My Best Tips & Advice for Beginner Film Photographers

Hey, would it be possible for you to make a video about how you'd pick a camera? You make it here your second point (the 1st technical one, let's say) and I think it'd be great to have your insights on how to pick the right format — only differences I see between them is costs, portability, and ease of use, but I might be even wrong!
Thanks a lot for considering it!

Everything you say is spot on, if you develop and print your own. However, a great many of us rely on labs and a lot of those will only process C41 and a few will not process anything other than 35mm. This means, of course, that our choices of camera/film are limited by these restrictions.

What would you recommend as a good entry level light meter? Also, have you tried any of the light meter apps you can use with your phone? If so any recommendations there? Thank you.

I have three of those Land cameras with flashes. It hurts I can't get film or can't afford the film. Peel apart produced the best instants in my opinion.

Thank you for a consistently interesting and informative channel - and the great advice.

I don't know if I have but I feel like I've been with you from the start. Absolutely love your videos man, I go back and re watch them just for fun, just like this one right now. Never stop

One of the most thoughtful pieces on the creative process from a true, mature artist. Thank you.

Beautifully said...

As you shoot Fuji digital and use Adobe products, any thoughts on the worming effect that combination creates? As you tend towards the film look I thought maybe it might not bother you as it really only impacts fine detail. Love your videos, thanks!

I've bounced back and forth between film and digital over the last 22 years and my biggest problem is finding a suitable digital replacement for the TLR camera. I can't afford a Rolleiflex, film, development and scanner anymore and I can't seem to get my square B&W digital photos to look anywhere near the TriX400 out of my old Yashica Mat. I would like a sense of cohesion.

Your advice is always useful and relevant. I appreciate your approach to photography. Always enjoy your videos.

Great video as always

Yes it's all about the joy and challenges of the process but if your not diving fully into the rabbit hole and developing your own films your still disconnected from the experience that is out there ,to be had , when I load a roll of hp5 or delta I'm pushing , pulling reading the scene and while I look through the glass or rewinding the film I'm thinking what development I will use as it's just as significant as what filter or what ISO I'm metering at

Ansel Adams would not have been sending his films to a lab to develop had he had the option as he knew that the development was all part of the pre visualisation process

And it's sooooo much cheaper too ! 😊 that's also why my colour films are gathering dust

Have a very fruitful new 2023. Enjoy life and photography. All the best! Cheers from Portugal.

The warm tones of portrait 400 😂 That one cracked me up

Thank you Kyle for the last five years. Happy New Year to you and yours from Nova Scotia, Canada...

Cool tips and lessons from your personal successes and failures. I've had a lot of fun over the last almost 3 years of picking up film. I still predominantly shoot on digital, but love the challenge of metering on film and oddly enough even the anxiety of finding out the results.

Thank you for sharing! I always learn something new from your “tips” videos! 😎👍🏻

I've been shooting for a long time (30+ years) and the biggest thing that improved my photography was to take each shot seriously. Sure, you can get a banger here or there if you spray, but that gets really demoralizing and expensive. It's so much more rewarding to have serious intent about the every detail possible. It's like when you go to develop a roll and you are really psyched about that one shot that you just have to see. I try to make every shot like that. Doesn't ever happen, but it completely changed my philosophy.

Terrific, as always! Great tips, I wish this video had existed (and that I had watched it) a couple of times, before I started my journey. Also, very fun watch, this... I recognized all (well, almost all) B-roll shots and stills from other videos. It felt like one of my "watch runs" of Northern Exposure or Seinfeld where I already know every shot 😄. Kudos for including your "mistake" with low-res scanning. This helps beginners not feel as bad, when they see someone who is very far down the road, also make some mistakes and learn that way.

Haha, bronica with no crank handle, I’m in that boat.

Good points! But I think people should just start without much worry, while being aware that things will go wrong in different ways. From there they should incorporate everything you've talked about. Even though I started photography decades ago with film and by then halfway new gear, I had every issue you've talked about (not scanning, though ;-)).

Hi Kyle, I think you should make a video of your film camera collection, I wonder about your film cameras footage

I definitely agree with accepting problems and technical issues, but I also think it's great because we get this idea that we can like "beat death" with digital. Like we can get every photo, keep every moment, but it's all sand through our hands sometimes. Or we wind up drowning in all the things we try to keep.

all the best on the rest of your film photography journey - always new stuff comes up and there's so much fun on the way :)

Hi Kyle it's me blake

Words of wisdom for any budding film photographer! Thank you for sharing all your knowledge Kyle!

