Introduction to Film Photography – Part 1, Film

Content and images copyright Kristian Andrews 2024

Hello again everyone, and welcome to this series of posts introducing film photography. If you are a seasoned pro then these may not be the posts for you, but if you are just starting out then I hope you will find it useful.

I have been shooting lots of different types of films since the 1980s so hopefully I can share some of my experience with you to get up you and running quickly.

The topics we will cover include:

• What is Film Photography?
• Types of 35mm film
• Types of film cameras
• How to load film
• Shooting with film
• Developing and scanning film

Today we will cover the first two topics, giving you some background on what film is, and showing the different types of film available.

Introduction

Today in 2024 there is a resurgence in film photography, with new films and cameras being introduced by major brands. Over the last 20 years there have been almost no new consumer film cameras introduced and many films were discontinued, but recently we have seen this trend being partially reversed. Some of the major names in film photography, such as Kodak, Ilford, and Fujifilm, have been introducing new products for the first time in years.

While there is now a wide variety of films available the selection of new film cameras is quite limited, and so I think the best way to get a good quality film camera today is to look on the used market. If you are buying used you either need to go to a reputable dealer or make sure you know what you are looking for so you don’t end up with a dud. Prices for used cameras have increased recently but you can still pick up some bargains if you look around and have patience.

Hopefully after reading these articles you will have a better idea of what to look out for!

What is Film Photography?

If you take a photo on a mobile phone or digital camera then the image is captured electronically using a sensor and stored as a file. The key difference with film photography is that instead of capturing the image with a sensor it is captured on the film by a chemical change that happens when it is exposed to light.

This means 2 practical things for when you are using film:

1. You can’t view the image immediately, it has to be developed with a chemical process before it can be seen.
2. You have to protect undeveloped film from light. Any light that hits the undeveloped film will ruin it and remove any images you previously took.

Film developing makes the captured images visible on the film and also makes the film stable in light so that you can view it without destroying the images. As you will see below, most developed film will show a negative image (this is why developed film is often called ‘negatives’) where things that were black in the real world are white on film and the other way around.

Once you have your negatives they can then be printed or scanned so that they can be viewed on your computer or phone. As the image on the film is often negative this does involve conversion back to a positive image.

When you shoot on film you can still end up with a digital image file, but there are quite a few extra steps and costs involved. There is plenty of debate online on whether shooting on film offers something that can’t be done with a digital camera but I’m not here to debate that point. The main reasons I enjoy film photography are:

1. I end up with a real physical product, and in 100 years time there is still a chance someone could look at those photos while my digital files and online photos will most likely be long gone.
2. Using film allows me to experiment with old cameras and lenses. I have quite a few old film cameras and part of the fun for me is playing around with these to see the results I can get.
3. Using film forces me to be more considered in my approach. Because of the limitations and costs I can’t simply take 20 shots of the same subject to see which comes out the best.
4. Film photography is an exercise in accepting uncertainty. You won’t know how your shots have come out until they are developed.

So, assuming you want to get started using film, let’s first take a look at the types of film that are available.

Types of 35mm Film

I would recommend starting out with 35mm film if you are just getting into film photography. This way you can try it out with minimal expense and then move on to other formats if and when you want to. The 35mm film format is the most popular today, the main reasons for this are:

1. There are plenty of 35mm film cameras available on the used market
2. It is the format with the widest variety of available film types
3. The film is compact and easy to use
4. Developing and scanning are much easier than larger formats.
5. The images are good enough quality for most purposes

35mm film, officially called ‘135 film’ is a long strip of film 35mm (1.4 inches) wide that is wound up inside a metal or plastic canister. The length of the film depends on the number of shots it says on the packet, 35mm film is typically available in 24 and 36 exposure lengths. This means that on one roll of film you can take 24 or 36 standard photos. If you have an unusual camera like a half-frame or panoramic camera then the number of shots will be different.

Film comes in 3 main varieties:

• Black and white negative film
• Colour negative film
• Colour reversal film (slide film)

Black and White Film

Black and white film is a good place to start; the film is cheaper than colour film and is much easier to scan if you plan to do it at home, mostly because you don’t need to worry about getting the colours right!

