Film photography can feel intimidating when you're getting started, but by nailing down a few essential aspects, you can significantly boost your skills.
Coming to you from Max Kent, this practical video begins by emphasizing your choice of film stock. Not all films are created equal, despite what some may tell you. Cheaper films tend to have limited dynamic range, making accurate exposure more challenging, especially on the fly. Kent recommends dependable film stocks like Kodak Portra, partly because of their forgiving nature when exposed slightly brighter than metered. Unlike digital photography, film handles overexposure well, while underexposure can quickly ruin shots. His simple advice: intentionally overexpose negative film by around one stop to safeguard your exposures, particularly if you typically shoot without an external meter.
Kent also highlights the importance of quality prime lenses. No matter how good your camera might be, pairing it with a kit zoom can hold you back. Using a dedicated prime like a 28mm, 35mm, or the versatile 50mm lens can dramatically improve overall image quality, clarity, and sharpness. Rather than encouraging you to splurge on a luxury camera body, Kent suggests prioritizing a lens upgrade. He explains the strength of each prime focal length clearly. For wide environmental shots or landscapes, a 28mm works wonders; street shooters and travel enthusiasts often favor the versatile 50mm. Owning one or two well-chosen prime lenses sets you up for quality photography in a range of situations.
The video also tackles common misconceptions about aperture choices. It's tempting—especially when new—to open your aperture wide for that blurred background look. While that dreamy aesthetic works well sometimes, constantly shooting at wide-open apertures like f/1.8 can hurt your images. Kent notes that lenses generally perform best between f/5.6 and f/11 in terms of sharpness and clarity. Using narrower apertures can make focusing your subject easier as well. He stresses that aperture isn't a one-set-choice affair: you need flexibility in your approach. Experimenting provides a better understanding and ultimately sharpens your judgment of what settings work best for each situation.
Before shooting, warming up your observational skills can prevent shaky starts. Kent encourages practice framing without absolutely needing to click the shutter every time. Spending some time getting comfortable composing without pressure creates better results later on because your mind becomes more attuned to finding strong compositions instinctively.
Kent further discusses the value of shooting during golden hours. Lighting makes or breaks imagery—and too often, daylight harshness results in disappointing shadows, highlights, and washed-out colors. Even a slight adjustment to your shooting schedule for mornings and evenings drastically changes the character of your photographs. Directional, softer light brings out depth, richer color palettes, and intriguing shadows. This simple shift in your scheduling will noticeably elevate your images. Check out the video above for the full rundown from Kent.
