It's one of the most common questions I get because it's so ingrained into our digital photography minds!!

Same when I started lol

Thanks so much Wesley! I really appreciate it! We're hoping to have some new film videos up soon :).

You're so welcome!! Have FUN! Film is such a joy- getting great scans back from your lab is like Christmas morning!

Thanks so much Alex! I really appreciate it :)

Thanks Oz, I appreciate it!

I'm so glad, Seb! Thanks!

YES! I'm so, so excited to hear that! Thanks for letting me know :)

You're so welcome!

Hahaha thank you! I appreciate it!

No, you would want to slow your shutter speed OR open up your aperture! Changing the ASA on your camera doesn't make change the chemical sensitivity of the film- changing the ASA to 100 would only affect camera's internal light meter, and if you're following the Sunny 16 rule, it means you're not relying on the meter. Let me know if that helps!

Ooh that's a good idea! I'll add that to my list!

Of course! I use FastFoto in Edina, MN for all my color film and really love them. They've been my lab for the last year+ and they are always consistent with my scans! If you're a bit rusty with color and want to try a lab that'll give you feedback with each roll, I'd suggest The FIND Lab in Utah- they're who I used the first few years and I grew so much as a result of that feedback. Just make sure you get their "Basic +" scans!

Thanks so much, Abby...really appreciate it!

Nope! I just send it in and have them develop as usual- there's nothing they need to do differently to compensate.

You got it! Set the light meter to 200 and choose your aperture, take your reading, and then set your shutter speed to whatever the light meter says. Let me know how your film turns out!

@@AbbyGraceCo Thanks :)

This is what I want people to know! It's all up to personal preference- some folks LOVE that overexposed, pastel vibe of Fuji 400H, other people can't get enough of HP-5 pushed three stops. Which film stock is it that you enjoy underexposing?

@@AbbyGraceCo My rule of thumb is, over expose color by 1 stop, under expose B/w by 1-2 stops. But I think it comes down to what you're trying to convey. If I'm shooting products. I'm either using a digital camera, or I'm shooting at box speed to get something consistent and neutral.

@@Adrian-wd4rn I like that rule! I need to shoot more B&W to better learn its behaviors- most of my B&W experience is with XP2 and HP5, the latter which I really like underexposing and then pushing in the lab!

@@AbbyGraceCo I just shot some HP5, one stop push. Let's hope it comes out right haha.

It totally depends on your preference! I tend to combine 2-3, depending on the film stock I'm shooting- if it's Fuji 400H, I shoot with my meter set to ISO 200, bulb in, light meter tilted 45 toward the ground. But if I'm shooting Portra 400, it doesn't need quite as much overexposure, so I shoot that with my meter at ISO 200, bulb in, light meter held perpendicular (90 degrees).

Yep, develop as normally! No need for extra instructions for the lab.

@@AbbyGraceCo Thanks, that's a big help.

I heard Kodak in general, especially Porta, turn out bad when overexposed. Is that true?

BruceLtd I don’t think so. The only thing I can think of off the top of my head why overexposed Portra would be bad would be for Asian skin tones - but it’s great for people with rosy red cheeks, since the film adds a bit of yellow to the highlights. For Asian skin tones, I think Fuji 400H is the standard since overexposing adds a little red to the skin tones.

Or I shouldn’t change the iso setting after i choose iso 400 at the beginning untill that roll finished?

Hi Azniera! I would leave the ISO as it is and shoot the rest of the roll at 400- if you're really worried about it being underexposed, ask your lab to push the roll by one stop (which leaves it in the chemicals longer, thus *over*developing the film to compensate for *under*exposure). I've never shot Ultramax, but from a quick bit of research, it looks to be a pretty versatile film- I'd say you're likely ok at ISO 400 without needing to push the roll at all!

Hi there! You've got a couple of options here- you could add a filter to your camera to cut out a stop or two of light, or you can up your aperture to let in less light. But something you definitely want to keep in mind is that film and digital do NOT expose the same- you'll have more flexibility in terms of overexposure with medium format film! Get yourself a good light meter and put a few test rolls through your camera, testing out a few different exposures for the same scene. You'll be shocked with how much flexibility you have!

