Masterclass: Complete Guide To Film Photography

 https://www.masterclass.com/articles/complete-guide-to-film-photography

What is film photography?

- Film photography is the art of taking photographs on thin, transparent strips of plastic we call film. One side of the film strip is coated with a gelatin emulsion that contains small silver halide crystals, which determine the contrast and resolution of a photograph.

How does film photography work?

- Silver halide crystals are light-sensitive. The more light they’re exposed to, the brighter and less detailed the photograph will be. When a film camera takes a picture, the camera lens briefly exposes the film strip to an image that’s being magnified through the lens. This exposure burns an imprint into the emulsion and creates what’s called a latent image. Once captured, that latent image can be developed into a negative, which can, in turn, be projected onto light-sensitive photo paper to create a photograph.

What is 35mm Film?

- When you hear someone referring to 35 millimeter film (often abbreviated to 35mm), this is the most commonly-used film gauge, which describes the physical width of the film strip. Photographer Oskar Barnack, the inventor of Leica cameras, introduced the 35mm format in the 1920s. Photographic film is separated into small- and large-format depending on the size of the image that the film is used to produce. 35mm film is considered small-format because it produces images that are just 36x24 mm in size. This differentiates it from large-format, which produces images that are 102mm x 127mm, and medium-format, which produces images between 24mm x 36mm. The term “35mm” is also used to refer to cameras that shoot exclusively 35mm film. Camera companies that make 35mm cameras include: Leica, Kodak, Nikon, Canon, Pentax, Fujifilm, and many others. 

What is the difference between Film Photography and Digital Photography?

- Analog cameras use physical film to capture images. Digital cameras capture digital images which are then kept on storage cards. Analog photography requires photographs to be chemically developed, while digital photography produces instantly viewable images.

5 Advantages of film photography

- Analog photography offers more involved, hands-on opportunities to learn the principles of photography.

- Analog photography keeps you focused on the discipline of the art and forces you to shoot more critically.

- Analog photography is rewarding. Successfully loading, shooting, and developing a roll of film takes time and equipment, but it’s a process that many photographers find extremely satisfying—particularly when it comes to working in the darkroom.

- Analog photography encourages photographers to be more thoughtful. Since rolls of 35mm film can only capture a limited number of pictures, every shot counts.

- Analog photography can produce artistic effects like overexposures, vignettes, and light leaks.