Getting Started with Film Photography

1. 01 Introduction: Hi, My name is Ken and for almost 10 years and a lot of cameras have been the tools of my choice. I love working with film because it is a very hands on process, and I feel that I'm really creating images with my hand, and I feel that it gives me a lot more consciousness and awareness in the process of photographing. And besides, that on the look off analog film is just beautiful. And today I'm going to show you what you need to know to get started with photographing on film. So we're gonna look at what cameras are good to buy. As a start, we're going to look at different from times that you can use. I'm going to show you how to load a film and basic things that you just need to know when you get started and I want to inspire you to get started. I want to inspire you toe to give it a try, because it is just really, really beautiful. Andi, it helps you to become a better photographer. I believe if you want to learn more about the setting on cameras or generally about photography and how to become a better in a more conscious photographer. Um, you can head over to my main works up. This works up is only for showing you what you need to get started with putting the first film in your first analog camera and get going. So if you join me, Andi, hope you have fun and end up taken your first look photo. Let's go. 2. 02 Camera types: Okay, So you decided you want to stay? You decided You wanna get started with shooting film? First thing we do is gonna have a look. A from comma types that are there. I have a much more detailed version on this in my main workshop. So this is just a very quick one. Let's start with this one. This, sir, is a like a M six very, very classic model. And this is the camera that basically invented the 35 millimeter format, which is the most common format a niche, which is the format that you would start with if you start shooting film. And this is, by the way, what in digital cameras is called for. Find these old originates from the Leiker. Um, the way that this camera looks and that it's built hasn't changed much for centuries. It is really, really classic. I'm just doing this quickly. This is not what you would start with. Probably get a very expensive one. But I'm showing you this because this is how it all started on day. This is called a now, making the wood. This is called a range finder. A range finder camera. It has a different focusing system, then the most common SLR cameras. It has a window that you look through. Here s so you're not actually looking through the lens, which makes it kind of exciting, because yet you see what you want to get. But it's different than looking actually through the lens. Uh, yeah. And it's about a beautiful um the like, I m six r range finder camera, of course, the cheaper, different range finder cameras. But I think for start to get started with a friend Photography Probably not, right finder, but value the camera that I would advise you toe start with would be an SLR camera, which means single lens reflex camera. And in this kind of cameras, this kind of cameras you're looking through a mirror system through the actual events, which, of course you can. You press here, you can take it off and that you can see the mirror. Have a look at this in close. Yeah, especially the canon cameras from the eighties. This is a A e one program. They were different types that have similar names. 81 a one program or made in the eighties, and they have been produced in masses, which is good because you're going to get them for fairly cheap on eBay. Um, a camera with the lens. You're looking at something between 100 maybe 100 50 Guero's. Maybe you're lucky you find it somewhere on a flea market for cheaper or someone in the family has one. Uh, this is a very good start. Um, yeah. Beautiful. We're going to get to this one later. Just going to show you a couple more. Um, also beautiful. The's point and shoot cameras, in this case in Olympus. Uh, did very simple. Like, you don't need to understand any settings about them. You just open it up and press it. You can decide to have a timer or flash on and off. It's a very quick camera. If you can, like shoot from the hip, it has an in built flash that may be a good point to start if you don't want to deal with any settings beautiful as well. And these ones the more new ones around. The two thousands compact camera around the two thousands and nineties early two thousands . They're getting more and more expensive because they're not so many of those on board we have a problem with those is that if they break if the electron ICS in them break because other than thes cameras, they are heavily relying on electron ICS. And if they break, you gotta put him cause you won't get spare parts. I once had a problem, um, where the ceiling was broken and they said you used to just change the whole back, But we don't have this back anymore. So groups not trying load the film, so I couldn't get it fixed. And other good choice, I think just to get into the to the vibe off, uh, off film in, like, a very easy quick way. Disposable cameras. Not the best thing for the environment. I have to say, um but it gives you very much of, ah, film. Look, uh, because they only have one setting, they only changed the setting. The exposure time s stop, I s So everything stays the same. And therefore the camera, often over or under exposes which then the scanner tries to compensate. And that leads toe, you know, kind of grainy