@@AbbyGraceCo Thank you Abby, after this university's exam i Will surely go out and try!

I also have this question :)

If you are using the light meter to set up the camera, then you are using the camera in manual mode and ignoring the meter in the camera, so it doesn't matter what you set the camera up for. If you want, you can tell the camera (override the auto read of the canister) that the film is a 200 ISO film. Then you can use the light meter in the camera and take your shots without an external light meter and get the extra stop for over exposure.

Exactly what Dave said! When you're shooting in Manual mode and using an EXTERNAL light meter to measure your light, there's no longer a need to tell your camera what ISO you're shooting with. The only reason to input your ISO into a film camera is to assist the camera's *internal* light meter. Because you're using an external meter (the Sekonic) to measure your light, we don't need to bother informing the camera of our ISO as the camera isn't making any decisions for us in terms of exposure when you're in Manual. Because I want my film overexposed, I DO NOT ask my lab to make any adjustments to how they process it!

Correct on developing at box speed and setting your external light meter to ISO 200. Because you're relying on external light meter to measure light and inform your shutter speed or aperture, there's no need to also set the camera's ASA- changing the ASA on the camera inform's the CAMERA'S internal light meter, but since we're relying on an external meter, it doesn't matter what that camera's internal light meter says. Let me know if that helps!

"Stops" are how we measure the amount of light in photography- a "full stop" is either doubling or halving the amount of light let in through the shutter. So if you were to go from f/2.8 to f/4.0, you've just cut the amount of light reaching your film in HALF. Or, if you were to go from f/4.0 to f/2.8, that would be DOUBLE the amount of light. ISO is also measure in stops, with the full stops being available in film speeds of 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600, 3200. So, to answer your question, yes! An increase from a 200-speed film to a 400-speed film is one FULL stop of light, meaning a 400-speed film is theoretically twice as sensitive to light (I say "theoretically" because some film stocks, like Fuji400h, behave more like a 200-speed film, and as a result need MORE light than you'd think for a standard 400-speed film!). There are three factors when it comes to determining the amount of light that hits your film/sensor: ISO, aperture, shutter speed, all of which are measured in full stops. It's helpful to be familiar with what those numbers are, so I'd suggest reading THIS article which will give you a full rundown! photographylife.com/what-are-exposure-stops-in-photography

@@AbbyGraceCo thank you so much! :)

Guys, just to explain or those who have the same question that I had: in a film camera when we change the ISO nothing actually changes, but the metering process of the camera will "think" that you need more or less light to compensate. What do I mean by that? If you change your ISO from 400 to 200 your film camera will "think" that you need more light so you're able to change the shutter speed, so doing that you're actually OVERexposing the shot because your camera still have a 400 ISO film and your shutter speed is low at this point so more light can com into the camera.

@ when you're shooting in manual, you're making all of the decisions for your camera, so you're controlling how much light is being let in (using an external light meter instead, like the Sekonic 358). So if you're shooting a 400-speed film but telling your light meter to measure light as if it's a 200-speed film (which is HALF as sensitive to light as a 400), then your light meter will tell you to *slow down your shutter speed* to accommodate for the lower sensitivity to light. This results in OVERexposure. If you did the opposite, shooting with a 200-speed film but telling your light meter to measure light for a 400-speed film (which is TWICE as sensitive to light as a 200-speed film), then your light meter would tell you to *speed up your shutter speed,* which would allow in less light, and would underexpose your image. Let me know if that answered your question!

@@AbbyGraceCo Yep! Thanks for your answer :)

Develop at 400- you don't need to tell the lab to do anything different than what they normally would!

Hey Stacey! If you're using an external light meter, there's no need to set the ISO in the camera- the only reason to set the ISO on your camera body is if you're using the internal light meter contained in the camera itself. So, yes! If you're shooting Portra800 and want to rate it at 400, you'll set your EXTERNAL light meter to ISO 400. No need to change anything about the camera body's ISO settings since you're not following the camera's internal light meter recommendation. If you're not using an external light meter and ARE going to rely on the camera to tell you what your shutter speed should be, you will need to adjust the camera's ISO instead- let me know if that makes sense!

