I have been photographing film at weddings in Perth and worldwide for about 5 years now and every time that email with the film scans hits my inbox I still get butterflies!
If you have wanted to try photography using film here’s a few little tips:
1- Start on an automatic film camera.
My favourite 35 mm camera is the Manolta Mac-tele. This camera is a beast, I recently dropped mine at a wedding and completely smashed it (it was such a sad moment) but the camera still works, incredible! If you have been shooting film for a while and your up for more or a challenge then the Pentax k-1000 is my favourite manual camera. They have inbuilt light metres inside so you wont need to carry around a light metre as long as it is working.
2- Don’t worry about buying expensive film.
When shooting 35mm film I usually shoot on Kodak portra 400 or Fuji 400h (which is now discontinued so I won’t be for long) but I have recently found that Kodak Ultra max is just as beautiful and is half the price. You can get this from Big W so you wont need to worry about getting slogged with massive shipping costs.
3- Send your film to the right lab!
The lab who scans your images makes 1000% of the difference to the look of the images. I love PhotoVision in the US but in Australia a few favourite’s are Lazarus lab or Atkins pro lab.
4- Think about your image before you take it. Composition, lighting and the subject.
Whether you’re using an iPhone, camera or film camera you can take a really great image if you consider these three things. Film works best with lots of light or if its dark you’ll need a flash. Take your time, sometimes counting down before taking the image can help with less eyes closed as every image costs money.