effects or the black snow really being black. Things like this, they give you a film look so easily So if you just want to, you know, go to a store, get one for five euros and go develop it like very quickly. You will get a feel for the fascination off off film on the waiting process and and they're not knowing off what's gonna what's gonna come out. So therefore, um, disposable cameras are the quickest way to jump in just four and check it Next up. Instant film cameras, polloi invented this. This is one made by Fuji. They call it instructs and it gives you an image instantly that is, you know, is not is not really classic Froome photography, but again, it has a lot of fascination. Toe take this photo and just have it come out of the camera immediately. It's just fun. They're quite expensive, though, Um, but it's really fully fund toe play with them at the very end. I want to show you one that is not really to get started with, but just so you heard about it once. The 35 millimeter format, which is what you would start with, is the most common one. But just so you heard it once there was a bigger format caught medium format, and you shoot it with a camera like this house, a bland, um, and it's amazing. It's really, really amazing. Um, it's a bigger former, therefore, uses different lenses. It's a very, very slow. In this particular camera, you have only 12 images per film versus 36 on the 35 millimeter format. So slow makes your very helps. You becoming a very conscious photographer and absolutely beautiful today. We're not gonna deal so much with this one. In the main walks up we do, but just so you saw it once. 3. 03 Buying a camera: Okay, Now that we had a look at what cameras there are, let me run you through this one. Um, just to see how it works. And when you buy one that you have, ah, have an eye out for for things that should be working on it shouldn't be broken, things like this. So this is the canon a one program in this case, I have a 28 millimeter lens on it. I would recommend you when you start to use a 50 millimeter prime lens to lens that doesn't zoom. It's just 50 millimeter. Uh, and that's it. And like I said, you can click this button, take off the lens and put another lens, Um, a second lens after the 50 I would recommend to go ahead with 35 but 50 millimeters a very good or launder. And it is something, um, that can easily fascinate you, I would say. And I think when you start using from, like, feeling this fascination for it, I think it's it's a very important point. After every image. I am pulling this guy over there, and I such a satisfying feeling. And what it does is it transports the film. Um, so the frame that you just shot goes away and you have a new one off course when you take a photo, have the lens. I like this. What I'm doing now wouldn't make any photos. It is okay, though, when there was food inside to take off the lens like it won't expose the film when you take off the lens, that's totally That's totally fine. Okay, so next up would be the back of the film, in that case and with most other cameras, um, it works the same. You pull up this guy the knob, and then the back opens. There was a full minute at test film. So what I'm doing now, don't try this at home. I'm just playing with it. I'm showing you things. So that's a test for Don't worry about it. What, you want to look out for these, uh, the's ceilings? You can see them here. I don't think it's very visible, but you can feel them. It's ah, it's a soft material. And with these old cameras, you know, when they've been sitting somewhere for 2030 years, this material might have gotten, you know, it might have, um, might have disappeared over time. Or you may be able to go over with your finger and have black on your finger. This is a sign for the ceiling being broken. And that means you would have light leaks. Light would come into your camera, not through the lens, but through here, those sides off the body making me a nice effect. But it's unpredictable. So if you want to make sure that you have images coming out properly, make sure, uh, these materials are in good condition. Um, And with these cameras, you can go to a camel repair shop and they can just replace the ceiling itself other than with a compact camera that I showed you where it may be that they have to change the whole back and they just don't have that anymore. That will be shipped. Yeah, And then up here, you have a dialogue where you can This is not quite in. We can change the I S o of your film. And that doesn't change the eyes so that the film has it just tells the camera the light meter in the camera. Which firm is inside, so it gives you the correct light measuring, then on top, you have a time denial where you decide the exposure time. Andi, you said your F stop on the top off the lens in most cases, not in all of them. And in some cases like here, he also have an automatic, um, in this case on the lens as well as on the as on the time. So you can basically one this camera fully automatic. Yeah, which may be also good as a start. If you don't wanna deal with exposure, time and f stop in the beginning and you just want to go play. If you have a camera that does automatic, that's good. Yeah, you can lock it also, and that's pretty much it. And that's a beautiful thing about film cameras, that they don't have a menu, and they don't have a 1,000,000 buttons that you can press and menus and out of focus things and, like it doesn't have that you basically have the eye. So the time and the F stop and then you focus the lens manually in the best case, and then that's it. You don't have toe deal with a lot of stuff. And that's really good, too. And to make your focus on what's really important, this is a reason also why I really love shooting film. Now I'm gonna show you how you load a firm into this, Andi. Then we're gonna have a look it from types. 