Home Developed Black and White Film | Atlanta Fine Art Film Photography

Developing your own black and white film has MANY perks! For starters, you don’t have to wait more than a day, not even an hour to see results from any test roll. I do a lot of test shooting especially when I’ve got a new accessory for my film gear or even when my equipment has returned from being serviced and fixed. So being able to shoot a test roll and develop it within that hour saves me a ton of headaches and worries! Getting all the material and chemical was a little overwhelming at first (and there’s a lot of chemicals to choose from). But once I figured out the level of black and white I wanted along with the amount of film grain I desired, narrowing down the chemical was a lot easier. I asked for A LOT of advice. I only tried out a few suggestions–made some mistakes–but ended up with the right formula!

I didn’t really plan on developing my own black and white film when I photographed Kristen but it just happened that way. I knew I wanted to shoot an all black and white session anyway so the timing just coincided with one antoher. I didn’t expect to invest in a little home set up but it worked out! Developing your own black and white saves you money in the long run. What you invest quickly returns to your pocket AND trust me guys, if you shoot a lot of black and white you really should just develop it yourself.

Developing your own black and white film is super rewarding. Getting your hands wet along the process and having more control over the developing stages brings a sense of fulfillment. I mean, you get the immediate ‘instant’ gratification but seeing the images that appear on the negatives as you’re running the water for the final rinse just completes it for me! Some describe it as the lost art of photography. There was a time when developing your own film was common practice. There’s another side to photography than clicking the shutter. And for me, that’s the darkroom experience. Now I don’t have a full darkroom in my house and like many many others, the 2nd bathroom functions as the wet lab and the changing bag is the ‘darkroom’ and it does the job and it ROCKS.

Oh hey…dang y’all with all this talk of black and white film I snuck in a few color! I had about 8 frames left on my Contax G1 on portra 800 and used it up on Kristen’s session. I have mixed feelings about Portra 800 but ZAMNNNNNNN the last few shots of Kristin on P800 is TO DIE FOR! So I included it in the collection.

I definitely butchered a couple rolls, maybe three, but hey, that is the right of passage is it not? After getting the hang of it the process became a breeze. My favorite and basic chemical is Kodak HC 110 (solution B) for Kodak Tmax 400 and Ilford 3200. I think that’s the go to for most folks and I’m fine with just that. You can find a lot of information on how to develop your own black and white film and I got most of my supplies from BH Photo or Freestyle Photo (also local store Wings Camera off Briarcliff Road). Also be sure to check out Massive Dev Chart and download the app on your phone, it’ll do the math for you and make your life easier. So that I can spare the next beginner, DO NOT BUY Arista Stainless Steel Reel. Unless you want to pull your hair out and rock the new do, you want to stay away from these cheap reels. I purchased a used metal reel from Wings Camera that worked so much better and have not used the Arista since. I don’t know the name of the used one I bought but it was only $5 versus $20 that I got from Arista–ugh I’m so mad! You can also go plastic which is WAY easier. But if you stick to stainless steel, beware of Arista or any reels where the wheels (I don’t even know the terminology) is somewhat spaced out enough.

PS: Love the vintage collared shirt Kristen is wearing? I snagged that on Etsy from a store called Cedar Closet.