So, I wrote a beginner's guide to large format on my blog....

[Tobias Key]

Like a lot of us photographers, I spend some of my marketing time on a blog. It keeps my website updated and hopefully more SEO friendly, but I don't really expect much more out of it than that. Since the end of last year, I've been introducing little how-to articles. I was bored with just showing my recent work, saying how much fun I had, saying how great everyone was to work with, blah, blah, blah. I just felt this kind of photographer blogging is really false and boring, and I would wince with every word I'd type. So last week I set about doing a step-by-step guide to shooting your first large format photograph. Nothing too clever, just going through the steps, explaining the controls, and keeping everything as simple a I could. I posted it yesterday, linked it to a couple of film-based Facebook groups, and it has been by far the most popular I've ever written. Over 200 likes in the first 24 hours and over 800 page views that were long enough for people to have actually read the article.

Now I'm by no means saying that I'm a superstar blogger or an expert LF photographer, far from it. But it was immensely gratifying to see that that many people are actually interested in large format photography and would take the time to look. Perhaps there is hope for film-based photography after all!

If you would like to read the article it's here. I know for most of you it's pretty basic, and there are many people here much more qualified than me to write it.

[fishbulb]

Nice work! That is interesting that there are a lot of people interested in LF. Keep spreading the good word!

Some notes, not that you asked for them, but maybe they help. Obviously this is a quick-start guide but maybe some ideas anyway.

On the lens picture, maybe label the Cable release as "shutter release with cable attached" so people know what the cable is releasing. Or maybe that's obvious, I don't know. Likewise "wind on" could be more descriptive, i.e. "shutter cocking lever". Also, the PC-sync / flash sync port could be labelled, at least so people know what it is.

Step 3: You don't really mention that you need to open the shutter, and open the aperture all the way, in order to see the image on the ground glass. Adding a picture of an image focused on the ground glass would be really helpful here, and can be really inspirational - to me, that is a big part of the "magic" of large format: seeing the image on the ground glass. You also don't mention that the image will be upside down and backwards, which can be surprising to people who are new to large format.

Step 6: It might be worth mentioning that there are metering apps for cell phones, or if you have a compact camera with manual controls you can use that - e.g. a Canon S100, Sony RX100 or even a cheap old point and shoot if it has manual shutter speed, ISO, and aperture. Set the f/stop, ISO, and shutter on the compact to the same as the large format, take a shot, and see how it looks.

Step 7: One important thing I often forget is to look at the subject again before I press the shutter! The lighting can change, the subject can move, the wind can pick up, etc. This is the cause of a lot of my bad pictures. Another picture that could be added to step 7 is a shot of a film holder, with the dark slide partially removed and a piece of film inside, so people know what a film holder is and how it works. To someone that's never used sheet film before, this is probably a mystery.

[Jac@stafford.net]

Good illustrations and writing. Congratulations.

I'm not sure this tip is important: Exercise the shutter a few times before the last cocking, especially if the lens has been idle for a long time or is old or cold. (If shooting on T or B, just go for it.)

[DrTang]

You can end up with a small fortune shooting large format....


......if you start out with a large fortune

[Jim Noel]

A good beginning. After teaching large format at the undergraduate level for over 25 years I have a couple of suggestions.
1. Include American terms as well as British - for instance the "Cocking Lever" on the shutter which in Britain is apparently the "Wind on".
2. Always cock and fire the shutter after closing the focusing lever and inserting the film holder. Then re-cock the shutter before withdrawing the dark slide.

I used to produce for my students a step by step guide printed on a card, to follow prior to each exposure. And believe it or not, I was never able to edit to less than 20 definite steps, but it did eliminate a multitude of mistakes which students had encountered prior to the introduction of this list.

I could go on, but others have made some very good suggestions also.

[Tobias Key]

Thanks guys, I really appreciate all your suggestions, and I'll definitely use them to revise and improve the article. I want to make it as useful as possible and not the usual 'click bait for hipsters' that most film articles seem to be nowadays.

[DannL]

It's a really good start. I like the flow. But, a little elaboration there near the end would be helpful. Showing a cable release, film holder, piece of film, the camera on a tripod, etc.

The final line "Congratulations, you have just made your first Large Format Photograph." is very misleading. I would replace that with something like "Congratulations, you have just exposed your first sheet of film.". Unless you're using instant film, folks might think you made a photograph with the camera alone. Then you might follow with a short blurb explaining that there are at least four more major processes to creating a presentable photograph . . . Development of the film, Enlargement as required, Development of the print, Mounting & Presentation. Just throwing out some ideas, there.