Just hit 100 rolls developed and it surprised me how many came out bad

I finally finished developing my 100th roll of film last week. Started shooting film about two years ago on a old Canon AE-1 I found at a thrift store for $30. I thought by roll 100 I'd have this down pretty good. But going through all my negatives I counted almost 40 rolls that had serious issues - light leaks, double exposures by accident, or just plain underexposed. My first 20 rolls were basically a disaster. The ones from the last 10 rolls though look way better. I guess I'm finally getting the hang of metering without a light meter. Still got a long way to go. Has anyone else kept track of how many rolls they ruined before things clicked?

2 comments

2 Comments

oliver5236d agoOG Member

40 bad rolls out of 100 is actually not that bad for learning film man. A lot of people quit after the first 10 or 20 because they get frustrated and sell their gear. You stuck with it and got better. I've seen people on here acting like every roll has to be a masterpiece or they're failures as photographers. That's just not realistic. Film has a learning curve and your first 100 rolls are basically tuition. If you're only counting "serious issues" as bad and not just composition mistakes or boring shots then 40% is pretty normal honestly.

knight.xena6d ago

Totally agree lol I trashed like half my first 100 rolls too.