Here are some super basic film photography tips! I'm not an expert, but this is just a quick crash course of the film101 basics. All the fun comes from trial and error, though, so if you get a working camera, just mess around and you'll figure it out!
CAMERAS
- SLR (single-lens reflex) cameras have a mirror that flips up to take the photo (making the satisfying click sound), if you're getting a second-hand camera check that mechanism works by dry-firing the camera on all the shutter speeds (usually a dial on the top of the camera that measures in milliseconds) and making sure it completely goes up and down in the amount of time the shutter speed is set to.
- A good starter SLR is the Canon AE1 or the Canon AE1-Program. Both of those cameras have lots of interchangeable lenses that are still pretty easy to find online, fully mechanical mechanisms so they can be repaired and don't need a power source, and the Program version has the program mode which sets shutter speed and f/stop automatically, so all you have to do is point and shoot. I recommend going full manual though, just to get a feel for how each aspect influences each other!
- If you're storing your camera, make sure that it is UNCOCKED (if you were to press down the shutter button, it WOULDN'T take a photo). This prevents unnecessary sustained tension on the mechanisms
- Point and shoots are cool! Those are usually battery powered, but you don't have to set anything other than if you're shooting in natural light (daylight) or indoor light (tungsten). Great for fast photos, but they won't teach you about proper image exposure.
TAKING A PHOTO
- f/stop (also called aperture) is how much light gets into the camera through the lens itself, a larger f/stop means less light, a smaller f/stop means more light
- The faster the shutter speed, the less light gets onto the film, use high shutter speeds for bright areas, low shutter speeds for dark areas
- Film has an ISO (sometimes called ASA, they are the same) listed on the box and on the canister itself, that's how sensitive the film is to light - higher ISO is more sensitive, lower ISO is less sensitive
- Shutter Speed, ISO, and F/stop are all RELATED so if you adjust one you have to adjust the others as well to get the same properly exposed image. Rule of thumb with film, since the ISO is set on the film itself, if you bring the shutter speed UP you bring the F/stop DOWN and vice versa - there are calculators online to figure that out as well!
- Frame your subject in your viewfinder and make sure it's in focus! Usually there will be numbers on the lense in feet or meters that represent how far away you are from the subject, but its an imperfect science! As long as everything looks good you can take the photo!
- the AE-1 family has an internal light meter, where if you half-press the shutter button, in full manual mode a little dial will go up in the viewfinder and tell you what f/stop you should be set to based on the shutter speed you're at. This is the one battery operated element of the camera, so if the battery is dead this will not work. Light meter apps for your phone work too (and usually better)!
- "proper exposure" is just an image that looks as close to real life as possible, that's totally subjective, but underexposed images will be darker (not enough light let into the camera when taking the photo, shadowy) and overexposed images will be brighter (too much light let into the camera, blown out). It is much easier to make an underexposed image look natural in editing than it is to make an overexposed image look natural, so I always err on the side of potential underexposure rather than over.
FILM STOCK
- Black and white is great to start out on just because when you develop it you really get to see shadows/ highlights, I love Illford 400! Color film is usually available at CVS, the Fujifilm 400 can be found by the disposable cameras. There are also a bunch of boutique film stocks from companies like tomography you can get online or at specialty photography stores
- Store any film you're not using in a freezer, that keeps them from deteriorating
- Expired film can still be used but since the chemicals on it deteriorate you've gotta adjust, I usually use an online calculator to figure out what the ISO has turned into and thus what you should be adjusting the shutter speed and f/stop to.
- DON'T go to CVS to get film developed - to mirror what @carolineheins said, it's not worth it! There are mail-in services you can ship rolls of film too, and also local developers if you just google around in your area! I personally get just the negatives back because I have my own scanner and that's about $10/roll at my local place, but for a little more the developers will send you digital copies or full size prints of any of the photos on the roll!
Now you can get out and shoot! It's all about experimentation, just have fun and you'll figure it out!
Mar 28, 2025
Related Recs
i'm just a hobbyist who happened to be given two film cameras for free so I started shooting to mess around. some of my fav photos i've taken were made using "incorrect" methods and just accidentally having settings/film stocks that made the results look interesting. film is a cool medium and some of the most fun I have shooting is trying to do things less conventionally for the hell of it. shoot on expired film, do double exposures, leave the shutter open way too long, go shoot random stuff and you'll get some pretty results.
Jun 30, 2025
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I used to love shooting 35mm film on my little point-and-shoot Canon, but my local film developer closed. Then the price of film began to skyrocket, which led to me dropping all types of photography for years.
Two months ago I reignited my enjoyment of photography with the vlog-girlie-approved Canon G7X, but something was missing. I found myself giving the photos a film-look in post. There had to be a digital camera that could do a film look in-camera right?
Enter the Fujifilm X Series, which have this insane thing called "film simulation" that I was completely unaware of until the algorithm started serving me tons of videos about it.
This gives one the ability to essentially pre-edit a photo automatically in camera. Have you ever wanted to shoot 8 different film stocks in one day that you can then zap directly into your Photos app afterwards? Seriously, get Fuji-pilled like me and check out these cameras.
Nov 1, 2023
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Welcome!
Here’s some great resources that I learned when I first was starting out with my analog photography and photo career.
Butkus: A truly unique website experience ran by the King of analog and obscure camera information. If you have a camera, he has a manual for it. Absolute legend for refusing to optimize his website for mobile use and keeping it looking exactly how it was 10+ years ago.
Camera-wiki: Not a true Wiki but very informative resource for researching the world of analog cameras.
The Big Film Database: Database of every film stock ever made that has a DX code on it (the barcode on film canisters).
KEH and MPB: While eBay is the used camera King, KEH and MPB have better vetting and quality control for the used cameras they sell.
Freestyle Photo, B&H, and Adorama for if you need to buy film or anything else KEH, MPB, eBay or your local camera shop won’t have.
Mar 29, 2025
Top Recs from @haydenaugust
A website with a collection of screengrabs from nearly every movie you could think of, and you can sort by film title, director, cinematographer, year, genre, country, etc. Great for visual references for lookbooks, or just to discover a new film you might be interested in seeing!
I've attached one of my favorite stills, a great moment from Chungking Express (Dir. Wong Kar-Wai, 1994).
Dec 30, 2024
At my local indie cinema for a projection of the new Nosferatu, infinitely grateful I have a place like this I can go to see new stuff and incredible programming!
Dec 25, 2024
Just going out and picking up any kind of used physical media (books, CDs, DVDs, cassette tapes) makes the archivist in me happy, like I’m preserving somebody else’s story/ enjoyment of something
My personal favorite thing is VHS tapes, I’ve got a decent collection (all thrifted) and they’re usually the cheapest things offered
Jan 3, 2025