In February 2020, I took the plunge to start learning to shoot analog film. It's definitely a bit of a learning curve but I've been enjoying the process every step of the way. So come join me here on this page as I write about my experience stepping into the film world and learn along with me. I'll share both the successes and the struggles along the way in hopes you can learn a little bit from both!
Tips For Starting Out
Here are some tips others gave me to help me get started.
1. Buy an inexpensive film camera to start to make sure you are going to enjoy it. It's more about the photographer and what you do with it then the camera. There are many great cheap options out there. I chose to start with a Nikon N75 at a friend's recommendation since I already had old Nikon lenses I could use.
2. Pick your film type. I started with Portra 400 as many suggested that as an easier film stock to learn on and I'd agree. All the color ones shown above are shot on Portra 400.
3. Pop in your roll of film, set it to aperture priority mode and let the camera do the thinking for you in the beginning so you can focus on the lighting (film LOVES light) and getting the compositions you want the first time.
4. Have fun and if possible take notes on the settings the camera is choosing for you. The photos above were all shot using aperture priority mode and the cameras internal meter.
Check back soon and I'll share a couple of the mistakes I've made along the way so far and what I was able to learn from those mistakes. If you don't learn from your mistakes, why bother trying, right?!
