I want to start by saying how much I love film and how much it pisses me off. I love to learn, and shooting film keeps me humble, on a daily basis. I am currently carrying my Nikon F100 almost everywhere I go and I am loving the ease of using it and for the first time, I don’t feel overwhelmed with trying to nail settings. I feel this way because the more I lean into film, the more I understand how forgiving it can be. The key word here is CAN. I have been shooting film loosely for years now and I messed up so much in the beginning, that it kept me from seeing results that I could be proud of. The lack of these results, meant I shot less and less which if I gave anyone only one piece of advice, it would be to shoot more and shoot often. I think this is important in photography period. We have to realize How to see first, and then we can start learning why we choose what we capture and why. I would liken it to any field in the thought process of without knowing why, what is the point. The real point of anything is meaning. This is a reason I am so motivated to shoot, and capture without an end in sight. That is al little broader than today’s topic so I will get us back on track with a short list of ways I screwed shooting film up from the start, and how you can avoid the major flaw in my initial procedures.

Mistakes:

1).Do not get overwhelmed by the gear.

Find a camera that inspires you, not overwhelms you. As much as I love a full mechanical camera, sometime removing friction is the best way to start something new.

2). Do not expect to be great from the start, no matter how long you have be shooting digitally. Give yourself some grace and maybe a lot of it to get going and then forever more. Film is far from a perfect option and since the rise of digital the lack of support has diminished but I am also happy to say that #filmisnotdead

3). Not all labs are created equal.

A) Let the lab do the heavy lifting in the beginning. Another level of removing that friction I mentioned earlier. It is very easy to romanticize shooting, developing , and scanning your own work but lets get our feet wet without jumping in over your head just yet.

B) Find a lab that works for you. We are so fortunate to have multiple options here in 2026 but they do not always release the same results. I have tried 6 different labs as of making this and am so fortunate to have found a lab remotely close to me that gives me the best results yet. Its called F32 in Knoxville, TN is you happen to be curious.

4). Film will pile up!

I am still not great at this, but maybe learn from my mistakes, aka “Do as I say, not as I do” situation. I should be honest about why this is a blessing and a curse for someone like me. When I shoot and store my exposed rolls in my film fridge, I am creating a disaster. I have a shit memory so I often forget a few important details. Which camera shot which roll and which stock>? What did I even shoot on the rolls? How did I meter/ expose the roll in question? Most film pros keep a detailed log and I REALLY can’t recommend this enough but also can’t quite make myself do it. The more info the better.

5). ITS A NEGATIVE- meaning your digital sensor is a positive- What does that mean?

This is the biggest mistake, by far that I made and I made it for years and just assumed my meter was off, my lab was terrible, or I am just an extreme failure. If you are new to film and I am assuming you are if you are reading this, so bare with me if not, you will hear that your film can retainer highlight information much better than that of the shadows. This typically implies over exposing our negatives. We can save those highlights so let it have all the light. I screwed this up repeatedly by rating a film, lets say Portra 400, at 800 to overexpose it like I would in digital but this is UNDER EXPOSING your film by a full stop in stead of the intended Over exposure. This meant all of my film for a very long time was muddy, with terrible color, and very underwhelming results. I am far from a quitter though, so I am still after it. Still learning, still shooting, still dreaming of the next film camera.

The art of photography has brought me to some beautiful places, taught me some valuable lessons about life, and given me so much purpose. Its be life giving in moments that life was hard, and capturing those type of moments for others has been and will always be a blessing and a responsibility I refuse to take lightly.