Shooting On Film Makes You Better

People who shoot on film are just better. It’s the truth… But Conner... Why would you say something so controversial yet so brave? Here is the truth: I love shooting digital, AND I love shooting on film—there, I said it. “Blasphemy!” r/Analog cries out into the universe as I dual-wield my Canon R5 and Hasselblad 500C. Like a Middle Gray Jedi, I walk the line between the light and the dark side. You have to embrace both mediums to bring balance to the force. Therefore, my duty, young padawan, is to tell you why shooting on film makes you better at exposing and composing images on any medium.

Shooting only digital all the time can and will make you very sloppy. I know the truth hurts, but I also know we all need to start somewhere, and shooting with digital cameras is a great gateway drug to moving and still pictures. Nothing is more entrancing than clicking the shutter button and seeing if you got the shot. Oh, you didn’t? Make your adjustments and fire again. Got it? Great, on to the next thing. This is a huge asset in professional or paid work where you need to guarantee you got the shot you were paid to get. It’s unfortunate, though, that this instant feedback can dull skills and critical thinking. The ability to shoot 60 frames per second with infinite bracketed exposures might be cool and give you infinite options in post, but it feels more like vacuuming up data than creating an image. Your gear is doing the work instead of you, and if there is one thing I hate the most, it is someone who credits my camera on the photos I take instead of crediting me.

I said earlier that I love shooting film, which is true for both stills and motion, but sometimes it is so intimidating and frustrating that I never want to shoot another frame again. I’ve screwed up more shots on film than I ever would have on digital, some once-in-a-lifetime moments that I’ll never get back. But this is exactly what the medium of film is meant to teach us. Film provides an unrivalled and essential experience because of one simple truth… every frame is a do-or-die moment. Whether setting up a shot for stills or motion, you have to consider everything because the stakes (not to mention costs) are higher. If you don’t get the exposure or framing right, you won’t know until your celluloid comes out of the bath the next day. Usually, the moment, perfect lighting, expression, or multimillion-dollar set, is gone. That is scary, and it is what shooting analog is all about.

35mm Film

IF YOU DON’T HAVE A PLAN - GET ONE

My first experience shooting Super 16mm film was during my second year of film school, and I consider it one of the most important learning experiences I have had. Our assignment was to shoot a silent chase scene on Super 16mm using an ARRI SR3. Film stock was bloody expensive back then (and now) for both the raw stock and the development and scanning process. We decided we could get by with one 400-foot roll of film to shoot the project. That’s only 10 minutes. This meant that storyboarding was going to be crucial. We boarded and planned every shot and edit before the day. We even timed every shot while rehearsing with our actors. It worked a charm, and I remember we ran out of film just as we got the last shot off. But because we had a plan, we could save time and money.

I remember this being one of the fastest and easiest shoots of my film school career. Because we had no money we needed to be far more diligent with planning. We got to be so creative in the process leading up to the shoot the only thing we really needed to worry about was execution. Well that and properly loading and unloading the film, that was another adventure entirely. Having a plan makes executing your images so much more fun and gives you the time, space and resources to be creative on the day. If your idea of shooting a scene or making images on the go is equivalent to building the tracks while the train is rolling down them. Having a plan is just another tool to execute your vision.

YOUR EYES SUCK - USE A LIGHT METER - NO NOT THAT ONE!

In our infinite wisdom, we decided we were going to use a Canon 7D to approximate our exposure. It makes sense. If you set the camera to the same ISO, it’ll surely be close to the proper exposure, right? WRONG. I’ll save the long-winded explanation, but just know that exposure for a digital positive image and an analog negative image (film) is not the same. This meant most of our shots were grainy and underexposed, which we spun off as a creative decision. And it worked! It was a moody and eerie chase scene. I can’t help but think it would’ve been better if we had just used a normal light meter and planned our lighting setups. We would’ve gotten a much cleaner and intently exposed image.

When I shoot stills on film I have no choice but to use a light meter since my camera doesn’t have one built in. And you know what? I meter everything. The shadows, the highlights, the mids, I need to know everything in the scene I’m trying to photograph because it helps me envision what the final exposure will be. Knowing where you will lose detail whether by dark shadows or blown out highlights contributes to the artistry of your work. Knowing all of these values and how they relate to your camera and your film stock helps you master contrast. Contrast is the basis for impactful images. If there is no contrast then there is no substance in your image.

BETTER THAN ALL THE REST

So WHY does it make you better? Surely, this ramble is less unhinged Yoda of Dagobah and more wise Jedi Grand Master on Coruscant. Film makes you better… because film makes you think. Developing the ability to calculate f-stops, shutter speeds, and ISO changes in your head to keep up with changing lighting conditions is like a superpower. Your brain goes into a mode where it has mind melded with your camera and it’s sensor/film stock. You’re adding and subtracting light from shots and scenes all while moving at the speed of light itself.

You don’t make better images because you can shoot more of them faster. You make better images by understanding and being considerate of the composure and exposure of your frames. The more thoughtful and purposeful you are with your images, the more emotion you will capture. The saying is so old and said so frequently that it may have lost its meaning but a picture is really worth a thousand words. But just like writing a thousand words, especially meaningful ones, that shit takes time…

And if you disagree with me, it doesn’t matter. Why? Because this is my blog, and the comments are disabled. Your only option is to scream into the void. But rather than doing that, you should stop complaining, go outside, and shoot some film.