There are quite a few different B&W films on the market, a few of the more popular films are listed below:

• Ilford FP4+ – a medium speed film with fine grain
• Ilford HP5+ – a high speed film with a more grainy image
• Kodak 400 TX – a classic high speed black and white film that was used in photojournalism

There are many different black and white films available today, I recently counted 20 different brands on a popular film photography store and there is nothing to stop you trying out as many as you can to find your favourites.

Two important aspects of B&W film are closely linked, grain and speed. Grain is tricky to describe but easy to see. In the images below you can see two example images, one with small grain and other with more pronounced grain. There is no correct amount of grain, some people like grainy images while others prefer no grain at all, you can try both and decide for yourself what you prefer in a film. Typically a film with higher speed will have more grain, and different films can have very different looking grain even at the same speed.

The images below are from slower (ISO 125) and faster (ISO 400) films. There is a noticeable difference in the size of the grain, with the ISO 125 film giving a smoother look that can capture more detail. As you can see, the difference is not dramatic between these films, only when you get to high speed films, such as ISO 1600, does the grain become a lot more pronounced.

The speed of a film refers to how sensitive it is to light. Speed is measure in ISO, a low speed film will have an ISO of around 100 or less, while a high speed film will be ISO 400 or higher. You can find films much lower and higher speeds than this but most you see will range from ISO 100 to 400. An ISO 400 film is 4x as sensitive to light as an ISO 100 film, and so can be more useful if you plan to shoot in low light or indoors.

There are other types of black and white film for specialist applications, such as copying documents or taking infrared photos, but I would start with a basic B&W film and move on from there.

Colour Negative Film

Colour negative film is another popular choice for film photographers. The film itself is a little more expensive than black and white but of course if you want to shoot in colour it is a much better choice!

Some popular colour films are:

• Kodak Gold 200 – a medium speed film with vibrant colours
• Kodak Colorplus 200 – a budget medium speed film
• Kodak Portra 400 – high speed film ideal for portraits, more expensive
• Fujifilm 200 – medium speed everyday film

There are plenty of types of colour film you can buy, but probably not as many as B&W as it is more complex to make.

The speed of colour film is measured in exactly the same way as B&W film, and you also see similar increased in grain as the ISO increases. The grain in colour film does look quite different to B&W, so again feel free to experiment to see what you prefer.

When shooting colour film you also need to consider the colour balance. Every light source such as the sun or a lightbulb has a different colour, for example the sun at noon could be considered pure white while lightbulbs are typically a lot more yellow. This is important for film as it is designed to show colour correctly in a certain type of light, a film will typically show ‘Daylight’ or ‘Tungsten’ on the box to show the type of light it is designed for. If you use a film in the wrong type of light the colours will look completely wrong, but this can be corrected by using a filter on your lens.

To use a daylight film with indoor lighting you can use a cooling (blue) 80A filter that filters out the extra yellow light, and to use a Tungsten balanced film in daylight you do the opposite by using a warming (amber) 85 filter. These filters help to make the colours look a lot more natural when you need to use a film in the wrong type of light, but are an added bit of complexity. There are many different filters to correct for different types of light, but that is a topic for another post.

Colour Reversal (Slide) Film

Up until the 1990’s colour reversal film, also called slide film, was very popular with commercial photographers as it was much easier to print from than negative film for magazines or other publications, and could also be viewed directly without needing to reverse the image. Slide film was quite popular with amateurs at one point and was often used with a slide projector to share images with friends and family. Once digital photography took hold the market for slide film disappeared, and so unfortunately we have lost most of the slide films now, with only a few types remaining.

Some popular slide films:

• Kodak Ektachrome E100 – medium speed with vibrant colours
• Fujifilm Provia 100F – medium speed excellent quality
• Adox Scala 50 – A black and white slide film (not easy to find processing)

Slide film is renowned for having very fine grain and for providing sharp images with excellent colours, however it is a lot less forgiving for beginners as you need to get the exposure exactly correct. Slide film is also very expensive and buy and develop compared to colour or B&W negative films. Because of this I would not recommend using slide film if you are just starting out.

As with colour negative film you do need to be aware of the colour balance of the film. The same colour correction filters can be used to keep everything looking natural.

That wraps up our quick look at films, in the next post I will introduce the main types of film cameras you can use these films in. See you again soon!