Oh now this is one of my favorite things.
Shooting film.
It has changed my life.
I hardly edit photos anymore which means more shooting and playing with the kids time.
My colors are just how I want them to be. Real life. Bright and fun. And the light. Oh well the light.
[blogshow id=c2b2 player=0 autoplay=0 toolbar=1]And a secret? Shooting film is easy. Its simple.
There is a lot to shooting film — way more than one blog post.
But for this post, I’ll tell how I got started and transitioned to film in the easiest way possible.
Black and White Came First
My first photography class at a local college 9 years ago was black and white in the dark room. I bought a Canon rebel film camera from Costco and fell in love with photography. After the class I switched to digital (because that’s what everyone was doing and I thought I needed to). But my black and white never looked the same so I still shot some black and white in my old canon rebel but used my new Canon L lens I had gotten for the digital.
[blogshow id=c2b8 player=0 autoplay=0 toolbar=1]Lomography
I didn’t think much about film vs. digital until I ran across this book — Hot Shots (a how to shoot film book by Lomokev) — in Urban Outfitters. All lomography. All about how to shoot film with super easy to follow directions for like $10. Within a week I had gotten my first lomography cameras and some film and was shooting away. I had a cheap camera (olympus xa2) from ebay, 35mm film and went to Long’s drugs to process. Not expensive and highly addicting.
Using My Lenses on Cheap Film Cameras
Then I did what every digital shooter can and should do. I used my expensive Canon L lens (or your Nikon lenses) on my Canon rebel film camera (or you can get a Canon EOS 3 or a Nikon F100) and started shooting 35mm film. Easy as pie and cheap as all get out. Because its the lens that matter — not so much the camera — with film.
I started out using the AV settings (automatic settings.. I just set the aperture -how shallow a focus distance I wanted) and used my exposure compensation to overexpose 2 stops (+2) if I was shooting into the light (back light) to make up for the camera’s meter seeing all that light. And taking my film to the local drug store to process. And boy did I fall in love.
[blogshow id=c2ba player=0 autoplay=0 toolbar=1]Shooting Film is Like Christmas Everyday
I don’t mean to be over the top but it is like Christmas everyday. I love sending my film in to the lab (Richard Photo Lab, Indie Film Lab, and FIND lab are my favorite go to labs) and then receiving my scans back via ftp in 2 weeks. Yes, scans.. and then its all the same as digital minus the post processing. Anticipation and Joy.
And the actual shooting is so much more fun that digital. I find myself more present because I can’t look at the back of my camera (well I can but there is nothing to see :)). I think more. I shoot way way less. But have more keepers. It’s a crazy joyous thing.
[blogshow id=c2b4 player=0 autoplay=0 toolbar=1]Medium Format and my best friend the Light Meter
But when my friend hired Jonathan Canlas as her wedding photographer and showed me his site, I found out about Film Is Not Dead workshops. I attended FIND and started shooting medium format with a light meter. That was my game changer. (we will talk more about that later). Let’s just say that medium format film cameras looks just so rich and deep and unlike anything digital.
[blogshow id=c2bc player=0 autoplay=0 toolbar=1]You can get his workshop now in book form for cheap, cheap, cheap! Buy Film Is Not Dead: A Digital Photographer’s Guide to Shooting Film (Voices That Matter) and it will tell you everything you want to know. Of course I way recommend you attend the workshop too if you are really into it. Its an experience you shouldn’t miss.
That was two years ago. Since FIND I sold the digital and shoot 100% film. My business has taken off — more features, more clients, more money, more fun.
And the most important thing? I have just the best photos of my kids growing up and shooting film makes me happy. Every. Single. Day.
We will talk more about exposure, metering, camera choices etc. in coming weeks. But here are some tips and examples from our readers:
[blogshow id=c2c0 player=0 autoplay=0 toolbar=1]And to top it all off.. since its the Christmas season.. we are giving away a Jonathan Canlas – Film Is Not Dead book.
Just:
1. Like us
2. Share this post;
3. Leave us a comment!!!!
Our favorite 35mm films:
Kodak Portra-800 135-36 Professional Color Print Film (ISO-800) , Kodak 135-36 35mm Ektar 100 Color Negative Film (36 Exposure) ,Fujifilm Pro 400H 135-36 Fujicolor Professional Color Negative (Print) Film (ISO 400)
Our favorite medium format films:
Fujifilm Pro 400H 120 Professional Color Negative (Print) Film – 5 Rolls
Kodak 220 Professional Portra 400 Color Negative Film (One Roll)
Kodak Portra-800 120 Color Print Film (ISO-800) – Pro Pack 5 Rolls
And tomorrow we will talk a bit about processing digital to look clean!!!
thanks everyone who submitted!
This is wonderful, thank you so much for sharing your wisdom and insight!
Thank you for letting me have a word here!
great article, thanks!
I am the one who emailed you with the suggestion for a technique Thursday on shooting film. So excited to see this post, and it is filled with such great tips. And it really is like Christmas, I am waiting to get scans back from Indie film lab, and the anticipation of it is like waiting for Christmas morning, and I am sure downloading and seeing all those scans will be like opening the best Christmas present.
thanks Jennifer and you weren’t the only one! seems to be a popular idea. It is like Christmas every day, right? So much fun. Try submitting your work.. we want to see too!
I’m saving my pennies to go to FIND next November in New Orleans… this book looks amazing and I am dying to learn film from the best!
You won!
I LOVE Film – need this book. It’s on my Christmas list!
Learning how to properly shoot film is on my bucket list for 2013 (and winning the book would help immensly). Shared the post on FB.
Medium format continues to be my favorite. Love your work, Wendy!
Great article and fun reading how people got started!
P.S. I do “Like” your page 🙂
Shared it on my Facebook! Here’s to hoping I win 🙂 (I liked your Facebook page months ago!)
Oh, I would love to learn film!! It’s so rich. This would be an awesome prize! I already ‘like’ you, and shared this post.:)
I need to get off my lazy butt and submit something to you guys!
started on film, went to digital…so ready to return.
This is really encouraging! I’ve done a very little bit of film shooting, but am ready to get back to it! Thanks for a great giveaway!
I went to school with Jon, and I learned on film. I used to spend countless hours in the darkroom and LOVED it. But I haven’t shot any film for years – like 4 years. And I think I need a refresher course. It would be great to have Jon’s book. 🙂
I like you.
I shared on fb.
https://www.facebook.com/melinda.thao.5/posts/424546397600960
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