Film Photography Without Breaking the Bank
Everyone who’s even slightly familiar with film knows that it’s impossible to have a conversation about shooting without eventually talking about price. There is a general awareness (and acceptance) that film is just an extremely expensive practice. Supply chain issues, brand monopolies, and a willing consumer market all play into these continuing price hikes. The extreme prices have become ingrained into the culture of film photography with hashtags like #staybrokeshootfilm trending for photos and gearhead collectors buying Leicas like they’re Jordans. So what can be done? Here are a few unconventional methods I've found to circumvent the increasing cost of film.
Bulk Loading
I touched on bulk loading when I talked about eco-friendly ways to shoot film but to recap bulk loading is spooling a large roll of film (usually about 100 feet) into old canisters using a bulk loader. Both the roll of film and the bulk loader are light-sealed to prevent exposure. The benefit of bulk loading is that buying the film on a spool is exponentially cheaper than buying individual canisters. When bulk loading, you can also decide how many frames you want your roll to have. You could load the roll with 40+ frames or even just 10 to use as a test roll. Many labs have abandoned canisters they recycle every day, just ask to take some and you eliminate another price variable in this equation. From experience, after materials each 36-exposure roll comes out to be about $2-$5 a roll.
Check out our recommended bulk loader here and search eBay for bulk rolls here
Bulk film supplies ©Daniel Sigg
Research your Gear
I’ve found a lot of guides and recommendations telling buyers to buy cheap film cameras on eBay, and Facebook, or to source cameras from thrift stores. This practice is extremely common for beginner film shooters. Unfortunately, a primary issue I see as a lab tech is people buying a cheap camera and the camera having issues almost immediately. Usually, the cost of repair to a cheaply made/purchased camera supersedes that of the camera itself so the camera is tossed and the process begins again.
If you’re going to spend money on one thing in the film process, let it be the camera. Buy a camera that you can grow with, one that is manufactured well. Nothing is worse than buying a camera that immediately disappoints. For beginners don’t buy something that will immensely overwhelm you but still has capacities for manual shooting so you can begin to navigate your way through the iso/aperture/shutter speed relationship, which is essential for any photographer to understand.
Always be aware of price gouging for specific camera models. 5-10 years ago cameras like the Canon AE-1 and the Pentax K1000 were perfect beginner cameras at great prices, but companies and resellers have caught on and these cameras now sell at 5x their original value. I would urge anyone not to pay more than $100 for these cameras.
On the other end of the spectrum, be careful of cameras that promise no manual work and gorgeous photos in turn. Cameras like the Contax G2 and T2 are known for luring first-time shooters in at extremely high prices because of the lens quality and point-and-shoot nature. Although these are both excellent cameras, they might not help you learn the ropes of film photography. Buying expensive gear right off the bat, even if it’s fully automatic, does not guarantee better photos. It is always the photographer’s eye that delivers good photos, not the gear.
Check out some of the best deals on cameras here.
Black and White at Home
When you search “how to save money on film,” most sources say, “Do everything at home.” This means buying the chemistry, understanding how developing at home works, and scanning (usually on a flatbed) all the negatives yourself. Although all this can be learned, and isn’t that complex when broken down, I’ve always found this advice overwhelming and process arduous, especially if you’re a hobbyist. I know lots of people (including myself) that would rather just eat the cost of having a good lab scan and develop in order not to spend hours working on this process at home. If you’re on this side of the spectrum, one very easy step you can take to cut costs is simply developing your own black and white inside a Patterson tank. Here is a quick 6-step guide for developing inside a Patterson tank
Materials Needed:
Black and white film
Paterson tank (appropriate for your film format)
Changing bag (if you don't have a completely dark room)
Developer, stop bath, and fixer
Measuring jugs and a thermometer
Scissors and a can opener
A film squeegee or a pair of clean fingers
Clothespin and a dust-free space for drying
Step 1: Load the Film onto the Reel and Into the Tank
This must be done in complete darkness. If you don't have a room that can be made light-tight, use a changing bag. First, use a can opener to pry open the film canister. Cut off the leader of the film, and then start feeding the film onto the Paterson reel. Once it's all on the reel, place it inside the Paterson tank and put on the lid. Once the film is in the tank and the lid is secure, it's safe to turn on the lights.
Step 2: Mix Your Chemicals
While you should follow the specific directions for your chemicals, typically, you'll need to mix your developer with water at a specific ratio. The developer's job is to convert the exposed silver halide crystals into metallic silver, which creates the image. You'll also need to prepare a stop bath, which halts the development process, and a fixer, which makes the image permanent and the film insensitive to further exposure.
Step 3: Develop the Film
Pour the developer into the tank. Agitate the tank by inverting it continuously for the first minute, and then a few times every minute after that. This is to ensure the developer is evenly distributed across the film. Your developer will come with a guide for how long this process should take, typically around 5-10 minutes.
Step 4: Stop the Development
After the development time is up, pour out the developer and immediately pour in the stop bath. Agitate for a minute, then pour out the stop bath.
Step 5: Fix the Film
Pour in the fixer and agitate as you did with the developer. The fixer makes the image permanent. Leave the fixer in for about 5 minutes, agitating occasionally.
Step 6: Rinse and Dry
After fixing, you need to thoroughly rinse the film to remove all the remaining chemicals. Rinse with running water for about 10 minutes. Once the film is rinsed, you can remove it from the tank. Use a squeegee or your fingers to gently remove excess water from the film. Then, hang it up in a dust-free space to dry.
And there you have it! Once your film is dry, you can cut it and put it into sleeves, and it's ready to be scanned or printed. Hopefully starting with this process makes DIYing film a bit more conceivable. If nothing else, this will cut down costs considerably if you are shooting primarily in black and white.
Buy a Patterson tank here.
Patterson tank and reels ©Ashley Pomeroy
Fewer Shots Better Frames
A really simple way to save money on film is to not be afraid to leave a roll in your camera for weeks at a time. Developing film day in and day out I see people drop off 10 or more rolls of film at a time. More often than not the pictures across the rolls look similar or identical to those before them. Of course, everyone has anxiety about not getting a shot perfectly, hence taking multiple frames, but it can be a really useful discipline to just take one, and move on. Even just taking a single frame per location is good practice in intentionality, pinpointing exactly what you want from any given scene. I find it immensely gratifying to see a roll I shot stretched across weeks with various faces, locations, ranging colors, and compositions. More often than not I’ll find I have more frames I like in a roll of 36 I spent time with than across hundreds of frames I shot running and gunning. It’s the thought you put into the process that really delivers results. This doesn’t work for everyone but it helps to really be thinking about why you are shooting film and if speed is a factor that separates the medium from digital. Saving money could be as easy as slowing down.
Pick the Right Film Stock
Stocks like Portra 400 and 800 offer undeniable benefits over cheaper films but does this mean the stock is right for you? Is breaking the bank over professional film stocks worth it at your specific stage of photography? The answer is often yes but it’s important to know why you’re buying the film. I find a lot of people buy into certain stocks based on Instagram, or stocks their favorite photographers use. It’s important to always remember that many popular and professional photographers have an extensive backend process to color grade their work in a way that makes it stand out and appear unified. Research film specs like exposure latitude, tonal range, and grain structure over specific images you like. Also, consider if you might achieve the look you want by altering cheaper film stocks. For example, can I shoot Ultramax and color correct to give it a more skin tone-accurate look resembling Portra? There are many ways to skin a cat so think about what specifically you want your photos to look like before buying into the most expensive option.
