Welcome to Workshops

 

Film Photography Workshop

Explore with photographer Minette Hand in our first ever film photography workshop. Now offering One-Day Group Workshops in beautiful Charleston, South Carolina, as well as the ever wonderful city of Austin, Texas and down-home in Shreveport, Louisiana.

During these One-Day Workshops we’ll discuss basic camera mechanics and operation, loading/unloading of film, focusing, ISO and exposure settings, cleaning, maintenance and care and more. 

While out on location, we’ll work on general compositional instruction that you’d find in most photo workshops paired with how to meter a particular scene while shooting film and the ways in which it differs from shooting and metering digitally. 

We’ll also discuss the benefits of developing a relationship with a professional photo lab and what the process of getting film developed looks like today.

INSTRUCTOR BIO

Minette Hand is a professional photographer with over 15 years of experience photographing a diverse and varied set of subjects and is a stock contributor to Stocksy United. In 2010, she moved from Louisiana and settled into a new home in Charleston, where she spent ten years falling head over heels in love with the people and landscape. Recently, she has found herself in Texas with her field dog, Hank.

For Minette, photography is a way to connect with and learn more about others. In addition to photography, Minette loves to spend time with family and friends, travel, and spend as much time as possible outdoors playing tennis, riding horses, fly fishing, and finding fresh water to jump into.

 

Frequently Asked Questions

What does this One-Day Workshop include?

The One-Day Workshop includes tutorials for mechanics and camera readiness as well as boots-on-the-ground practice. We meet shortly after breakfast, spend the first part of our day learning about our cameras and metering, breaking for lunch, then using the afternoon to get out and practice. We’ll round out the evening with a beautiful dinner and discussion. Minette believes the best way to learn film photography is to immerse yourself and jump right in. The first roll will inevitably be a “learning roll,” so we’re going to caution every attendee to manage their expectations. You’re potentially doing something for the very first time and this is how you learn. It’s okay to make mistakes. But, undoubtedly, you’ll also have some unforgettable wins.

Do I need a lot of experience or expensive gear to take this workshop?

No. You can make great images right away with simple equipment, and that’s what this workshops aim to teach you. If you are just starting out and have a new camera you want to learn, this is for you, too. If you are a seasoned veteran who doesn’t need much help, just wants to go to great locations and have fun with like-minded individuals, well, this is for you, as well! You will need a basic 35mm or medium format camera, but you don’t need a lot of fancy gear. I’ve put together a list of recommended accessories.

What camera equipment do you recommend I bring?

  • Basic 35mm or medium format camera

    • Any film camera is great. 35mm or medium format. One important note, whatever camera you choose to bring should be one that you know works…ideally one that you have already run at least one test roll of film through and have confirmed everything functions properly. There are few things more frustrating than burning through a bunch of expensive rolls of film to find out your frames weren’t advancing or your shutter is stuck.

    • PICKING YOUR STARTER FILM CAMERA

      I’m very fortunate to photograph with a Mamiya 645, which is a medium-format film camera.

      Four great 35mm film cameras
      1. Canon AE-1 – Get Canon AE-1 on Amazon
      2. Pentax K1000 – Get K1000 on Amazon
      3. Nikon FE2 – Get Nikon FE2 on KEH.com
      4. Leica M6 – Get Leica M6 on KEH

  • Appropriate film for the camera you bring

    • 35mm. We recommend bringing 3-5 rolls along, but please bring more if you know you’re a heavy shooter. You can grab a box (5 rolls) of Portra 400 35mm here. Prior to the workshop, we will send out a brief outline of commercially available cameras and film stocks to attendees that describe each of the different characteristics and ideal uses so everyone can bring along some equipment you are interested in experimenting with.

    • Kodak Portra 400 is the king of color negative film.

      For black and white photography, I’d recommend Ilford HP5 Plus 400 or Kodak Tri-X 400: These are my two favorite black and white film stocks for street photography and portraits.

  • External handheld light meter (working in-camera meter would be fine also)

    • A handheld light meter provides the most manual control and accuracy for metering light while shooting film, if you have one, we recommend bringing it however it is not a requirement.  If you don’t bring a hand held meter, just make sure that your camera has a functional and accurate built in meter. Here’s one I recommend.

What about transportation?

Participants are responsible for their own transportation.

What about lodging?

Charleston and Austin are popular places where many hotels and B&B’s fill up fast. We ask that you stay close to our predetermined morning meet-up location.

What happens if the weather doesn’t cooperate?

If you don’t like the weather, wait 10 minutes. There are many idioms that apply to the weather, and if you don’t already know, following the weather is one of the things we have to do. Minette’s been photographing for years now, and he can honestly say that there hasn’t been a single day where we haven’t enjoyed being out photographing, even in the rain. Please keep an open mind when it comes to your expectations about what “good conditions” are. We want to teach you how to shoot in all conditions!

What does my cost cover?

The price of the workshop includes all fieldwork, group instruction, and individual tutoring. It does not include travel insurance, meals other than what has been specified, transportation, and lodging.

Cancellations

The payment is 50% refundable in the event you have to cancel, as long as the cancellation is made 20 days before the trip. After that time, your payment is non-refundable. Alternately, 100% of your payment will be refunded if a replacement can be found prior to the trip.

This workshop needs a minimum of two participants. In the event the minimum is not met, we may cancel or offer to move you to a different workshop.

COVID-19 Info

Please refer to the CDC website for the latest guidance on COVID-19 and travel.