Photography Tips and Tricks

It is important to use the correct film, when taking pictures, so that you can get the clearest pictures possible. This is easy once you understand how film speed works.

What is Film Speed?

You may have seen a three digit number on film packaging and wondered what that was all about. Well, the number stands for the film’s speed, or, the measurement of how sensitive the film is to light. This is important because the longer it takes a camera to collect light for the film, the longer it takes the camera to take the picture. The longer the camera takes to gather light determines how clear you photograph will be.

Buying Film

So how do you determine how fast film is before buying it?

To find the speed of film, on the package of film it will say a number followed by ASA or ISO to indicate the film’s speed. The lower the number of the film, the longer it takes your camera to take the picture and the lower the speed of film, the more light you will have in your photo. For example, the package may say 800 ISO or 800 ASA.  This is a fast film because it has a larger number.

Speed Uses

Different speeds are used for different lighting situations and different movment.

200 ASA/ISO is great for taking shots where there is lots of light. Pictures can be grainy if the light is not really bright. The pictures will also be very blurry unless you use a tripod.

400 ASA/ISO film is one that can be your go-to film. If you are not sure of what kind of shots you may run into it is best to load 400 speed film. It is good for most situations, including those with movement, sun and lower light.

If you are taking indoor shots, such as a school play or a basketball game, you may want to choose a 800 ASA/ISO speed film. This is a pretty fast film that is best used in darker places with a flash.