Kyle its been a great 5 years, I've always enjoyed watching your videos, the learning experience is wonderful. Now I'm looking forward to getting your book - An American Mile, after ordering it 4 months ago, the anticipation is half the fun. Just so you know, I picked up my first 4x5 camera, but I think its way above my pay grade, but still excited about it. I ordered it on eBay last night from Japan.... Yup a Horseman FA with 2 lenses, a 125mm and a 180mm. Well see how it goes. Thanks as always, and happy new year.

My past year and a half in film photography has been such a positive in my life, I've loved your channel since then and learned a lot! Your content has always been very accessible and entertaining

Great video, Kyle. Yet, I've got photographers like you and several others, that got me back into film. Thank you. Now, 2 years shooting film, it is total fun. Digital camera now takes the back seat. KB

Hahaha... you are so right on these things. You don't even know how much you have forgotton about shooting film until you try it again and discover you have to re-learn the things that you just intuitively did back then.

This is in part why I wanted to shoot film again. It's more challenging in many ways and since photography for me is not really a business enterprise, I can make my life a little harder to give me more satisfaction on a job well done.

Those early clips are such a throwback. Feels like we grew up together. Congrats on (nearly) 5 years.

Really love this video, you are one of my favorite creators and it's so inspiring to hear the humble truths of messing up and using it as a learning point as this is something I get stuck on in my own work.

Geez, this makes me want to dust off my early 70’s Bronica Z. The lenses from that camera I actually found an adapter that converted them to a Sony mount! I’ll be honest, it was an emotional moment because the decades I had with that 2-1/4. It worked well and the photos and video clips are gorgeously soft. I love it. My Bronica was used way way way too much and it’s not worth rebuilding. I could buy a better one on eBay. But getting back into film just for fun is still a big commitment. If I think back to all the darkroom stuff and the space for a darkroom, enlarger, timers, trays, chemicals, film cans, drying rack, paper types, plumbing and on the list goes. It would be very cool but I can’t commit fully. And that’s what it truly takes. I’m living vicariously through you and enjoying the old glass on new technology. Thank you for the video! Brought back many great memories. 👍

Thanks for the content! Reflecting on my five years of YT photography consumption, i think your channel is one that has inspired me the most. When i first saw your work, I didn’t get it, but now i think my images look a lot like yours. Your best point here was to trust the process, i have to keep reminding myself of that. a lot

Hi

what camera did you take the first photo in this video?

I always look forward to your videos Kyle, they're both informational and entertaining to watch. Best wishes in the new year!

Chances are the issues with your Pentax 645 that the person you sold it to had, were completely related to user error. Don't ever make the mistake of underestimating someone's the lack of care or knowledge.

Such great information. Lately I’ve been having so much self doubt as I am trying to use my RB more. I cycle too many cameras I don’t spend time mastering one. I have to keep reminding myself this is new for me. This is different. I’m not seasoned with reverse image OR waist level finders, and I need to give it time. I also am pretty new to developing and share my space with a long hair cat. That makes dust and hair a challenge. Scanning is new I’m much better than when I started but still have a long way to go. Patience patience patience.

Looking forward to the work you make in The new year. Cheers.

I just purchased my first film camera - Canon F1-n. I’m almost done with my first roll. I purchased 13 different types of film stocks to test out with expecting to make a lot a lot mistakes along the way. I purchased a 35mm scanner. I’ve been curious about the progress since I started shooting photography. This is going to be fun. Thank you for sharing all your knowledge 🙏🏼

All good points Kyle. I'm a strong believer in point 6, organization. I spend a lot of time organizing my scans and tweaking the files etc. at the beginning so that I have a good archive of master files to refer back to in the future when needed. Everything is cross referenced, both hard and soft copies, even the original shooting notes. Oh and I remember your first video with that Poloroid Land camera. 5 years already...

And here's to another year. It's gone by so quick, I forgot how long I'd been uploading videos also. Happy new year Kyle.

Impeccable timing. I just posted my video about the first time using a Leica M6 and the 4 rolls that came out of it. I too have the urge to try out 6x7 and the different systems. Thanks for the inspiration!

This was a really good video that covers all the bases, thanks Kyle! I especially agree with you when it comes to home scanning. If space allows and you're willing to put the effort in, the benefit of that extra control is immense and the cost savings mean that even "just" a V500 or V600 can pay for itself in 12 or so rolls depending on where you are in the world. As for learning a film stock, I couldn't agree more. I've been shooting a lot of Cinestill 50D and Vision3 250D in the last few months and each roll has come out a little better than the last, and I'm noticing it's easier and easier to process the negatives in a way that suits them.

Hi kyle