4. 04 Different film types: All right. So you have an idea of what Cam are you might need, Um, now we need toe Have an idea off what films there are and what is good to use for a start. Therefore, I bought some films with me, and I want to put them into different categories. Uh, what I would personally recommend to start with is true black and white film. Two examples for this being the Kodak try a tax 400 the Fort HP five Both firms rated at eso 400 and their true black and white films. And that means you can also develop them yourself, which is something that I highly recommend you to try in which I have a different separate course on as well. Um, I would recommend you to start with these firms because I think they have again the biggest potential to just fascinate you and to give me something that is come just beautiful in a different way and maybe unexpected and, uh, probably grainy. And there was lots of potential for fascination with true black and white films. Uh, what counts for orphans is that you can over expose film quite a lot other than digital cameras where, you know, you know the problem off having a sky that is just burnt out because it's too bright with film, it's the other way around. You can easily have this guy that is overexposed, and later in either the dark room or the scanner, you can bring that down a lot again. Um, this counts especially for color films. Anyways, some people say different things. Like some people say, you should start with a color phone because it's more forgiving when it comes to exposure. I just think true black and white film has the potential to amaze you the most. Uh, yeah, correct. Tri X in Fort HB five. There are also Kerak, T max and, um, afford. I think f before is the afford name. They have a bit of a different grain. These types are bit more Klassiker, the Team X and F. Before, um, they're a bit more modern. You probably won't see so much of a difference. But again, most fascination, I think, with classic black and white film. And at this point I wanted tell you be very careful because you may be going toe a photo store, and they may be selling you these kind of films. It for XP two or Kodak BW 400 CN. These are kind of black and white films. They give you kind of a black and white image with a bit of a color tint. The thing is, they actually being processed with the color process, which is named C 41. So whenever you see C 41 written on one of these, when these boxes here see 41 then you know this is Ah, this is not really a true black and white film. You could say it doesn't give you kind of a black and white image. There are. They are a bit sharper again because it's the color process that are a bit more forgiving when it comes to exposure. Um, yeah, they're good looking again. Fascination wise. Go with classic film, Of course. Give it a try if you want. Uh, and of course, yeah. If you want to develop your firm's yourself, you could do that with these ones. You can you can Theoretically. What is not as easy toe develop C 41 film? Um, on the other hand, you were more likely find a lab to process C 41 for you. But if you look well, you will also find one that develops your back. What fillets? Last but not least, uh, a color film color film C 41 is the process that is the same forces all over the world. So if a lab has their machines clean and running, they will develop your C 41 film, Uh, or the same Andi. Yeah. And I mean, you probably know off the filters that emulate film, uh, this is the real deal. This is this is the real deal When it comes to color photography filmed, this is no fake. This is just what comes out. And other than digital cameras, they they are made. Each color film is made for a certain temperature of light. So your digital digital camera always adjusts the white balance depending on the light situation, or you do later in light room in the profile. Um, of course, you can edit those if you have skins as well. But the base that you get from the film, um it is always dependent on the light situation that you're in, and that's just different if it's artificial light or if it's one o'clock in the afternoon in bright sunlight, or if it's eight in the evening and it's about to get dark. Um, the film stays the same and and therefore it's gonna react differently on two different light situations. And that's something that over here, the years you may find that this film with this light situation and with this lens maybe gives you a certain result. Yeah. Color Phone. C 41. This is a cork actor. Uh, you can get professional films like Caught Up for Trial and you can pay like 89 10 11 euros for one roll of film, uh, which they will have 36 flames on them. But you can easily you can easily just, you know, that doesn't even have a brand on it. It's just form from from some store where they sell films for, uh, for, like, 34 euros. If you beginner just go without, you know you don't need toe spend mine. 10 11 euros on a film. Yeah, go ahead, play. And oftentimes what You know as a film look eso the colors being off for maybe the dark areas being graining you stuff like this something that is kind of an imperfection. Which is kind of what makes film photography beautiful In a lot of ways, you may be born likely to get it with this one. Then with attend your professional film, so as a starter and again for, like, some wanting some film look specifically, if you want to try color, just go with something like this. Yeah. Nice. Let's, uh no Onda, uh, then we can start a photograph, right? 