Why Every Photographer Needs a Point & Shoot Film Camera
Compact cameras keep you grounded
Hello Substack friends!
My Internet schedule is jam-packed these days and this writing time on Subsbtack is by far my favourite - so thanks for reading.
This week we are going to chat about the importance of a compact and simple camera in your line up, as well as lots of fun photos to convince you or inspire you to take yours out more often!
Speaking of film cameras - today’s newsletter was made possible by the good people at Kamerastore in Finland. More on them later but if you are in the market for any gear you can click the button below and get 10% off your dream camera/lens purchase. No code needed just click below and the discount will be applied at checkout for you.
Constraints Lead To Creative Freedom & Innovation
Countless good things have come from not having the most advanced gear to do the job. Whether it be music, filmmaking or photography, I can cite an example where an artist has had to make do with what they’ve got.
There is also a flip side to this, where we have all the gear or we have gotten carried away and taken every path possible to adjust and tinker and maybe even overcomplicate, that we end up quite removed from the image making aspect of our hobby or profession.
Enter - the point and shoot camera.
The camera version of a two and half minute, Three chord punk song that strips it all back but absolutely bangs!
The point and shoot is like the first draft, the throw things at the wall and see what sticks type of creation mode. A lack of features and things to press, toggle or measure invites a raw and free creative expression that exposes an artist and their vision for what it is.
This is why I love simple cameras and why I will always defend the need for a point and shoot for any photographer, in fact any creative person really!
It’s a wonderful tool to explore the world with - snapping something that’s casually caught your eye or a little moment you witness is the equivalent to quickly jotting down an idea in your notebook.
I can give my son a point and shoot and he gets the idea….he will successfully press the shutter and take (a probably crooked) photo that shows us how he sees the world. And sometimes it’s that back to basics type of creating we need to do in order to remind ourselves what it’s all about.
Point and Shoots - Not Just For Snapshots…
We often put cameras in boxes and I mean this metaphorically (even though we definitely all can’t throw away the boxes our cameras came in…)
I digress, so we put certain types of gear or film stocks into assigned use categories. We say that rangefinders are for street photography and medium format is for epic landscapes and studio portraits.. You know, “serious work”.
By doing this, we assign a role for this type of gear to play and it often dictates the outcomes. We feel tied to the action that must be performed with this type of gear. Sometimes this is necessary as we simply do need a certain lens, format or film stock to produce a desired outcome.
Other times, when we are being creative and seeing where things take us, we need to lose that boxed in mindset and create with what we have to, just see what happens.
I very much resent the notion that to be an accomplished or revered photographer we need certain tools. I take great pleasure in using a point and shoot for paid work, or ending up realising that all my most popular or favourite images are taken with simple, compact cameras that would normally be reserved for that “snapshot” style of work.
The funny thing is that sometimes without knowing it we take those snapshots and they turn into something else on the other end.
A point and shoot photo will always feel the same when we take it.
We can’t really see that well through the viewfinder.
We don’t really know what’s in the frame lines.
We don’t really know if it will have focused where we wanted.
We don’t know if there will be giant hotspots from the flash.
We don’t know exactly what we are going to get like we do when we manually focus and we meter and we have the options to control the outcome.
To me the point and shoot experience on film is the truest form of submitting to the artistic process.
You must surrender, wait and see.
The thing about that is, when you get a banger or something that surprises you, it feels INCREDIBLE!
To take something in a quick moment with a dinky little point and shoot and then have it jump off the screen or feel like you nailed it is honestly the greatest.
Checking back to see and asking yourself “did I really take that with this camera?” is so exciting and unexpected and in our world today it doesn’t feel like anything is left unknown or to chance anymore. This is why film is popular right? That flurried feeling of seeing your scans after collecting moments is unmatched.
I’ve had a handful of images really genuinely surprise me from my various compact cameras over the years and I urge you to dust yours off or consider picking one up and make it a regular choice of tool for your creativity.
A Quick Note On The Place a Point & Shoot Has In Paid Work
When we are being paid to do a job we obviously have to be more mindful with the gear we choose.
I’m not telling you to shoot your next family, wedding or fashion shoot entirely on a point and shoot, although I personally think that sounds epic, but I am telling you to consider bringing it along to the party.
The reason is that people act so differently when a smaller more compact looking camera is raised.
There is a more light hearted and fun feeling and this can work to bring out different vibes in your subjects, or offer a new perspective for you as a photographer who, if on a paid job, can get quite serious and focused on the technical side and ticking all the boxes.
Taking a couple of snaps in between with a point and shoot and then finishing the roll off at the end when the “job” is done and the anxiety is lower, is a great addition to the diversity of the shoot and could become something you’re known for or even hired for specifically!
It’s important to not let the rules of photography rule us!
Exercise your free will, express like the creative you are and embrace the point and shoot life!
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I started photography in the film era. My film gear has been stored away, and I recently got some of it out. I’ve got some Minolta SLR gear, and a Nikon FE that someone gave me a few years ago that I never tried out. In that stash I also have an old Pentax point and shoot, weatherproof with a zoom lens. I think I need to put batteries in that and see if it still works.
I’ve never used a point and shoot, but I think you’ve convinced me. Great piece.