Can you use Digital to learn Film?

I had a friend as me this one the other day and I thought about what I would tell myself if I wanted to go back in time and do this to save money etc. Here is was I would say to me:

Absolutely you can elimiate some of your learning curve using digital! There are some things that you can only learn shooting film (like just getting used to it, see the rest of this blog for more info), but if you are strapped for cash here are a few things that will help you become a better film shooter with digital.

1. Shoot in manual. Pay attention to how the different setting affect your pictures including shutter speed, aperture, and ISO. This is just basic photography skills that you can learn on digital to improve yourself as a photographer. When you shoot with automatic settings, you don't have an much control and troubleshooting your manual results are a great way to learn. There are photographers who have narrowed their look to an exact science and this is a way to learn enough to figure out where you want to take your style. When you know about photography in general then when someone tells you about their specific way of shooting, it makes a lot more sense.

2. Shoot only a specific number of pictures. A roll of film has about 30 images on it. If you are taking a friend out to practice photography, instead of taking 300 pictures and narrowing it down to the very best 50, try limiting the whole session to 30 (that is 1 roll). Try to make every image count. You will think a lot more about what you are doing. Pretend that every time you click your shutter, it is costing you a dollar.

3. Read your manual. So many people intend to do this, but they never do. The first photography book I ever read was the manual. The first time I read it, I experimented with each step and immediately looked at the results on the computer to solidify the information. This is one of the best things I ever did because when I heard other people talking photography, I could ask questions and the answers made sense. Shortly after the first read, I read it a second time. It made more sense the second time because it answered questions I didn't know I had yet. Then when I would learn something new, I would think, "I remember reading something about that in my manual" and could quickly reference the information and get my answer. If you have lost your manual, you can look it up online and chances are find a free PDF online of your camera's manual.

There are some things you can only learn with film. Each camera is a little different and takes some getting used to. Also, if you are shooting with film, you can use a light meter that helps with exposure. If I don't have a light meter, I shoot with AV(aperture priority) or TV(shutter priority) settings and overexpose2-3 stops, but I still know enough about the settings to know what I want to use and when. If you are not sure, stick with manual until you have learned enough to know what you like. You can use AV and TV with digital to practice as well.