Analog Photography: The Beginner’s Guide to Film Cameras

Digital photography is well into its third decade. Yet film keeps hanging on, lying there shouting, “It's just a flesh wound!” I'd argue that film photography will never die. In the postapocalyptic future, long after the grid has collapsed and all our digital images are gone, someone will pop up with a Nikon FM2T and carry on documenting the world with expired Tri-X.

If you want to shoot film, fear not. It's easier than ever to shoot, develop, and print film. We've put together this guide to help you learn, or re-learn, the joys of film photography, whether you're a newcomer or an expert, but haven't shot film in a few years.

Updated November 2025: By reader request I've added a new section with some tips for manually focusing, and another recommended development service, Memphis Film Lab. I've also ...