The "film look" trend has soared on Instagram, YouTube and TikTok, and there's no better way to get that authentic analog photography style in your images than to actually shoot your photos on real analog film. Sure, the rise of compact digital cameras and high-quality cameras built into your phone made photography much easier -- and cheaper -- but there's something beautifully nostalgic about shooting film.
I've already written about the best types of film cameras you should choose, where you can buy them, and what film to use inside them, so here I'll take you through the key things you need to know to actually capture your first images on film. I'll also walk you through the process of getting your roll of film developed and how to save a bunch of cash by scanning your negatives at home using your digital camera.
Keep in mind that the topic of "how to take a photograph" is essentially infinite -- not to mention highly subjective. So rather than attempt to produce a comprehensive guide to every single element of photography, I've instead tried to keep this focused on the key bits you need to know: from how to analyze a scene's light to what aperture to use. From there, it's up to you to dive further into the world of photography and become the next Ansel Adams.
How to take photos on film
The first thing you'll need to do is actually load the film into your camera, which isn't always easy and varies a lot by the type of camera that you're using. But the internet is an amazing resource, and there are plenty of how-to-load-film guides or YouTube videos for nearly every film camera ever made.
With your film loaded into your camera, the first thing you need to learn is how to adjust your exposure. If you're experienced with digital photography, then much of this will be familiar, but even if you're brand new to photography, it's not that hard to get to grips with.
This scene was quite challenging as it has extremely dark areas within the tunnel and bright areas outside. However, I knew I wanted to silhouette the runners, so I exposed for the bright area, allowing everything else to fall into shadow. Andrew Lanxon/CNET
There are three elements that control your exposure: the ISO speed of your film, the aperture of your lens (which means how wide open it is and therefore how much light it can let in) and the shutter speed (which means how long your shutter stays open for, exposing your film to light). The more light that gets in, the brighter your images will look and vice versa.
The ISO speed is set by your choice of film, whether it is the relatively low ISO 200 of Kodak Gold or the more sensitive ISO 3200 of Ilford's Delta 3200. Some cameras will read this information automatically from the film canisters, while others require you to manually set the number on the camera. That just leaves you to consider your aperture and shutter speed, both of which will be determined simply by the type of photo you want to take and the conditions you're in.
If you want that dreamy shallow depth of field where the background is blurred around your subject, you'll need a wide aperture of f/1.8 or faster if your lens allows. That lets in more light, so you'll need a faster shutter speed to compensate. Remember, the smaller the f-stop number, the wider the aperture and the less of your image depth will be in focus.
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