I Shoot Film

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About I Shoot Film

A group for people who still use film for photography.

Chances are, you listen to vinyl records as well.

We don't care if your new digicam has all sorts of megapixels.

Rules and Guidelines

IF YOU ARE NEW TO FILM and want to learn what camera to buy, what film to use, how to develop your own film, or how to scan your film to digitize it. PLEASE search the group to dig through existing threads before posting a simplistic, generic question like these. The administrators may choose to purge and remove threads you start without warning if they are repeating the same things that have been asked 1000 times. We understand how exciting it is to start using film. We understand the desire to learn everything as quickly as possible. However, as a courtesy to people who are not wanting to see the same things repeated (or to go the effort to repeat themselves) please search the existing discussions from the past. It's all there, somewhere.

No digital photos in the pool, film only (Polaroid is fine). While photos of film and film cameras are welcome, please make sure they are shot on film. The pool is for photos taken on film, not for things film related.

Members are strongly encouraged to indicate the film/camera/developer used in the photo's notes or tags. If you use your digital camera to "scan" your film, you *must* provide this information; if a photo appears in the pool with EXIF information for a digital camera and no other information to indicate that it was taken on film, it will be removed (and if you've added multiple photos like this, you'll be bumped from the group).

-UPDATE January, 2010-

Be sensitive to other users' perception of your words Many people have a strong negative reaction to cynical or sarcastic replies to their issues or concerns, even if your goal is to be humorous. A lot of threads erode quickly if users don't treat each other with respect. Sometimes the words someone writes can be interpreted with a negative intention, when there was none. Before assuming that the poster was attacking your opinion, re-read and try to assume the positive before replying angrily. Administrators will remove posts and possibly ban without warning as they see fit if they are getting too personal and attacking other users or other users' photography skills in any manner. Repeatedly attacking other users or bringing a negative attitude to several threads will also be considered grounds for removal from the group.

Try to be nice to one another. People hold many beliefs about what photography is to them (sometimes very strongly.) Please understand that photography is many things to many people. There is not any sacred document full of written rules of photography. This group is focused on people shooting film photos and sharing their best results in the pool. The administration will not tolerate posts where users attack one or more other users’ methods of making photos or other types of personal attacks. There are film process purists in the group and there are hybrid photographers who shoot photos on film and process the scanned results how they see fit. We encourage our users who hold strong opinions about photography to make sure they express themselves with the stipulation that this is an opinion and not a fact. Freedom to speak your mind is important, but bullying other users or misguiding them will not stand.

Try to teach by example Many people have been doing this film thing for a long time. There are many newer users in the group who are asking basic questions. If you, as a veteran, cannot think of any way to respond kindly to their queries, please refrain from posting a snide remark. Simply ignore the thread or contact the administrators if you're concerned with its redundancy. If you do have criticisms or words of encouragement, always try to lead by example and share links to some of your work explaining your methods in detail.

Please restrict topics in the discussions to film and film related issues (topics such as scanning in your negatives or similar digital/film crossover issues are fine, digital vs. film arguments are not). If you want to announce a new group, please ensure that it's a film-related one (e.g. dedicated to a specific type of film or film camera). Note that we've determined that while scanner questions are allowed (as long as the questions is about film-capable scanners), printer questions are not; that said, there is one master thread that has been made the dedicated "discussion printers in relation to a film->scanner->printer workflow" thread.

Please search the discussions before submitting a new topic; very often, you'll find that your question has been answered before (sometimes ad nauseum). Here are links to searches for frequent topics: scanner | best scanner | x-ray | developing | expired film | crossprocessing

Please don't post any topics in the discussions based primarily on showing off your photos or choosing your favourite photos from someone else. Photos and members' photostreams can be discovered via the pool. If you see something you like, favourite it and leave a comment; by all means mention that you saw it in this group's pool. But those kind of traffic generating, slow-loading, image heavy threads that go on forever just don't fit with this group. If posting an image to a thread is relevant to the topic (showing an example of a type of film or a lens, showing a camera for identification, etc.) then by all means do so. Please make sure that images added to the thread are no larger than Flickr's medium size.

Please don't make posts that would be better suited to your blog or other personal site. The goal here is to ask questions and share information. To that end, as well, please don't make posts that consist of a single link to your blog or website. If you want to document a technique or procedure, copy the information and post it in full to the thread.

No "for sale" or other types of commercial threads. Please note that this includes trading/swapping. If you have something you're giving away for free, though, that's allowed.

Please note that videos are not allowed in the pool; however, if you have a video(s) that is *film specific* (i.e. instructions on how to load a camera, respool film, etc.), feel free to post a thread that links to the video.

Please make your post titles as specific as possible. Generic or sensationalistic titles such as "I need help urgently!" means that everyone has to click on your post to find out if they can help you; "I need help fixing my Canonet!" will get you a lot more people with the relevant information you need. Try to include specific camera/lens/film names as applicable. The admins reserve the right to edit post titles for such relevancy.

Trying to troubleshoot your undesirable results with film? Try this chart for help.