5. 05 Loading your first film: Okay, let's load of film. We have a camera, the cannon anyone program on. We have a 35 millimeter standard film, and I'm going to show you how to do it. Like I said before you put up this guy and then you can easily put it up on. Then you pull up this knock and the door opens. Now, you take a film on, do you put it into the left side. Um, make sure this is pulled up, otherwise it won't go in. You put in in in a way that you can pull it over there to the other side, and then you stick it in to this space in there. And there was a narrow also on the wheel. So you that you need toe, pull it in this correction. And as you can already see these little teeth here, they grabbing into these holes in the film. Andi, keep pulling. It's on. They can see coming out on the other side. You can also, at this point, just take a shot so that you can use this one again. And then there you go. Now it's putting there. You can see if this works this is functioning. If you can see that by pulling this guy on the top, it's pulling the film into the camera, and it's not like sliding out again or anything. Then you can be sure it we good and proper and it's not gonna slip out again, just a quick one. For example, In this camera, um, you would Can you see it? They haven't instruction there with the 0.2 cameras. It's make super super simple. You just slit slide, slide. The film in there with the arrow is, and when you close it, the camera describes the filling and brings it to the first field position. Now, the reason why this common did this, this pulling in off the film is because everything that you see here now, all this film, this is burnt. It already has way too much light on it, and there would be no photo on it. So at this point, when you have made sure these teeth grabbing and it's all fix and proper, you can close back. You pushed down the button somewhere goes in there goes in, so if you would take a photo now, they wouldn't take the photo or it would like let light onto the film with. There's already so much light on it. Um, that this won't be there won't be anything on it. So what you do is you just put the camera down and you take a photo. And now half of the film that is now waiting to be exposed is already way over exposed, and the other half is ready to be shot on. So after taking this first shot, just like to transport the film, Um, the next what you have is kind of 1/2 half. So if you want, if you want to play with the first image and want to have the effect of the this border in the middle, you can use that image. If you want to be sure that your first image is actually, um, gonna be a proper photograph, you just take another one and I already let's shoot 6. 06 Basic camera handling: All right, so we have a film camera, and now we can start shooting. Like I said, I'm not gonna explain you the whole system off. I s o f stop. Time for that head over to my main course. I'm just gonna explain you how maybe things how things may be different with Ephraim camera and just how you make it work, you know? Yeah. So the camel measures the light, and it does that in most cases. And as soon as you press the shutter button half through and as soon as you do that, the camera has some kind of system to tell you how to set your exposure with some cameras on the bottom, there was a little I called up thing, you know, like a little stick that goes either to the right, that would mean overexposed, or it goes to them to the left of your view. That would mean under exposed Oh, it's in the middle. That means you're perfectly exposing. And like I said, with film, you can over expose, and it doesn't. It doesn't hurt you as much. And you may even want to do it on purpose on, because when you under expose very quickly. The information in the dark areas would be lost. Um, but again, play and try because, you know, you may wanna You may wanna have that you may wanna under expose And you may want to force the scanner later to pull it up to give you a certain effect. I really want to encourage you to play and toe try and to see what happened when you do that, how a film react and what it does. Yeah, but in the middle is exposed. Right? Um, under overexposed. With these cameras, it's a little different. It shows me when I said the camera, let's say in this example to 125th of a second. And I looked through and pushed the exposure button half through. It recommends me where to set the f stop life. A photograph year. It tells me I should go toe f 11. It does that, though, because there is a big window behind the camera that you watching me through now, uh, so the camera would be super under exposed, and it's actually exposing for the outside. If I go in here, will be at four and then I look up here. Check words before set it on. Then I wanted to go on. Then I can focus. The old lenders usually have a really nice system off focusing in the lens, which I like most when they have these micro prisms how to explain and I can't really show it with, like filming through it. But once you have it in your hand, you'll understand. Um and another system is that there was a line in the middle and you kind of need toe match this line with reality. Hard to explain. I can't really show it. But once you have it, you would see on their made for manual focusing other than modern lenses who are not really boot for this. These guys are made for that, Andi, that makes them really beautiful toe handle in tow. To do that and also moving the focusing ring is much more nice and smooth with these cameras, then it is with most, uh, digital cameras. All. I lend this for digital cameras unless you have one that is like proper, really expensive. But in that case, you know you get a camera with a 50 millimeters lens. 400 girls, and it has a butter soft focusing wing. It's beautiful. Find to play with it. Yeah. So you go ahead, set the camera. In this case, I would overexposed a little bit. Focus and take your photo. Thanks. Satisfying sound and touch this. I love this. Uh, yeah. Okay, Now, let's say okay, I don't want to ruin this film, but let's just say let's just say this film is full and I wanna take out the film. In this case and in a lot of other film cameras, there was a button somewhere that unlocks the film from the camera. If you don't push that button before you rewind and take out the film, you may whip your film, so make sure you find it in this case, it's that one down here and sit down. And now the firm is released to Toby. We wind it. So I open. I opened this guy up here again, and then I turned it and I can hear the movement. I can hear how it's moving, and it shouldn't be too hard. Like if you try to move it and not moving, you know, try to find that a button John just put forth on it because you want to break it usually towards the end. It gets a bit harder, but you know it. Gradually it gets a bit harder to move it. And then at some point you you were fear that there's no more you don't to put any more pressure on it now moves very softly. And that means that where you put the camera in before the filming before he was the film and we moved it over here, that means it's now were released over there, and at this point, you can do it all the way, and then the film will be entirely back in the box. But at this point, you can again pull this one up. The door opens and then you see the film in. Yeah, Like I said, if I would do it a bit more, the film would go all the way inside, which is totally fine. The lab or yourself will later and just crack open the box and get out the film. Um, one little hack. I don't know if you need toe really know this as a beginner, but now that I'm on it. And I'm speaking about this taking the full amount half way. Want to hack that you could do. He's for the sin again. You okay? I have my image Count up here and it's it framed for Unless just pretend this'd is 100 eyes so film. And now I'm going somewhere inside and it's the evening, and I know I cannot use this 100 eyes off him anymore. I don't want to keep photographing in the evening and I don't have a second cam Ward. Oh, I do. What you can do is look at their image counter it now says full and then you can do exactly what I just did. You press the button and turn it until it gets loose, and then you open it and then you have your film, but it's still coming out. That means it's very easy to just put it back into the camera. Now, you take a pen one that writes on this kind of material, and you just right, uh, go to number five. So you skipped one. Um, because you don't know if you're gonna hit exactly the same beginning, and you don't wanna, you know, overshoot something that you photographed already. So you just make an arrow or just go to five and then the next time when it's the next day and you wanna continue with your eyes So 100 film, you put it in again and then you did what I did it before to show you used put it on the on the ground. Maybe also choose an F stop off 22 the thousands of a second, just to be sure. And then you just go three for I've probably not from or because the 1st 2 that unaccounted No, my full I know my counter says five on it so I can continue with that one. So that's a little hack. That's, ah, useful, truly need it as a beginner, but it's very good to know that's how you unload your film, and I'm very quickly. We're gonna look at what you do after that 7. 07 From an exposed film to a photograph: So I hope that you put a film camera and that you went out and played and took photos and see warding twist you on what inspires you And, uh, well, you want to go after I hope you played with over exposure under exposure. Maybe if you did some extreme tests, maybe you wrote something down. What you did with it, Uh, and then you have your film out of the Kama base all the way in. But if you want now, what do you do with that? The most beautiful thing. Beautiful thing is to develop it yourself. And that's as I said, pretty simple with classic black and white film. Uh, I have a course for that. Talking about how you develop your first film. You can do it at home. Um, do that. If you don't do that, uh, you contend your film toe a lab and you can ask them to either scan it. Um, all you can do that yourself. The scanners, that thes film let's have they're pretty good. And they give you a good image, like it shortens the whole process. Andi, it makes things more simple, And I know that if you really get deeply into termed photography, it can be very time consuming and money consuming. And so, if you wanna have it simple, just give it to a lab, especially for C 41 for color film. You will find a lab in the nearest