Film Photography for Beginners: How to Get Started

Film photography is simpler to start than it looks. You need a working camera, a roll of film, a way to judge exposure, and somewhere to get the film developed. This guide walks through each of those choices and the mistakes beginners most often make with their first few rolls.

Why shoot film today?

People come to film for different reasons: the look of real grain and the way color negative film handles highlights, the slower pace of 36 frames instead of thousands, or the satisfaction of a physical negative you can hold up to the light. Film also teaches exposure in a way a screen never will, because you can't check the result until the roll is developed. That delay makes you think about light before you press the shutter.

Choosing a first film camera

For most beginners a 35mm camera is the right place to start. Film and developing are cheapest and most widely available in 35mm, and the cameras are plentiful. The main choice is between a manual camera that teaches you exposure and an automatic one that lets you concentrate on composition.

A manual 35mm SLR such as a Pentax K1000, Canon AE-1 or Nikon FM teaches the relationship between aperture and shutter speed, has interchangeable lenses, and is easy to repair.
An automatic point-and-shoot handles focus and exposure for you. Good ones have excellent lenses, but the best-known models have become expensive.
A medium format camera, such as a twin-lens reflex, gives much larger negatives but only 12 frames or so per roll. Many photographers move to it after a year or two of 35mm.

The guide to types of film cameras covers the differences in more depth, and buying a used film camera explains what to check before you pay, since almost every film camera you buy will be decades old. You can also see what members are shooting with on the film camera pages.

Choosing your first film

Start with an ISO 400 color negative film. It is fast enough for most daylight and bright interiors, and color negative film tolerates exposure mistakes far better than slide film. Kodak Portra 400 is the benchmark; consumer films like Kodak UltraMax 400 cost less. If you want black and white, Ilford HP5 Plus and Kodak Tri-X 400 are forgiving classics that you can later learn to develop yourself.

Read types of film for the difference between negative, slide and black and white film, and film speed and ISO for what the number on the box means.

Getting the exposure right

Exposure is the amount of light that reaches the film, controlled by the aperture and the shutter speed. If your camera has a working meter, set the film speed on the dial (or let DX coding set it), and follow the meter. If it doesn't, the Sunny 16 rule will get you remarkably close outdoors, and a phone meter app can fill the gap.

When in doubt, overexpose color negative film. It can take two or three stops too much light and still print well, but underexposed negatives turn muddy and grainy. Slide film is the opposite: it needs exposure accurate to about a third of a stop.

The exposure section of these guides starts with aperture, shutter speed and stops and builds up to metering and the Zone System.

Loading and shooting the first roll

Load film in shade, never in direct sun, and make sure the leader catches the take-up spool before you close the back. On a manual 35mm camera, watch the rewind knob turn as you advance after the first couple of frames: if it doesn't turn, the film isn't moving and you'll get a blank roll. How to load film covers 35mm, 120 and sheet film step by step.

Shoot the first roll deliberately and keep notes on your settings for a few frames. When the negatives come back, comparing them with your notes is the fastest way to learn what the camera and the film are doing.

Developing and scanning

You have three options for getting images from a finished roll:

Send it to a lab for developing and scanning. This is how most people start. The directory of film developing labs lists labs that process by mail and in person.
Develop black and white film at home. It needs only a tank, a changing bag, three chemicals and an hour. See how to develop black and white film at home.
Develop color film at home with a C-41 kit, which is easier than its reputation once you can hold the temperature.

Once you have negatives, you can scan them or print them in a darkroom.

Beginner mistakes to avoid

Forgetting to set the film speed on cameras without DX coding.
Opening the back before rewinding a 35mm roll. If in doubt, rewind first.
Trusting a dead meter. Check old cameras against a phone app or the Sunny 16 rule on the first roll.
Underexposing indoors. Film needs more light than a phone suggests; ISO 400 film indoors often wants 1/30 at f/2.
Leaving film in a hot car, which fogs it and shifts its colors.

When something does go wrong, common film problems will help you read the negatives and work out why.