In an age when digital media is all the rage, has film photography become defunct? Not quite, but it’s getting there. One study in the US by a chain photo printer revealed that 92.5% of all the photos printed were taken from digital devices. Just 7.5% of the photos were snapped with a film camera. The majority of those are likely to be photos taken by film photography hobbyists. If you like photography and feel you’re spending more time than you should tweaking camera settings, and editing photos, perhaps consider the benefits film photography could have.
3 Benefits of Film Photography that Helps You Unplug
1. Embrace the imperfections and learn from them
There’s an inherent uniqueness to film photographs and a learning curve to using manual cameras to avoid over or under exposure. It’s good practice to aim for shadowed areas to avoid the flash hitting too much light, causing prints to be overexposed leaving the people or objects that should be in the photo looking weird. With manual modes, even though some digital cameras let you shoot in manual mode, with film cameras, the technology is old and there’s far less reliance on auto shutter speeds, ISO settings, and manual focus by adjusting the lens itself. Perhaps the biggest advantage is the lack of instant gratification. It forces you to take the snap and move on to find your next picture-perfect moment.
2. Recapture the lost ‘What You See is What You Get’ of the photography world
Film photography eradicates the need for photo editing. Some may argue that this is a bad thing, but is it, really? With digital photos, you can take thousands of pictures and store them in the cloud or memory cards. Film cameras are limited to the number of photos they can take by the film roll. Usually, 24 to 36 photos per spool. With the capacity for photos severely restricted, you’ll instantly feel compelled to focus more on what’s in front of the lens, paying attention to the smallest of details, and embracing the moment. With the amount of attention that you’ll be putting in before taking the shot, you’ll be more likely to remember the moment when you eventually look back at it after it’s printed.
3. Create Impossible-to-Recreate Photos with Expired Film
Analogue film rolls deteriorate with age. That can lead to imperfections, such as grainy pictures, and grey tones giving the prints a vintage appearance, perfect for showing off in monochrome picture frames. If you shoot an object with the camera pointed upwards toward the sky, your print could come out with a purple sky and pink clouds creating something more akin to pop art that would fit right in with a metallic photo frame, helping the neon colours stand out. The beauty of film is the anticipation of sending the film roll for printing, never quite knowing what you’re going to get. What comes back can be super artistic photos that you may have taken hours of editing a digital copy. Why bother when you can shoot with expired film and get a surprise artistic picture returned, every time?