MY RECOMMENDATIONS

Cameras if you have CANON lenses:

Top Choice: Canon Rebel 2000. $20-$50 on eBay without a lens.
Any of Canon EOS, Rebel, or Elan line. Some go up to $100 or so without a lens.

Cameras if you have NIKON lenses:

Top Choice: Nikon N80. Around $50 on eBay without a lens.
Any N line would probably work, and the F100 is a popular but more expensive choice.

Cameras if you don’t mind more manual controls and don’t have lenses:

Canon AE-1 or A-1.
Pentax K1000 or similar.

These cameras usually come with lenses for anywhere between $30 and $100. They are manual focus, manual advance, and don’t always have full manual exposure control. But they take beautiful pictures. :)

Cameras if you just want to have fun:

Any disposable or toy cameras. They are fun to shoot and you can get killer shots from them, or use them to do cool things like film soup without worrying about wasting “good” shots!
HOLGA medium format toy camera. Again, no real exposure control, but it’s a favorite of mine. Uses 120 film.
Lomography cameras like the Diana line or Sprocket Rocket. Same as Holga—just plastic toy cameras, but they have fun features like pinhole or shooting over sprockets! Different formats depending on what you get.

DON’T WORRY

I will help you load and set your camera settings, and then you just get to SHOOT!! It’s so fun. We will be just walking around and using each other for models. Film is super easy and such a great and enjoyable process. I can’t wait for you to try it! I’ll tell you all about what to do after your roll is done—where to send it for processing, etc. So just come, bring a camera if you’ve got one, and HAVE FUN!

ANALog filM
CLICK AWAY CLASS

Hello Fast Film Click Away participants! I’m so excited to have you in this shoot-along class in Chicago! We are going to have a LOT of fun. I will be teaching you some basics of analog film, just enough to get you started on shooting your first roll, and knowing what to do next. There is a LOT to learn about shooting film, but at the same time, it’s really just . . . photography! You already know SO much about it. This class is meant to help you realize how easy it all really is.

WHAT TO BRING

If you CAN bring a film camera, that would be ideal. However, I will bring several of my own cameras, so I hope I’ll have some for you to use or share around during the class if you don’t have one to bring. But if you DO want to buy one in advance, I recommend a 35mm SLR if possible. See MY RECOMMENDATIONS for some options. You CAN bring a medium format camera if you’d like, and there are some cheap options. However, usually affordable medium format cameras will be TOY cameras, meaning you have very little control over focus, exposure, or really anything else. HA! But they are super fun nonetheless!

You can find cameras on eBay, Amazon (used is best), your local online markets or camera shops, or in your mom’s attic. :) I promise, most cameras are in working order, even if they’ve been sitting in a basement or dusty closet for years. Most 35mm cameras are NOT expensive! If they don’t come with lenses, that’s where you may run into an issue. But if you shoot Canon or Nikon, it’s super easy to get a cheap body and use your lenses!

Next, you WILL need some film. If you have a 35mm film camera, or plan to borrow one of mine, you will need some 35mm film. Just one roll is good. You’ll need to shoot the whole thing during the course of the class if you are using one of my cameras. If you already shoot film, but you’d like to try shooting medium format and would like to try out one of mine, let me know! I have a Rolleiflex and a Pentax 645N. You’ll need to bring some 120 film if you’d like to shoot a whole roll. We may have time for a few people to shoot these cameras.

Consumer film like Kodak UltraMax 400 or Gold 400 would be great. Fuji has Superia 400 as well. These will be your cheapest options. My favorite is Kodak Color Plus 200 but it’s nearly impossible to find right now for a decent price! If you want more professional-grade film, you can get Kodak Portra 400, which is a very versatile and forgiving film, perfect for beginners. Fun stocks like Psych Blues and Dubble are also available, which are pre-exposed with colors, shapes, etc. Bring whatever you want to try! If you have any questions, or want to know what I used on any particular shot, DM me, or look for the hash tag with my film stocks on my profile.

You can find film at thefindlab.com, Amazon, Walmart, your local camera shop, and tons of other places.