Photography Basics: Film Speeds for the Beginner
Cameras have tons of little dials, knobs and meters. If you stare at your camera long enough, you’ll be amazed at how many ways you can adjust your camera and change how your pictures look. But did you know that one of the most critical decisions you can make when preparing to shoot happens before you even load your film?
The speed of the film you use is one of the very few unalterable qualities of a photograph. There are lots of ways to play with aperture, focus and exposure. However, once you select your film and load it into the camera, there is no way to change how the film reacts to light. In every photograph you ever shoot with real film, you are adapting to the film speed. Film does not speed up or slow down to suit your needs, so it is important that you make the right call the next time you head out for a fresh roll.
ISO and You
Film speed measures how sensitive your film is to light. Low film speeds indicate that the film is less sensitive, and will require a longer exposure; high speeds are very sensitive and require shorter exposures. The film speed is referred to as ISO (International Standards Organization). Any film you buy will have its ISO marked on the box, and common speeds are 400, 800, and 1000, with 400 being the closest to the standard.”
The ISO of your film affects every aspect of the way your camera works. Your light sensor (if you have one) has to be set correctly for the film youre using, your aperture will be more or less limited depending, and your shutter speed will likely have to decrease or increase to accommodate the film. Even digital cameras have a simulated (and adjustable) film speed that they base their calculations on.
Choosing the Right Speed
The ISO of your film decides what you are capable of photographing, and how. Because high-speed film (ISO 800 or above is a good general rule) requires less time to expose, you can shoot images with much higher shutter speeds than with a slower film. The end result here will be crystal clear action; fast film is wonderful for shooting sports or anything that moves quickly. When you see a photograph of a basketball player suspended in midair, you can bet that image was shot on high-speed film. With a slower ISO, the player in question would likely be a huge blur. Faster film also needs less light and can be super helpful in situations where a flash isn’t appropriate indoors.
Lower speed film captures much more detail because it has more time to absorb light. It is important to keep the words detail and blurry separate here more detail in a photograph can be thought of in a similar way to more detail on a high definition television more of what was originally there will be visible in the photograph. The longer film can see a scene, the better the scene will be represented. Lower speed films are great for portrait photography or images in which you wish to show great depth of field.
Film Speed Experiments
To get a good handle on how ISO works and what it does to your images, here are a couple of things to try out the next time youre planning a shooting day:
- Get rid of your flash (if you have one) and take some fast film into a low light environment
- Swing by a local high school, college, or little league game and try shooting (with permission) two rolls of film one very slow (ISO 100) and one very fast (ISO 1000) then have a look at how different the images turned out
Film speed is one of those great things to play with when youre pretty comfortable with your camera and youre looking for new ways to challenge your perceptions. Each speed has strengths and weaknesses, and its up to you to decide which one works for you. Now it’s time to take some pictures you’ll be proud to display in wall picture frames And don’t forget that pictures make great gifts especially when given in pictures frames that complement the existing decor like natural wood picture frames and classic silver picture frames.
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