city. If not, um, in most countries, you will find a lab that you consented to, and then they develop it and send you the phone back on scans till when you get your film back from the lab or if you do it yourself. All right, well, look like this one film is about meter 50 long and you call it Inter pieces of six. Some labs cut it into pieces of five, and then it gets longer and it doesn't fit into folders anymore. And no one really knows why they do that, because it doesn't make sense. But they do, uh, six frames, per, uh, first light is best because then it fitting into a folder. Andi. Yeah, These are negatives called negatives, because everything that is right in the wheel world is dark on the film and the other way around and the same for colors. So everything is in versed. And yeah, this is this is really the base. This is really the, uh what? Today would be the war final. This is really, uh, your starting point, and wherever you go from here is it's always an interpretation of that film, so every scanner software will make an interpretation. When you go to the dark room in do it yourself, you are doing an interpretation off this negative, and that can go into a very different ways on a professional film. Lab scanner will give you a different image. Um, then if you do it at home with a rather simple skinner or even with a self bits cannot. So this is always your starting point. The negative. In the dark room, you would make a contact sheet, which is an overview of your films, and it's produced in the dark room where you have light sensitive paper. Put your negatives on it, threw light on it and magic. After some chemical reactions, you get contacted, which is a very beautiful way off. Seen your process that you went through with this film on. It's a really fun way to make selection as well. With a contacted I'm really, really enjoying that. You can also, if you have a lab that is, um, still working in that classic way. You can also have this on this done. And, yeah, maybe another word to the scanners, though. You can get a scanner like a normal scanner, like a flat, flat bed scanner. I think they're called. Um uh, Cannon and absent have models out there specifically the apse and ones. I think we better. Yes, you could say that I was myself using a cannon scanner for a couple of years, and and you kind of don't know what you're gonna get. It's a bit of a doggy thing. Come which again can be interesting. Like the scanner can define the look of your images because it always gives you a certain kind of color, maybe or, uh, because it's never really sharp. Yet it's part of defining part of what defines your the look of your images. And that is the scanner as well as the software that the scanner users and the software it comes with. The scanners is not necessarily the best ones. There are better scan programs out there that you can use with the Skinners by Canon and absent, for example, maybe the other ones. But these are the most known ones. And, yeah, Ken and scanner. You would get it for about 200 euros again, is a new one. Is it a used one? The Epson are a bit more expensive, and for 35 millimeter film, they're not the greatest. But to get started with, it's enough. You know, it's it's beautiful toe to again do that yourself, especially when you develop yourself. So when you go out photograph developing the same evening, your skin, your own films, this process is is really, really fun. Uh, so to recap, you have your film. Either send it to a film lap, and they send you negatives and scans back from a very good professional left. Skinner, Um, or you only have it developed, not scanned. And you do that yourself, or you go in the dark room and make a beautiful contact sheet and then, of course, make beautiful twins. These ones. These ones I made in the dark room Andi again. That's a Willy, um, a process that brings you so much awareness, consciousness about war to doing what mistakes you're making. And when you when you go and shoot a film and do you stand in the dark room and you're dealing with the mistakes that you made while you're shooting and you're dealing with one image and you love this image, but you've done a mistake and you're trying to fix it somehow you're trying to fix the contrast, and maybe you start to dodge and burn it took to get it right. It teaches you a lot about your photography. So if you have the chance, maybe in your city, maybe there's a workshop somewhere toe to, uh, point in the dark room. Like if you don't have a dark room at home, which you probably don't have. Maybe try one of these workshops. Even if you just don't it once, and you have a feel for what it's like, I promise you, uh, it's very satisfying. It's very, very beautiful. 8. 08 Bye Bye: I think that's it. That's it. I hope you enjoyed that. Andi, I really hope that you get yourself a camera. Ask around in your family. Maybe someone has, um, get up. Film for 34 euros. Look where you can find a lab, Uh, and get started. Start playing, uh, start learning. And if you want to learn more about photography, maybe just basic settings off the camera on light measuring or made me that you were You want toe, get somewhere and you want to learn something and you want toe grow, is a photographer and become more conscious and aware of what you're doing to make more beautiful photographs and photographs that come from your heart. Then head over to my main course. Andi, check that one out. I promise that it has a lot of value in it. Have a nice day. Bye bye.