There are still many film photographers, but the number of those using digital technology, who are not familiar with the way of processing images from film, increase daily. As time passes, digital photography becomes more entrenched. Film photography will ultimately become a niche with only a few practitioners as the production of new film cameras—and films—slows down to a halt.

In a survey conducted during the rapid transition to digital photography, respondents said that low cost and the ability to view images immediately were the two most popular reasons why they favored the use of digital cameras. It was only in the mid 1990s that serious commercialization of digital cameras started. In about two decades, digital photography has overtaken film as the standard process for producing images.


Photo by Fabrice de Nola

For more than a century, film was the standard medium for photography. It is now an expensive process in the eyes of some modern photographers, who no longer buy film or spend on processing to view the images that they take.

Film Photography – A Chemical Process

Film photography is a chemical process. Photographic films are transparent plastic strips layered with light sensitive emulsions that produce images when exposed to light using a camera. The images emerge when processed in a darkroom, or the once ubiquitous commercial photo processing laboratories.

Photo by Alan Vernon

Variable scenes to be photographed and ways of displaying images require different types of film; the difference being the distinct properties of their emulsions, each reacting differently to light. A few examples of film types are:

• Negative or positive
• Black and white or colored
• Low or high ISO
• Standard or saturated colors
• Regular or high contrast
• Infrared

The most popular size is 35mm; however, they are also available in sizes for medium or large format cameras.

Photo by mingwei

For digital photography, which does not use film, there is no need for such a selection. The desired result from a specific film type can be attained by a camera setting or an image editor. A good example is ISO. Digital cameras allow the setting of sensor sensitivity which, like film, also influences image resolution by the presence of noise (grains for film).

Working in a Real Darkroom

Film needs to be developed and printed, or made into slides, before their images can be viewed. Film photographers also edit their photos mostly for the same reason digital images are edited. In fact, many photo editing concepts and techniques used in digital photography were originally accomplished in the darkroom. Even terminologies were retained (e.g., dodge and burn, or the use of filters).

Photo by Kevin Dooley

Digital photography has simplified image processing significantly. It also increased the capability to do more things that used to be impossible to do with film. Several images can now be easily stitched seamlessly into one large image (usually a panorama) or blended together to improve quality (e.g., high dynamic range imaging). The photographer has more control of how the final image is processed now.

Photo by Paul Hart

Subtle Differences between Film and Digital

It is rather difficult to discuss film without comparison to digital photography, which more people are now familiar with. Digital photography, or those behind it, has done a good job of preserving the essence of photography, many of which were founded under the watch of film.

Photo by LeDonne Morris

Photo by LeDonne Morris

The debate on film versus digital is still brewing with many issues pertaining to the superiority of one over the other and is still left unresolved. Digital photography is yet at an early stage, but it has already surpassed film’s dynamic range. Whether it will match film’s spatial resolution or simulate its non-linear sensitivity is something to watch out for.

Note: All photos attached to this article were taken with film.