5 Tips For Shooting With Expired Film

#photographyhobbyist  #photographybestoftheday #photographyforever

Shot on Polaroid Time Zero film, expired 2004 by Andy Jenkins}
Expired film was once bad. After all “expired” means it’s no longer good, right? Except at some point photographer’s figured out that expired film can give some amazingly dreamy and surreal results – making something undesirable into something people want A LOT. Crazy colors, vintage atmospheres, hazy streaks and unique textures are just some of the interesting results you can get from shooting film that’s past its date.
However expired film has some drawbacks - with the biggest one being you have absolutely no idea what will happen until you shoot it. It could be gorgeous, it could be hideous, you really won’t know until you put in your camera.

1. Get to get as many rolls as you can

Once you find a type of expired film you like, it totally sucks to have only one roll! To be able to fully take advantage of the effects once you know what they are, it’s important to snag as many rolls of the same expired film as you can at the same time. The same lot of film will offer some consistency even when it’s past its prime. Photographer Neil Krug stocked up on mass quantities of expired Polaroid film for his hugely successful “Pulp” series and book, allowing him to develop a unique style that is all his own - and which many other photographers try to imitate.

2. Avoid Portraits for the first roll

One frequent result of film being past it’s expiration date is that the grain appears enlarged. Not always, but frequently enough. Also there are the previously aforementioned color shifts, which can leave people looking ill or unrecognizable when applied to skin tones. When trying out a new roll of expired film, stick to landscapes and still life since there’s a good chance your portraits won’t turn out the way you want them.
*An exception to this rule is for those who are shooting expired instant film, which generally speaking turns out quite lovely for portraits.

3. Don’t research expired film effects for a particular film

Honestly this can only lead to disappointment since the nature of expired film is so unexpected. What happened for one photographer may happen for you, but it probably won’t because of so many varying conditions. The way you store your expired film, the camera you shoot it with, the season when you’re shooting, the age and temperature of the chemicals to develop your film… are just a few of the factors that determine your final result. Don’t go in trying to get a specific effect - instead be open to a wide variety of results.

{Shot on Fuji Reala 100, expired 2007 by Pedro Terrinha}

4.Bracket

What is bracketing? It’s basically saving your ass on a shot you really love. Find your correct exposure and shoot that, then shoot one stop up and one stop down. Voila. So easy.

5.Shoot in optimal lighting conditions

Go outside, during the day or if you have a studio go there. Why risk not having enough light and essentially wasting your money on photos that you consciously know will probably not turn out. Every photographer on earth has been guilty of the crime of blatantly ignoring his or her trusted light meter at one point or another. Why would you suddenly not trust your light meter? Has it ever led you astray before? Probably only when you didn’t change it’s batteries. Expired film is not the time to test your exposure limits. Trust me.

{Shot on Kodak Portra 400 UC, expired 2004 by Marcello Rossi}
Lastly, be prepared for the worst…
Full disclosure: a lot of the gorgeous expired film images you see online do not represent the majority of photos taken on expired film — and yours may turn out really ugly. But that’s just a risk you’ll have to take. Even when keeping the above tips in mind, go into shooting expired film with absolutely zero expectations and you’ll never be disappointed!
Check Out: more photos shot on expired film
Looking for more tips on film photography? Head on over to our Beginner’s Guide for the basics or our Learn page for more in-depth techniques!
Courtesy of: I Still Shoot Film