Film photography never fully died out but its slowly starting to become “relevant” again. Film is a fun hobby that’s very easy to get into and has the fun reward of getting your pictures back. 

Here are some steps to get into film photography 

Get a film camera  

There are a few different ways that you can get a film camera. I recommend if you’re just starting out shooting film to get a point and shoot camera because those tend to be the easiest. You can get cameras from Ebay or Depop. If you ask family members, they might also have an old camera laying around that you can use. Another option is getting a disposable camera, but I wouldn’t recommend it if you could get an actual camera instead.  

Buy a roll of film  

I bought my film from Amazon, but I have seen you can get it from Walmart online. You can also check your local film stores and see if they have any there. I believe that our nearest film store is Woodward Camera but I’ve yet to visit. I use Kodak 400 ultra max film and it works well. Fujifilm 35mm 400 iso is another film I have heard good things about. Kodak Portra is another option that many photographers love because of the color saturation, and it has very fine grain. You can also use black and white film instead of colored.  

Get to shooting! 

Go out with your camera and start taking pictures. Starting out you don’t have to take professional type pictures, just go out and take pictures of things that you think are picture worthy. The result in the end getting them back will be the best. It feels like Christmas when you get the photos back. Taking pictures of people is sometimes more fun than just views or nature so if you hang out with your friends that’s a great time to bring your camera along.  

Getting your film developed 

There are a few places where you can get your film developed if you cannot develop it yourself. Developing film, yourself takes a lot of work and resources so sending it or taking it somewhere is usually the best option for most people. I’ve tried to take my film to CVS before and they would not take it but I have heard from some people that they would so I think it might depend on what CVS you go to. I send my film to a girl that works for a company that I found on TikTok. The company emails me a file of my pictures so I can just download them to my phone and if I’d like I can print them out at CVS or Walgreens.  

Here are some of my favorite film pictures I’ve taken with both my film camera and a disposable camera