Getting started with analogue photography

Analogue photography means taking pictures on film instead of a sensor. This page explains what film is, how it records a picture, and why people still choose it.

Once you know what film is doing, the equipment and materials guide will help you choose a camera and a roll to put in it.

What is film?

Photographic film is a material that captures an image when exposed to light. It has a plastic base coated with layers of emulsion containing silver halide crystals.

How film records a picture

When light passes through the camera lens and strikes the emulsion, those crystals undergo a chemical change. The result is a latent image: a record of the scene that is real but still invisible. It stays invisible until the film is fully developed.

Why film has to be kept from light

Film remains light-sensitive from the moment it leaves its wrapper until it is fixed. This single fact explains most of the handling rules in these guides. It is why film is loaded away from direct sun, why the camera back stays shut, and why a shot roll stays in its canister.

Why shoot film?

Digital photography offers instant feedback, unlimited storage, and ease of use. Despite this, film remains popular for its unique qualities and creative possibilities.

A unique look

Film handles bright highlights gently, fading them to white instead of cutting off hard. Its grain gives texture that many people like, and each film stock has its own colours and contrast.

A slower, more thoughtful process

With only 24 or 36 shots per roll, film encourages you to slow down. Each frame costs money, so you think before you press the shutter.

A physical medium

Film creates tangible negatives and prints. Negatives can be archived, scanned, or printed decades later. There is no hard drive to fail and no file to corrupt.

Creative techniques

Film opens up possibilities difficult to achieve digitally:

• Double exposure: expose the same frame twice to blend two images into one.
• Film souping: soak the film in a liquid, such as lemon juice or detergent, before or after you shoot it. The result is unpredictable colour shifts and marks.
• Cross-processing: slide film is normally developed in the colour positive (E-6) process. Developing it in colour negative (C-41) chemicals instead, or the other way round, gives strong, unusual colours.

What does it cost?

A roll of 35mm film costs about £8 to £15, for 24 or 36 photographs. Developing and scanning it at a lab costs about the same again. That works out at between about 45p and £1.25 a photograph.

A roll of 120 film gives fewer photographs, usually 10 to 16, so each one costs more. Developing at home costs less per roll once you have the equipment.

How to shoot film

Shooting film needs remarkably little. A working camera and a roll of film are enough to start, and both are covered in equipment and materials.

From there the process follows four steps, each with its own guide:

1. Load the film into the camera, away from direct light. See loading film.
2. Take your photographs, balancing exposure, focus, and composition. See taking a photograph.
3. Rewind and unload the finished roll. See completing your first roll.
4. Develop the film to turn the latent image into a negative. See film developing.

You do not need a darkroom of your own to begin. Any lab will develop a roll for you, and community darkrooms like ours offer the equipment and support to do it yourself.