Film Photography Process Analysis Essay
Ever wonder how those wonderful, abstract photographs in the museums came to be? How the photographer organized and developed the image hanging in front you? Most people don’t realize or understand the process of developing a photograph and turning it into a museum print beyond just taking the picture; like composing the image, developing the film, printing the image, and framing it. If you’re interested, I’ll show you just about everything I do as a photographer to get complete, framed print ready for the gallery.
First and foremost, I have to buy my film of course. Choosing what film to shoot with involves deciding what film speed, or ISO, I want my film to be depending on if I’m shooting during the day, at night, portraits, color film or black and white, etc. The higher the film speed, the more sensitive it is to light. So if I’m shooting during the day I’d use an ISO of 400 that is less sensitive to light or if shooting dark, night photography, I’d use an ISO of 800 or higher depending how long I need the exposures to be. Film slower than 400 works good for portraits because then I can use bigger apertures to blur out the background behind the subject in the middle of the day, as it is very insensitive to light. Then, I would load up my camera with the film, pick a subject, configure my camera settings (aperture and shutter speed), and take my pictures. Once I’ve shot a whole roll, I then would rewind my film back into the cartridge and it’s off to the photo lab to develop it!
Now that I’ve got my roll of film exposed and ready to develop, I have to transfer the film from the cartridge into a tank and reel IN 100% COMPLETE DARKNESS. Let me elaborate on that a bit. The film, since not yet developed, is still sensitive to light. So, if exposed to light, it would turn completely BLACK. So to develop the film, first, I have to transfer the film into this small, sealed tank that keeps out light. I have to do that in 100% complete darkness because absolutely no
First and foremost, I have to buy my film of course. Choosing what film to shoot with involves deciding what film speed, or ISO, I want my film to be depending on if I’m shooting during the day, at night, portraits, color film or black and white, etc. The higher the film speed, the more sensitive it is to light. So if I’m shooting during the day I’d use an ISO of 400 that is less sensitive to light or if shooting dark, night photography, I’d use an ISO of 800 or higher depending how long I need the exposures to be. Film slower than 400 works good for portraits because then I can use bigger apertures to blur out the background behind the subject in the middle of the day, as it is very insensitive to light. Then, I would load up my camera with the film, pick a subject, configure my camera settings (aperture and shutter speed), and take my pictures. Once I’ve shot a whole roll, I then would rewind my film back into the cartridge and it’s off to the photo lab to develop it!
Now that I’ve got my roll of film exposed and ready to develop, I have to transfer the film from the cartridge into a tank and reel IN 100% COMPLETE DARKNESS. Let me elaborate on that a bit. The film, since not yet developed, is still sensitive to light. So, if exposed to light, it would turn completely BLACK. So to develop the film, first, I have to transfer the film into this small, sealed tank that keeps out light. I have to do that in 100% complete darkness because absolutely no