Taking a photograph

With film loaded, three skills make the picture. You get the right amount of light onto the film, choose what is sharp, and arrange what is in the frame.

None has to be perfect. Colour negative and black & white film are forgiving, and much of the character of a film photograph comes from how you handle each frame.

Taking one photograph, step by step

1. Decide what is in the frame.
2. Focus on your subject.
3. Meter the light and set the shutter speed and aperture.
4. Hold the camera steady and press the shutter release gently.
5. Wind on to the next frame, so the camera is ready.

The guides below cover each skill in turn.

Exposing a scene

Exposure controls how much light reaches the film. It is balanced across ISO, shutter speed, and aperture. Together these are called the exposure triangle.

This guide explains how the three settings work together and how your camera meters light. It also gives a fallback for when no meter is available.

Read exposing a scene.

Focusing on subjects

Focus decides what stands out and what falls away.

This guide covers manual focusing on SLRs, TLRs, and rangefinders. It also covers the focusing aids built into most viewfinders, and zone focusing for working quickly on the street.

Read focusing on subjects.

Framing and composition

Composition is how you arrange what is in the frame. Where the subject sits, what you include, and what you leave out.

This guide runs through the familiar ideas: the rule of thirds, leading lines, and negative space. It treats them as tools for seeing rather than rules to follow.

Read framing and composition.