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Film and single use cameras How long after exposing can I leave my film before processing? For best results, we always advise processing soon after exposure although in practice most films can be left for several months. One exception is ILFORD PANF Plus, we would always advise processing this film as soon as possible and certainly within 3 months of the film being exposed. How do I account for film reciprocity during long exposures? This information can be found in the Film Reciprocity Failure Compensa...

Photographic Paper FAQ's Which paper product is best/suitable for photograms.  All of our ILFORD photographic papers will easily produce photograms, so the choice will depend on which surface finish you prefer and whether or not you want fibre or resin coated. Resin coated paper is lower cost, easy to process and dry flat and would be a good choice for starting out. Does reciprocity affect paper? Paper products are designed for much longer exposure times than film and are less sensitive to reciprocity...

Chemistry Which is best fixer - HYPAM or RAPID fixer? Both fixers perform equally well, HYPAM will accept the addition of a hardener if required, whereas RAPID fixer will not work with hardeners. What’s the shelf life of ILFOSOL 3 film developer? Unopened, ILFOSOL 3 will last about 18 months. Once open, it should be used within three months. Remember to mix ILFOSOL 3 for immediate use ONLY. What is replenishment? Some processing chemicals can be replenished, this means that instead of discarding the...

ILFORD PHOTO offer the biggest range of black & white films on the market today. While this is perfect for experienced film photographers who love having a choice, we appreciate that it can be a bit confusing for people new to film photography. If you are looking to try film photography for the first time and are wondering where to start, then you have come to the right place. We should start by pointing out that there is no ‘wrong’ choice when it comes to ILFORD films. They are all fantastic,...

Processing your own film can speed up your workflow and give you quicker access to your negatives. It is also typically more cost effective and best of all there is nothing like the sense of satisfaction you will gain by taking control over the full end-to-end process of your photography. While trying it for the first time might be a daunting prospect, fear not. Below is our guide on what equipment, chemistry and method would be suitable for anyone new to processing films. For more detail, you can downlo...

Why print? When you can get excellent prints from your black & white negatives by sending them off to commercial processing laboratories, why make your own? For many photographers, making a photographic print is as much a part of the process as shooting the image itself. For a start, it is a creative process that is both enjoyable and fulfilling and, much like the role of a post processing tools such as Photoshop or Lightroom in any digital workflow, (although much more fun) a darkroom provides film...

The first stage of making a darkroom print is to determine the exposure time. If you have already created a contact sheet of your negatives, and they appear correctly exposed, then you should have a rough idea of the necessary exposure (provided you haven’t moved the enlarger head or aperture setting after exposing the contact sheet). Note: If you change the degree of enlargement you will also need to adjust the exposure. Some enlargers have scales printed on their columns to make this easier. Another...

What are film developers? Film developers are a photographic chemical that turns your exposed film into working negatives as part of a processing workflow. (You will also need a stop bath and fixer - for more information on how to process your film or which chemistry to choose read our guides). We offer a broad range of film developers that are designed to exploit the different characteristics of our films. Developers are available in either powder and liquid concentrate form and have a range of charact...

Although many film cameras have inbuilt light metering systems, a light meter instrument can also be used. Light Meters can measure the amount of light falling on a subject (incident light), or being reflected by a subject (reflective light). By converting these measurements, it defines what would be the most beneficial shutter speed and f/stop to use for that given subject. Light Meters are particularly helpful where subject matter / lighting conditions are difficult. Some light meters are also able to...

Having shot a roll of black and white film it now needs to be processed to create the negatives. At this point your film is still light sensitive so should not be exposed to light. Processing your own film can be highly satisfying and cost effective. It is also easy to learn. The most common method for hand processing film is undertaken by using a Daylight Processing Tank. This piece of kit needs the film to be loaded on to a ‘spiral’ or ‘reel’, in the dark, and then enclosed in a light tight co...