Avoid This When Shooting Film!

Shooting film, while incredibly rewarding, is quite challenging, and is easy to get in bad cycles, which end up meaning you spend more money and less good photos are produced. From silly mistakes while shooting, to more philosophical, photography mindset ideas, there are a handful of things to avoid when shooting film. In this video, I'll tell you about some bad habits that I had when first shooting film and how avoiding these same mistakes can save you from ruined photos and blank rolls. I definitely encountered these problems when I was a beginner shooting film, and are easily avoidable once you understand how each bad habit is kicked to the curb.

Keaton:

#filmphotography #35mm #filmcamera

[BenSterz]

Great video mate. I was absolutely guilty for that last one. I still remember my first roll which took me 4 months to finish just because i wanted every picture to be worth the money

[thedarkslide]

1:16 Not to mention that bokeh is a crutch for the photographer without imagination, vision and an artistic concept. Anyone who relies on bokeh all the time to produce an interesting photograph is completely missing the point.

3:51 It's simple - don't shoot film if you cannot or do not want to afford the cost associated with pressing the shutter button as many times as necessary to produce the body of work you want to output. Commit to it - commit to it financially. It's that easy.

Really great guidance in this video. All VERY sound advice!

[markgoostree]

Recently I've been making it a point to carry a camera when I leave the house. Generally, I'll carry the same one until I finish the roll. Then I'll make a change just to play with a different toy.

[TreesBeGreen]

early on it was not brining a lightmeter of some sort when shooting a non metered camera before i fully understood guestimating the lightlevels and how they tied in with shutter speed. leeding to quite a few under/over exposed shots

[Shmooexe]

first mistake i made was going out on a photography walk, loaded my camera and didnt check that the film was actually advancing, a hole day of shots just gone, but it was a funny lesson to learn to just double even tripple check your camera is doing the thing haah

[marike]

I think over infatuation with color, and specifically film stocks like Portra that seem to be trendy on YT is a mistake. If you’re not shooting, developing and wet printing black and white, you’re missing not only a huge learning experience but one of the most fun, rewarding aspects of image making in all of photography.

[samwestenskow]

I tend to agree with all of these points except needing to bring your camera everywhere. My shooting style has evolved a lot recently. I've really focused on each of my shots (scouting compositions, then waking up at 5 am for sunrise) and my hit rate has really increased. It all depends on your shooting style though, obviously you can't plan much a street photographer and if you enjoy just snapping photos everywhere you go, then by all means, take your camera with you.

[robbiemer]

Well, this was 6 minutes I am happy to have spent.
I am not a beginner but always welcome good reminders that will help me stay focused in my hobby, so thank you!
While the world was changing to digital I went through a period of trying (almost) every type of film camera I could because they were so inexpensive. Which meant, for me, that I had not really learned what any specific camera was capable of or what the strong and weak points were for me and what I photograph. For example; I prefer rangefinder cameras for most 35mm film. I needed to stick with one body until I could basically not have to think about how to use the controls to get what I wanted. I needed to get to the point where I was thinking about the photo and not about the camera. To start thinking about why I wanted to photograph something rather than how to make that photograph.
I quite liked this video and am now subscribed, thanks!

[kortwoycheshin]

Hi great video! Where did you get that developing spinner? I’m not sure if that’s the right word but the thing that agitates the tank? Thanks!

[bl]

shoot a lot. shoot digital and film. shoot black and white film to save on costs! you will get good really quick if you full immerse. good video

[TheNewBruno]

i do have one myself, but first, for the point of being expensive, it's not even just the fear of not getting the right composition or shot, it's literally how expensive is each roll and having to choose when to shoot each rool, knowing it will be an extra cost for developing (for color negative, i'm getting indipendend for B&W in few days finally so that will give me some more fresh air, instead of paying 7 bucks for just developing it will be 2) but for people that are always on the edge to not spend too much to lose money from their monthly wage it's really hard to maintain a correct rythm of shooting film and still keeping money

a mistake i always done at the beginning myself was always for being sure to overexpose the film, i know the film resist very well on light BUT you should always opt for the correct exposure for what shot you wanna have, if you overexpose you may ruin some shadows or some details, or get too much light behind that mess up the silouette instead, so yeah, if you overexpose it's not a big deal, better than underexposing but always meter and expose correctly for what you're shooting is the best option that i absolutely ignored since i was new for photography in general when i started shooting film

[andrewbarnum]

News flash: the lab is most likely not editing your images, unless the exposure is off a bit or the color is off a bit. Most labs spend 5 seconds or less per image. I have worked on all 3 major brands of scanners in labs. I worked for Walmart photo for almost a year and now own my own lab.

[ihmintz]

First mistake - not knowing I needed to wind the film.
Second mistake - shooting without the film actually advancing.
Third mistake - over developing rolls.
Fourth mistake - developing color in super hot water...

Ya. Shit happens.

[outtathyme]

I’m very selective about printing (and film photography in general) due to the environmental issues

[randallstewart]

Agree with all points made, except I question the need and wisdom of hauling a camera wherever you go on the chance that "something will happen". If you are focused on your photography experience, and that is your primary occupation of the moment, your focus and attention to detail will maximize the prospect of taking some interesting and well executed photos. If you go through every day with a camera hanging off your shoulder, no matter what you are primarily doing, lightning will not strike. You will not trip over that masterpiece. You will look like a nerd, or a YT hipster, whether shooting film or digital. Your most likely outcome is that someone will steal your camera.