I'm a Pro Photographer, and Here's How to Take Film Photos on an Analog Camera

The rise of compact digital cameras and high-quality cameras built into your phone meant that traditional analog film photography faded almost into nonexistence. But the "film look" trend has soared on Instagram and TikTok, and there's no better way to get an authentic analog photography look than to actually shoot on film. I've already covered the best types of film cameras to choose, where to buy them, and what film to use, so here I'll take you through the key things you need to know to actually capture your first images. I'll also walk you through the process of getting your film developed and how to save a bundle 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 produce a comprehensive guide, I've tried to keep this focused on the key elements 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. Or, I guess, Brooklyn Beckham . 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. 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...

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