You got it! Are you shooting Portra 800? You can set your light meter to 400 or 640 and be just fine with either one. I just wouldn't shoot Portra800 as a true 800-speed film, in my experience it tends to need a bit more light.

Hey Bruce! I'm sorry I'm just seeing this- I do not ask my lab to pull my film. I'm overexposing because I truly enjoy the way certain film stocks look when given more light than the box speed necessarily calls for, so I don't want my lab to adjust their process- pulling would cancel out the steps I took to overexpose. I actually called my lab guy to get his thoughts on pushing and pulling, and his direct quote was "I don’t recommend pulling, because C-41 (color film) does really well when overexposed. Color film tends to get really muddy when you pull it.” I hope that helps!

hey she answered this comment further down. you would develop at box speed!

Box speed

Nope! The only time I tell my lab to tweak something in developing is if for some reason, I needed to slightly underexpose in-camera, and as a result need to chemically manipulate the film for my desired look. For example, let's say I'm shooting a moving subject at sunset with my camera set to f/2.8, my film rated at 200, and my light meter is telling me my shutter speed needs to be 1/30. That's just a little too slow for me with a handheld camera when my subject is in motion, so in that situation, I might shoot at f/2.8, 1/60, and then tell my lab to push the film one stop- this means they leave my film in the chemicals for more time, compensating for the underexposure. RPL did a great write-up explaining it all- www.richardphotolab.com/blog/post/pushing-and-pulling-film-the-ultimate-guide

I would set your ISO to a half stop lower to compensate- so if you're shooting, for example, Fuji 400H, I normally set my meter to ISO 200. But if I wasn't able to retract the bulb, I'd set my meter to ISO 160. Let me know if that helps!

@@AbbyGraceCo answered it perfectly! I use Portra 400 and Tri-X 400 so I assume the same idea applies?

@@JeffreyBodean for the Portra 400, yes! For the Tri-X, it's been a while since I've used that stock, but I'd probably shoot that at 400. Still err on the side of overexposure if your light meter if waffling between two different shutter speeds!

@@AbbyGraceCo thanks so much ❤️❤️

Btw, my camera has a well functioning light meter and both apeture and shutter speed priority is available

I know I'm late to this and you probably know the answer by now, but yes that will work. You only need to inform your lab when you're pushing or pulling your film (usually in extreme situations where you have high iso film and a lot of light or the other way around).

Hey Luca! Pushing film requires leaving it in the chemicals for longer so that the underexposed areas continue to develop. It doesn't magically introduce more light into the frame (so shadowed areas that are underexposed don't necessarily become more clear), but it helps to develop your highlights further. Pushed film has higher contrast and grain than film processed with standard development times. Overexposing in camera will also result in an increase in contrast, but you won't see the same increase in grain. And because overexposing in camera DOES introduce more light, it means more detail in your shadows. Hope that helps!

Also, check out this article- it might help clarify even further. thedarkroom.com/pushing-and-pulling-film/

@@AbbyGraceCo​​⁠thank you for the detailed answer! So that means that in the end i get to the same result, but i‘ll have more grain when pushing it instead of overexposing it. Also, overexposing gives actually more details in shadows, while pushing cannot do that? Also, with overexposing i have the possibility to change ISO setting for every shot, while pushing film obviously applies to the entire roll.

I can't answer that from personal experience, I've never actually shot e-6. I found this article after a quick search- hoping this helps! thedarkroom.com/slide-film-vs-color-negative-film/

No!! E-6 films (color transparencies) have an extremely narrow latitude (min to max exposure range) and must be spot on for the exposure. It's very unforgiving. The reason C-41 color negative films work for over exposure is because the color is corrected in post processing (reversal and color balance of the print) and overexposure causes a distortion of the cyans but not the other colors.

Yep! If you're using an external light meter, there's actually no need to adjust the ISO on your camera, since you're not using the internal light meter to gauge your settings.

Thanks for the feedback! I'll put up a few examples next time :)