Film photography is coming back, baby, and it is back in style!

It is, in some way, a spectacular comeback, considering how overwhelming digital photography is these days. A truly majestic feat for something that should, in many ways, be dead already. But why is it not?

Well, there are many reasons, in fact. You could easily discard this old geezer by looking at his competition fuelled with hundreds of Megapixels and AI-driven autofocus points, an old timer standing in a ring against small mobile phones that take pictures looking like million dollars. Why, then, do so many people decide to use film to take pictures?

The Look

One of the main reasons so many people are shifting towards film is the unique look of analogue photography. It is different, no doubt about it. Despite digital filters and presets available for you to emulate the film look, it is impossible to replicate the texture, grain and colour science of the film roll. It just isn’t the same. Once developed, your film will render a truly vintage, palpable almost, tasty toast of goodness, like a freshly baked loaf of bread, crunchy, alive, organic. Damn, you can’t fake it, simple as that!

*Fantastic looking image by Tahusa shot on Leica film. Amazing grain and colours.*

Scalability

When George Lucas decided to film his new Star Wars prequels, he was hugely impressed with digital technology and picked digital cameras over the traditional film that he used for his original Star Wars Trilogy. Everything seemed just better back then (The prequels were shot in 1999), but many years later when he decided to restore all of his movies and bumped them all up to today’s standards, he realised that his Prequel Trilogy just couldn’t scale up to new norms. Digital does not translate gently to higher resolutions so in the end the final restoration looked like crap. At the same time, the original Trilogy that was shot on film – beautifully rendered the picture because film can be scanned gracefully and does not suffer resolution uplifts. Many old films still look like gold now, while the old digital camera pictures aged like goat milk. Seriously.

*Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980). You can clearly see it was shot on film.*

Process

Shooting film is very rewarding, it takes time and effort to take a good picture with an old-fashioned camera, but once that happens – there is no feeling like the proud achievement of looking at a beautifully taken photograph. When you nail the exposure and sharpness, then, my friend, you are in high heaven of analogue fiesta. Shooting takes consideration and focus because your roll has a limited number of shots and you have to think carefully about how to position and set your camera before pulling the damn trigger. There is something humbling and exciting in rolling the next frame of the film, witnessing the gritty feel of mechanical triggers, rings, and contraptions of the camera. It just looks elegant and groovy at the same time.

*Old fashion cameras are just sexy. Approved by Her Majesty.*

The simplicity for absolute beginners.

This guide is not an elaborate brick for encyclopaedic freaks, it is a simple introduction for those who heard the rumours, peeped over someone’s shoulder and found a beauty in the vintage look of a photo. Knowing those basic rules will be a perfect entry point to get those shutters rolling in your camera.

Film is easy to use, you load the roll into a camera and shoot. It is simple… aaand it isn’t at the same time. The basic jest of it is easy to learn, the devil is in the detail though, and the more you know – the better your shots will be.

Camera

For absolute beginners I would recommend getting a simple, disposable film camera, just to test yourself and check if you are really into it. Those cameras are relatively easy to use, already loaded with film and handy to carry. Just pick one from your local store and use it alongside another device you take the pictures with, just to have a backup (it’s great for holiday pictures).

If you are lucky and your grandparents lend you their old camera or you managed to find a great deal online – take some time to learn how to use it in the first place. Each model is slightly different from another if it comes to operating those devices. I simply recommend just typing the model name of your camera on YouTube and looking for instruction videos on how to load and use the camera. It is much better to actually see how it’s done than read some elaborate manuals (that can be done later on, once you’re hooked).

*Most old cameras are cheap, but there are some luxury brands like this Leica M6 worth over £6000.*

Film

You have the camera - now, it’s time to load the film. But which one you should choose? Truth be told, every film brand is different, it's like a favourite pair of shoes – all shoes will let you walk, but just the specific ones will catch your attention, either because they are comfortable, or good-looking. Film is no different, once you start shooting regularly you will notice that it varies in contrast, grain, and colour rendition. Some are shifting colours towards yellow, others magenta, some will give that dreamy look, others will be extra solid. If you must know exactly how each brand of film behaves – just google it and take a look at some sample pictures from the web.

There are also different sizes of film, depending on what camera you are using. The most common format is a 35mm film, the one you have probably seen before, but there are also different formats like Medium Format 120mm films (These are huge and require cameras that can fit them inside) or APS and 110 old type of rolls that are not produced anymore but can be purchased from individual sellers. If you are not sure which one you need, just ask in-store, or google your camera (yeah, google baby, the answer to all our prayers).

Warning: One important thing – film is extremely sensitive to light, once loaded inside the camera – don’t open it until you finish shooting, and roll it back into the canister. If you let the light hit the film - it will destroy it. If you have problems rolling it back in, just take the camera into your local lab and ask a member of staff to do it for you. They will probably open it in a dark room to eliminate any chance of light exposure.

This film will be later on soaked in various chemicals to bring your pictures back to life. The developing process of the film, as much as it is fascinating, should not concern you at this point, but maybe later you will decide to do it yourself. In that case, you can find a lot of guides online on how to do that in your home lab settings.

Once developed, and you can actually see the pictures in your negative – it is absolutely safe to take it out. Usually, labs have a dedicated film scanner that they feed the film into to convert the negative into a digital file. From there it is a straightforward, easy ride – you can get your pictures printed or saved on your device to proudly share with friends.

*35mm film rolls come with different ISO and number of exposures (number of pictures you can take)*.

*120mm film is bigger and used by different type of cameras.*

What’s that ISO and numbers and stuff?

Yeah, so you will see that there are some numbers printed on the roll, some high, some lower. ISO number stands for International Organisation for Standardisation – and it’s a measurement standard for Film sensitivity. But forget about this mambo jambo jargon bullshit now and think about it simply as the Light Sensitivity of the film. Basically, the higher the number – the brighter your pictures can be under poor light conditions. When you shoot something in bright daylight, on a sunny day – you won’t need a film with high ISO, you already have the sun (not the newspaper, just to be clear) doing the job for you. In that case, something like ISO 50 – 200 should be more than enough. But sometimes you will be forced to shoot in indoor, darker conditions, where there isn’t much light to help make your pictures clear. Then you would probably go for something bigger (some films are getting those ISO numbers in thousands even). If you are stuck with low ISO film in the nightclub or apartment at night, you can help yourself with a flash (if your camera has one). Just remember that light travels and spreads around, so if your subject is standing far, that light might not be strong enough to reach it by the time the picture is taken – on the other hand, subjects standing too close will be flashed so much, it will turn them into a blob of white.

Settings and calculations

I won’t bore you with all the math behind shooting on film this time, but I might consider writing a separate article about it as the camera settings like Shutter Speed and the Aperture of the lens are huge factors impacting the way your photos look. Those same settings apply even to your digital cameras and phones, so it is definitely useful knowledge to possess. Most electronic film cameras do have an automatic mode that will do the job for you, same with the disposable cameras called very adequate Point & Shoot as you literally don’t have to do anything else than that.

If you want to have much more control over the way your photos look, it will be inevitable for you to learn the basic rules of photography in general.

Film photography for beginners