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Old School Photography: 100 Things You Must Know to Take Fantastic Film Photos
Old School Photography is a must-have modern manual for learning how to create great photographs with a 35mm film camera. Famed YouTube personality Kai Wong expertly and humorously shares 100 essential tips for selecting and using film cameras, shooting with film and various lenses, and employing specific techniques to ensure you can get great results quickly. Known for his breadth of knowledge and quick wit, Kai Wong delivers an informative and entertaining read on how to take great film photos.
• An informative and entertaining read on how to take great film photos
• A must-have guide for those new to old-school film techniques
• A much-needed book for the current resurgence of vintage 35mm film cameras
Renewed interest in film photography has surged in the past few years, both among those rediscovering their past passion and those discovering it for the first time. Vintage cameras that had previously lost their value are now often worth more than they first sold for due to high demand amongst enthusiasts, students, and collectors. Film manufacturers have even started reissuing long discontinued stocks—for example, Kodak's much-loved and recently re-released classic Ektachrome slide film. In our modern world, billions of people have access to instantaneous photography on their mobile phones, but as a result there has been a resurgent desire for a more tactile, physical, unaltered, and thus honest medium. Much of which, ironically, ends up on the internet, with photography fans and influencers sharing their images across Instagram, Flickr, YouTube, and the like.
More so than with digital photography, film photography requires a sense of craft, skill, patience, technical knowledge, and a trial-and-error process that results in a greater sense of accomplishment. Old School Photography is both enlightening and humorous, and attracts a new generation of fans who are eager to experiment with film cameras, make prints, and post their film photographs online.
• An informative and entertaining read on how to take great film photos
• A must-have guide for those new to old-school film techniques
• A much-needed book for the current resurgence of vintage 35mm film cameras
Renewed interest in film photography has surged in the past few years, both among those rediscovering their past passion and those discovering it for the first time. Vintage cameras that had previously lost their value are now often worth more than they first sold for due to high demand amongst enthusiasts, students, and collectors. Film manufacturers have even started reissuing long discontinued stocks—for example, Kodak's much-loved and recently re-released classic Ektachrome slide film. In our modern world, billions of people have access to instantaneous photography on their mobile phones, but as a result there has been a resurgent desire for a more tactile, physical, unaltered, and thus honest medium. Much of which, ironically, ends up on the internet, with photography fans and influencers sharing their images across Instagram, Flickr, YouTube, and the like.
More so than with digital photography, film photography requires a sense of craft, skill, patience, technical knowledge, and a trial-and-error process that results in a greater sense of accomplishment. Old School Photography is both enlightening and humorous, and attracts a new generation of fans who are eager to experiment with film cameras, make prints, and post their film photographs online.
- GenresPhotographyNonfictionArt
216 pages, Paperback
Published July 27, 2021
17 people are currently reading
1367 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
February 13, 2022
Man! I really wish I had something like this while shooting film. Even though some of the points weren't super new to me it really inspired me to go out and get back into photography.
July 16, 2025
Really sweet book - nice to have a reminder of the basics and feel inspired to keep shooting 🫶🏻
April 27, 2025
Blended rating, 3/5 if you know a reasonable amount about photography; 5/5 if you’re a beginner.
I’m in my second film renaissance now. I’m not sure why the first one stalled 13 years ago (when I did things like go to the Lomography store en route to the Olympic Park and picked up a Spinner 360 that was way too big to fit in my bag…).
This time round I’ve been resurrecting old cameras, gathering dust in cupboards, stacked into boxes, and sold as job lots at auction. Add in the years and years shooting digital, and this ’100 tips’ meant there was an awful lot of ‘yeah, I do that.’
But. It’s entertainingly written by @kaimanwong (who is likely to become a maven, which comes in at tip #95). A large number of the tips can be applied to digital as well, buuuuut because of the shoot-and-check nature of digital photography, tips can sometimes be forgotten, as you just keep clicking until something…. Clicks…
There’s jargon in here, but it’s explained well, and simply (even if pushing and pulling still causes me a headache) so it’s the perfectly accessible starting point for a beginner.
I’m in my second film renaissance now. I’m not sure why the first one stalled 13 years ago (when I did things like go to the Lomography store en route to the Olympic Park and picked up a Spinner 360 that was way too big to fit in my bag…).
This time round I’ve been resurrecting old cameras, gathering dust in cupboards, stacked into boxes, and sold as job lots at auction. Add in the years and years shooting digital, and this ’100 tips’ meant there was an awful lot of ‘yeah, I do that.’
But. It’s entertainingly written by @kaimanwong (who is likely to become a maven, which comes in at tip #95). A large number of the tips can be applied to digital as well, buuuuut because of the shoot-and-check nature of digital photography, tips can sometimes be forgotten, as you just keep clicking until something…. Clicks…
There’s jargon in here, but it’s explained well, and simply (even if pushing and pulling still causes me a headache) so it’s the perfectly accessible starting point for a beginner.
February 1, 2025
First chunk of the book is obviously geared towards beginning photographers, but the latter half of the book had a lot of great advice and got me inspired to go out and try some new things. It felt good to study one of my hobbies like I was back in school and gave me great ideas of how to improve as a photographer.
January 25, 2022
A good review on the things we loved, and so good.
Yes! My first purchase was an SLR and the things you could do...
I enjoyed (and loved) the side page pictures from the author, those are very good, self-explanatory, and great pictures to inspire to.
Thank you, -
Yes! My first purchase was an SLR and the things you could do...
I enjoyed (and loved) the side page pictures from the author, those are very good, self-explanatory, and great pictures to inspire to.
Thank you, -
January 7, 2025
Funny, useful, and straight to the point! 📷
August 27, 2025
Digestible information and cool pics, what more could you ask for?
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews