world. 

Education has always been core to ICP’s mission. Through exhibitions, education programs, and public programs, ICP offers an open forum for dialogue about the power of the image. 

Since its inception, ICP has presented more than 700 exhibitions, provided thousands of classes, partnered with international organizations, and hosted a wide variety of public programs including the annual Infinity Awards. 

ICP is based at 84 Ludlow Street on Manhattan’s Lower East Side and at icp.org.

The ICP x Spéos Summer Photography Program in Paris reflects the shared commitment of ICP and Spéos to advancing international photography education and fostering creative exchange.

> See the official Press Release on the ICP website
> Read the ICP Press Release

Admissions

Applications for the ICP x Spéos Summer Photography Program are managed directly by Spéos.

All candidates must therefore apply through the Spéos website:
> To apply for the ICP x Spéos program
> More about the ICP x Spéos program

L’article International Center of Photography partners with Spéos to launch a new program in Paris est apparu en premier sur Ecole Photographie Paris.