How it Works: Photographic Film

 

When it comes to photograph, there are generally two areas of thought: digital and film. Although film has been around for over 100 years, digital has quickly become the method of choice for many photographers throughout the world.

This is because digital cameras now produce near the same quality as film based cameras, not to mention you have unlimited number of capture options with how much storage is found on a memory card. With all of this in mind, you are able to take as many pictures as you want, without having to limit yourself to the number of exposures left on a roll of film. However, with this being said, film photographer is a completely different art form and takes a specially talented individual to capture the necessary images into film. You don’t know what the images are going to look like until after the content is processed, which is why it is very important to understand how the film camera works and what makes an exceptional picture, all the way up to the processing stage and when the finished prints are returned back to you.

It is all about light exposure when it comes to a film camera. The aperture inside the lens opens up to allow more or less light into the camera. The light than imprints itself onto the film, which is coated in specific chemicals. The light exposes some of the chemicals on the film, which then reacts to the development process. It is at this process that the developed film turns into the negative exposure, which you then produce into an actual photograph. Although it is a bit more in depth than this, the overall process of creating an image on film is based around these principles.

The amount of light used on film is very important. You don’t want to over exposure or underexpose the film, otherwise you can completely ruin an image. The aperture increases or decreases the amount of light that reaches the film. When it comes to bright situations, such as strong daylight, the aperture is closed almost completely, and the shutter is open only for a brief moment. This keeps the amount of light exposure to the film down to a minimum. It also allows for the crispest image quality. When it comes to low light situations, the aperture is generally opened larger, and it requires the shutter to stay open longer. This allows for the necessary amount of light to strike the film in order to create the exposure. This is why, when you take pictures at nighttime of moving objects, the objects appear to move. It is important to have everything still when capturing during the night time. If you don’t, everything becomes out of focus and blurry.

There is also the overall film speed that us used with the film camera. The film speed, designated ISO, is a variable with hold long or short the shutter needs to stay open. Film with a lower speed (such as 50 or 100) must stay open longer and is only best for bright light stations. Of course, it also produces the sharpest picture quality. This film speed should not be used in low light conditions. Film speeds of a higher number (such as 400 or 600) produce a grainier image, but don’t require as much light to strike the camera lens. You only need a small amount of light to create an exposure. This makes it perfect for low light conditions. The kind of film used in the camera also has an effect on the kind of chemicals used in the development process.

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