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Photography
101 - Understanding Film - Series 1
Author:
Marjorie Whitcher
Light is the
important factor in photography. Therefore, It’s essential to
understand the differences in film speed and what effect it will
have on the photograph. There are many different types of film
out there. But the one thing they all have similar is the ISO
(ASA) rating or the film speed.
The film speed
indicates the light sensitivity of the film. For example film
with the speed of 100 is not very sensitive to light where film
that has an ISO of 3200 is very sensitive to light. When working
with film that is not so sensitive to light one would have to
open the aperture to let more light in, or used a longer shutter
speed to get enough light for photograph. Understanding the sensitivity
to the film will help make the necessary adjustments to the camera
to take a correctly exposed photograph.
For this article
I’d like to focus on the slower film with the ISO of 100, 125,
160 and 200. Slower film speeds require the use of a tripod or
a steady hand. This is because the film is not very sensitive
to light therefore requires longer exposure (shutter speed) or
more exposure (aperture) to light. The key to slow film speed
is to understand that it is going to require a good amount of
light to correctly expose the film. A benefit of this film is
that the film gets a lot of color saturation and has very fine
grain allowing for more detail to be shown in the photograph,
this is ideal for enlarging photographs.
Prior to choosing
the film and its speed, consider the subject and its environment.
For example a portrait in a studio will not use the same speed
as a day out in the beach.
Let’s use
the example of the day at the beach. It’s a very bright sunny
day with minimal to no clouds in the sky. The kids are making
a sand castle and it’s the perfect photograph for your scrapbook.
Well your camera has film with the ISO of 200. It’s very bright
so you know that your film will get a good amount of light. What
to be careful of is to make sure not to overexpose the film. Since
the situation is well lit you will shorten the time (shutter speed)
of exposure of light and lessen the amount (aperture) of light
to your film. (Remember to be aware of your environment and your
subject - things to watch out for that would give a lot of light
to the photograph: water reflection or any form of reflection
like sunglasses, angle of the light coming in. If it’s direct
find a way to diffuse. Be cautious of how your subject looks in
the light. Are they squinting? Are they comfortable? Is there
anything in the background that’s distracting? etc..)
Now will take
another example where the subject and environment is not well
lit. You would need to make adjustments to your camera to let
in MORE light. This can be done by adjusting the aperture, shutter
speed and even adding flash. Very similar thinking process to
the situation at the beach – you are making sure that your film
gets the light needed to take a correctly exposed photograph.
Points to
remember about slow film:
- Requires
a well lit area
- Needs a
steady hand or a tripod
- Not for
fast action
- Bright
Sun
- Outdoor
film
- Indoor
– use with flash
Now on to
the Assignment.
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